Hear from Congressman Kevin Kiley as he unveils the underlying issues fueling California’s catastrophic wildfires, scrutinizing the state’s misplaced priorities on woke policies. In a gripping follow-up, retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin and Tony Perkins analyze the potential impact of these priorities on military readiness. Together, they assess national security preparations amidst sociopolitical distractions that threaten to undermine strategic objectives of America’s defense forces. Tune in to explore solutions, leadership dynamics, and the urgent need for policy reform.
SPEAKER 08 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s a sad day in our country when radical leftists are willing to erase the rights that women have fought decades to obtain, all to elevate biological males to the top of women’s platforms.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was Florida Congressman Greg Stubbe on the House floor earlier today at the opening of debate over his bill, Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in and making us part of your day. While fairness in women’s sports is the driving issue, the underlying debate is about recognizing the design of the creator, male and female, which may explain why the bill narrowly passed earlier today, 218 to 206, with only two Count them two Democrats voting for the common sense measure. Congressman Stubbe joins us in just a moment. We’ll also get an update from the Senate as the confirmation hearings began today for President Trump’s cabinet picks. Montana Senator Steve Daines, a part of the Senate leadership, joins us later. And unfortunately, Los Angeles continues to burn. The historic fire will cost billions. Should federal aid be conditioned upon the state changing their foolish policies that foster the disaster?
SPEAKER 02 :
Our politicians have obsessed over things like banning lawn mowers, banning leaf blowers, all the while neglecting our forests and leaving our communities vulnerable.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was California Congressman Kevin Kiley. He joins us later on this edition of Washington Watch. And those same DEI woke policies that the Biden administration pushed in the Secret Service that nearly caused President Trump to be killed and that Gavin Newsom has advanced in California, they all failed on the day of testing. What does that say about our nation’s military, which has been captive to the same ideology for the last four years? Is our military prepared for the future? Retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, a founding member of the Army’s Delta Force, joins me for that conversation here in studio and from a parallel universe.
SPEAKER 11 :
Compared to four years ago, America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen. During my presidency, I’ve increased America’s power at every dimension.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was President Joe Biden yesterday at his farewell foreign policy address at the State Department. The world is more dangerous than it’s ever been. And we’re going to talk about it. All right, coming up this Sunday, inauguration, praise, and prayer convocation ceremony here in Washington, D.C. It’ll be at 2 p.m. If you’re in the area and you’d like to join us, go to frc.org slash prayer. There are a few seats still available. It’s a free event, but you have to register because seating is limited. If you’re not coming to D.C., you can join us on the Stand Firm app. We’ll be broadcasting the event on the Stand Firm app. Go to the App Store, download the Stand Firm app, or simply text APP APP to 67742. Well, as I mentioned earlier today, the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act by a vote of 218 to 206, with only two Democrats joining the Republicans. The bill, reintroduced by Florida Congressman Greg Stubbe, seeks to amend Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to keep female sports in school athletic programs exclusively for biological females. Now, given how the trans issue hurt Democrats during the election, what does today’s vote tell us about that? how well they were listening. Joining me now to discuss the latest is the author of the bill, Congressman Greg Stubbe. He represents the 17th Congressional District of Florida. Congressman Stubbe, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you and Happy New Year. Yeah. Hey, Tony. Thanks for having me. All right. Are you surprised by how the Democrats in the House voted today?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I was surprised two years ago when not a single Democrat voted for this common sense piece of legislation, and today only two. This is going to be an election issue for them in two years. Maybe they think that it’s two years is a long time from now, but we saw this as an election issue just a couple of months ago during the presidential race. It’s like 72% of Americans believe that boys shouldn’t be in girls sports. This is a overwhelmingly supported issue across America. So it is very shocking. And then you had one Democrat vote present. That Democrat is in a district that he only won by like a point and a half, two points. So you can guarantee that that’s gonna be an issue he’s gonna have to deal with going into the next election cycle. But it just shows you how out of touch Democrats are with the majority of America.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, this has been building really over the last 10 years we’ve seen this. And you had this legislation several years ago, and it’s been moving toward this point. And as you mentioned, it was a big issue in this past fall’s election. And there are 13 congressional districts. which Democrats hold today that Donald Trump won in the election. And the Trump campaign made a big deal out of women’s sports and the transgender issue. It’s not going to go away, as you said. What is keeping them from Again, this is a very common sense piece of legislation. It’s about fairness. You don’t really have to get into the biology and the whole issue, although I do think it’s ideologically the underpinning here is about creation, male, female. They reject the idea that there’s absolute truth. But on the surface, this is about fairness. What don’t they get?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I don’t know, because it is going to be an issue for them as you move into this next cycle. And you’re right. I started out my speech talking about the word and truth and that there is men and women and that God created us independently and separately. And so, yeah, I don’t understand what they’re getting, but they’re afraid of their left flank. They’re afraid that a progressive Democrat’s gonna come along and that’s pro-trans or whatever the case may be. The Democrats call this discriminating against trans women and trans boys and all that kind of stuff, made up terminology that 10 years ago nobody would even know what that word means, but apparently now that’s a very used term in democratic circles. So the bottom line is politically they’re afraid of their left flank. And if a progressive Democrat comes along and fights him on this issue, the far left of their party will root out any type of reason on these issues.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, speaking of the terminology, I’m still struggling to keep up with it because it doesn’t make sense. Trans man, trans woman, what exactly does that mean? But you now have a transgendered member of Congress in the Democratic Party that is in the House for the first time. Is that going to lock the Democratic Party into this view that you can choose your own gender?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, no, I think absolutely it does. I believe you’re rejecting the truth when you do those type of things. And as I said on my speech on the House floor, they believe there are 74 different genders. And there’ll probably, in five years, there’ll probably be more than that. One of it is astral gender, that you believe that you’re a gender related to outer space. I mean, that’s how absurd these things are, but they can define that. They can define what astral gender is, but they can’t define what a woman is. And they’re so afraid of their left flank that I believe that they’re just going to vote no. And they’ll try to give you all these reasons as to why. And all the arguments on the floor were all outright lies. There’s not going to be anybody checking the gender of sports based on the birth certificate.
SPEAKER 06 :
I want to play one of the clips of one of those from the left flank of the Democratic Party. Ayanna Pressley had this to say about the bill. And I want you to respond to a clip number nine.
SPEAKER 07 :
Imagine you are eight years old trying out for the soccer team and your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. That is exploitation. That is egregious. But it is exactly what this Republican bill does.
SPEAKER 10 :
An absolute, complete, outright lie.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, how do they stand there and say this with a straight face?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, because they believe their own lies and then the mainstream media is going to perpetuate that lie. It’s just like what the mainstream media has been doing when Trump collusion and all these other kind of things. The bill says it is the gender you were assigned biologically at birth. So none of this that they’re arguing is ever gonna happen. It’s a lie. It’s to try to enrage people. Oh, that’s horrible and Republicans are bad. And it’s just, it’s an outright lie and the mainstream media is gonna perpetuate that lie. It’s just unfortunate. All you gotta do, the bill’s very short. It’s like a page and a half or two pages or whatever it is. Read it for yourself if you don’t believe me, but that’s exactly what it is, is it’s the gender you were assigned biologically at birth will determine what sport you play in.
SPEAKER 06 :
Greg, let me just ask you this, because, I mean, look, this is very straightforward. It’s not a lengthy bill. It’s not complicated. It’s something that 10 years ago we would have thought, why are you even talking about this? But it is reality today. But when you see that a major political party, the other major political party, the Democratic Party, only two members of that party were able to vote for this piece of legislation. Where are we headed as a country?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, we’ve seen just evil perpetuated during the Biden administration, the complete removal of truth. We’ve seen that for the last four years. Thankfully, we got President Trump coming in. But I don’t think that this party is going to move to the center in any way because, again, they’re afraid of their left flank. They’re afraid of the trans movement and they’re afraid of progressives. And so that’s dictating their determinations on issues, despite the fact that that the overwhelming majority of their districts, like those 13 districts that Trump won that currently has a Democratic member of Congress, I can guarantee you if you poll that district, the majority of that district believes that women’s sports should be just that and that biological men shouldn’t be allowed to compete in those women’s sports. But they’re so afraid of their left flank, they’re gonna continue to act in this manner.
SPEAKER 06 :
And if we have the pattern that we’ve seen over the, you know, I’ve been here over 20 years, we see kind of four years of conservative governance, four years of liberal governance. You know, it’s an almost back and forth. As you pointed out in your speech on the floor about this today, you talked about the fact that we’re created by God, male and female. And you’ve done that before. You don’t hide that fact. You’re a Christian. The way forward, is it not recognizing that this is also a spiritual battle that we’re going to have to engage in, not just politically, but spiritually with boldness and courage and appealing to heaven?
SPEAKER 10 :
And more people being willing to go to the floor and talk about that, more people being willing to go to the floor and talk about their faith, to talk about the word, to talk about truth. And that’s what we have to do to compete against evil in this country. And you’re right, 100%, this is a spiritual battle and we should wage it that way, as we’re told in Ephesians.
SPEAKER 06 :
Is the Republican Party moving on that? Because I recall over the last few years, there’s been some timidity among Republicans of advancing on this issue and speaking, as you just described, openly about the fact that there is truth. Are we making progress?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I hope so. I’m honored to have the opportunity to do it, and I try to do it on a regular basis. Anytime I have the opportunity to address issues like that, I obviously bring up my faith, I bring up the truth, I bring up the word. But yeah, more members need to be comfortable in doing that. I think we’ve elected, I haven’t gotten to know some of the freshmen very well, but most of the people I talk to are obviously Christians, and hopefully they’ll allow that to dictate how they act up here, and also Be faithful about putting that out there to the American people that this is why we’re doing what we’re doing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Congressman Greg Stubbe, I want to commend you for your steadfastness and for your boldness and your compassion as well and for being a good representative, not just for the folks in Florida, but for all of us believers across the country. Thanks for joining us today. Yeah, thanks for having me. All right, after the break, Senator Steve Daines will join me to talk about what’s happening over in the Senate. A few things happening over there. We had a confirmation hearing today, the first for Pete Hegseth, who’s been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump as Secretary of Defense. And there’s some other things that Senator Steve Daines is working on to advance the sanctity of human life. There’s still some fighters fighting for life. Senator Daines is one of them. He joins us next, so don’t go anywhere.
SPEAKER 03 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we’re making an eternal impact. 2024 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, DC. Last fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC’s outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government, Launching early this year in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us, and we look forward to 2025 and standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 14 :
Looking to grow closer to God in the new year? FRC’s Stand on the Word spiral-bound journal is here to help. Dive deeper into Scripture with thought-provoking questions, note-taking space, and context for each book and author. This second edition, covering Isaiah 2 Revelation, will guide you in tracking your journey through God’s Word while deepening your faith in Christ. Order now at frc.org slash store or text journal to 67742. Perfect for you and your loved ones.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app and you can have Washington Watch with you wherever you go. You can find it in the App Store. Stand Firm so that you can stand firm. All right. With the inauguration just six days away, Senate committees will be holding hearings this week on President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominee, starting today with his pick for defense secretary, Pete Hexeth. And last week, in previewing the Senate agenda and key priorities, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said senators will work to ensure each nominee, quote, has a fair process without unnecessary delays or obstruction, end quote. I wonder if he told that to the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He also said that they will confirm those nominees swiftly so that the Trump-Vance administration can hit the ground running. Well, Leader Thune himself has put together his own unofficial cabinet, which was rounded out by the recent selection of four GOP senators as informal advisors, his kitchen cabinet. And among them is Senator Steve Daines of Montana, who joins us now. Senator Daines, welcome back to Washington Watch and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 05 :
Glad to join you, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, first, congratulations on being selected by the Majority Leader to be at his side to help navigate. I’m sure that has a lot to do with all of the work you did going into this election cycle. You did a great job expanding the Republican majority there in the Senate. Tell us a little bit about what you’ll be doing in that role.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, first of all, I’m thankful that we have two men of faith as you look at the House and the Senate with Speaker Johnson, a man of faith. as well as Leader Thune in the Senate, a man of faith, both very committed to pro-life policies. So it was an honor to serve now in Senator Thune, Leader Thune’s inner circle. The way that works is you have the elected leaders, which I served in that capacity as chairman of the NRC, elected by my peers in the last Congress. But then the leader typically asks two, three, or four senators to join his leadership team, not elected but appointed by the leader. And Senator Thune appointed me to that role. I had my first leadership meeting yesterday. I’m thankful for that. Give me a chance to continue to work with Leader Thune as well as work with the entire Republican conference as we look at strategy, setting priorities, and getting policies through the Senate and onto the president’s desk.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I’m thankful that you’re there as your history on pro-life. You headed up the pro-life caucus there in the Senate. And so I’m glad you’re going to be there in the inner circle because I think we’re at a point where we need a little agitation on the life issue because some have kind of moved away from that. The party platform moved away from it. And we cannot abandon the unborn. And I think you share that view.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely, Tony. There’s got to be a voice here for those who do not have a voice, and that’s the unborn. I like using the word pre-born. In fact, we have six grandchildren now, Tony, believe it or not, my grandpa. Our youngest daughter, Caroline, is pregnant with our seventh grandbaby. We’re very thankful. And I think every time you go through a pregnancy, if you look at the technology we have, the insights we have into the womb, the amazing, amazing miracle of life from the point of conception. And we’ve got to be the voice for those little babies that do not have a voice in Congress. That’s our job.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you’re not just being a voice. You’re also taking steps to do that. Yesterday, you led a resolution supporting the Geneva Consensus Declaration. That goes back to the previous Trump administration that Secretary Pompeo and others worked on. Talk a little bit about that and why that’s important.
SPEAKER 05 :
Really important, Tony. I think it’s one of the more underreported stories and policy items we have here in Washington. And I credit Mike Pompeo, when he was Secretary of State in President Trump’s first term, for leading the charge there to get countries around the world the Geneva Consensus Declaration that basically affirms life and marriage. The irony is that we’ve seen this movement grow We’re up to now 39 countries. We were once upon a time a signatory on the Geneva Consensus Declaration until President Biden took office. He removed the United States while at the same time more countries around the world were added to it. Frankly, it’s an embarrassment to our country to think that President Biden took us off that important group of 39 countries under President Trump’s leadership. I’ve already talked this with soon to be confirmed Senator Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio. I’ve chatted with Marco about that, that we would get the United States back on the Geneva Consensus Declaration and be one of the early acts that President Trump makes, make us the 40th country.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, that was also led by the Department of Health and Human Services, the two together working with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Are we going to have that same type of support within domestically within our Department of Health and Human Services?
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I had that conversation directly with the nominee, you know, RFK Jr. He was here in my office, literally about 25 feet from where I’m speaking to you, Tony. And we had a very robust discussion, in fact, talking about the importance of protecting the pro-life policies in terms of regulations coming out of HHS, but importantly, restoring any policies that the Biden administration has stripped. And to make sure that, as you said, working with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of HHS, we are doing all we can within the executive branch to make sure these protections are in place and frankly expanded. And he’s told me that he’ll have seven direct reports, seven reports to HHS. They would be pro-life type of leaders. And I appreciate that honesty. and frighten us from RFK Jr.
SPEAKER 06 :
Is it your expectation, Senator, that where the last Trump administration left off when it came to the life issue, religious freedom issue, and that involves several departments, not just the White House itself proper, but the entire federal government at a execution level, do you anticipate them returning to that being that where they left off kind of being a benchmark of where they start going forward?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I think I do. And it’s something that we need to continue to engage as members of Congress. And as you know, Tony, our success that we had in 2024 in the United States Senate by going from just 49 Republican senators and now 53 reclaiming that majority is so important. That was the fruit of our labor of working closely with President Trump as a candidate, very popular. Of course, his success led to our success of making sure we had senators running in these races that were pro-life could work with President Trump, President Trump supported, and could win. And that’s exactly what we saw happen. And now we have this new majority that puts us in a strong position to keep working within the Trump administration to make sure life protections are not only protected, but also advanced.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and we’re going to have that conversation with you and others, and we’ll make sure that that issue does not get lost in the shuffle of the many issues and challenges that lie before us. Senator Steve Daines, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. Have a great day. Senator Steve Daines of Montana. All right. Coming up next, we’re going to dive in once again to the woke policies that set the stage for what’s happening in California. That’s next. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 13 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I’ve absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 12 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 13 :
It’s really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC’s internship apart from others is they’re looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 12 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they’re responding to emails or taking phone calls. doing things like that but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of
SPEAKER 04 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it’s never gonna be on the ballot. He’s the King of Kings and he’s the Lord of Lords, and nothing’s gonna change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we’re to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 06 :
America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10-week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, and prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You’ll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls, text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us on this Tuesday. Download the Stand Firm app, go to the app store and get Stand Firm. You can get Washington Watch, you can get the Washington Stand and also Stand on the Word every morning, your devotional. All right, speaking of the Bible, Proverbs 25, 10 reads, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. In other words, if you’re overcome when trouble comes your way, you’re not prepared. Now, there are some things you just can’t prepare for. There are other things you can prepare for. For instance, if you’re in charge of protecting your community from devastating fires, you’re gonna be proactive with forest management that minimizes risk. You’re gonna have fire hydrants that actually have water running to them. And you’re going to have a fire department trained to fight fires, not select the right pronouns to prove your diversity. Well, this is exactly what has set California ablaze with fire and the nation with indignation as California Governor Gavin Newsom and others want the federal government to pay for their incompetency. I was on the Hill earlier today and I shared my thoughts in a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson that any federal funding should be conditioned on policy changes. Period. Joining me now to discuss this and to give us the latest is Congressman Kevin Kiley, who serves on three House committees, including the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He represents California’s third congressional district. Congressman Kiley, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 02 :
You bet. Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
So Governor Newsom has called for an investigation into the hydrant failures. What do you believe this will reveal about the state’s preparedness for wildfires?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I don’t think Newsom’s so-called investigation is going to reveal much. If anything, it’ll probably just kind of disappear. This is what he likes to do when he gets in trouble is announce some sort of investigation to try to blame other people. What we need is actually a federal investigation and oversight into the absolute political failures and failures of competence that at the very least contributed to the scale of this disaster. When you look at the years and years of just absolutely insane forest management policy and water policy and a whole host of other areas that California and Governor Newsom in particular is responsible for, I think that it’s going to be important that we lay that out very clearly and that we use the levers that we have at the federal level to have aggressive oversight going forward to make sure that this sort of thing never happens again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Congressman, I know that in California, you know, I don’t live there, but I visit there fairly often. You guys don’t have any tax. You don’t pay taxes. You know, you don’t the government doesn’t have any money, do they? They don’t have anything to operate.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, it’s one of the most highly taxed states in the nation. I mean, everything is so expensive there. And it’s because of government policy and government taxation. But everything’s fine as long as everything’s fine. But as soon as there’s a problem, we realize that they haven’t been focused on doing what you hired them to do and what they’re supposed to do with this money of the citizens.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s exactly right. You know, California has the highest taxes in the entire country. And it’s, you know, for example, for drivers, they say, well, I pay the highest gas taxes, and yet I’m driving over potholes constantly. Where exactly is the money going? And so on a larger level then, we have the highest taxes in the country, well over a $300 billion budget now. and yet we have fire hydrants that don’t have water coming out of them. We have fire departments that were not adequately staffed. We have empty reservoirs. We have forests that are completely overgrown, tinderboxes, millions and millions of acres of overgrown forests. And so people do ask, what is happening to all that money? And so I think that what you see emerging in California is this movement of citizens who are demanding change and common sense in our government. And I like to call it back to basics, you know, build our roads, store our water, manage our forests, maintain our grid, fund our police and fire, do the things government’s supposed to do, do them well and do nothing else. And instead, we have a government that’s doing a whole lot of other things that it shouldn’t be doing, but is utterly failing at the basics.
SPEAKER 06 :
You don’t think the fire department should be focused on pronouns?
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, maybe not a top priority or maybe you shouldn’t.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me just read. Let me read the Los Angeles Fire Department. This is the bio of the fire chief. First paragraph. Now, people are saying, well, you’re making something out of this. No, this is what this is. The fire department’s own priority. Kristen Crowley, the 19th fire chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, with her wife and children by her side, becoming the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in LAFD. And then goes on to talk about her priorities are creating diversity, and she’s created this whole department focused on diversity. I mean, shouldn’t it be focused on fighting fires and preparing for fires?
SPEAKER 02 :
You would think. The good news is I think that a lot of this nonsense is about to end. I mean, you’re seeing, for example, the Department of Defense, which has also got caught up in all of this DEI type dogma. That, I think, is all going to go under the new administration. And that these fires, frankly, and what we’ve seen happen in California, I think will be a wake up call as well. But I mean, you look at L.A., they warned the fire department about cutting funding. But nevertheless, they cut funding. And then at the same time, they passed a resolution just a few weeks ago to reaffirm their status as a sanctuary city. And so the priorities just could not be more backwards.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me ask you about the sanctuary city. Is it true that the reports are that one of the persons that have been detained for starting one of the fires was an illegal immigrant? I mean, I’m just that’s one of the reports. Can you verify that?
SPEAKER 02 :
I don’t know that for a fact right now, but we have plenty of stories of people who committed truly heinous crimes. We had a man who murdered his own three adult daughters but had been in police custody the week before and would have been deported if he was here illegally, if not for the sanctuary state law. So I think that, honestly, there’s going to be a lot of changes coming in California. I met with President Trump a couple of days ago in Mar-a-Lago, and I think there’s going to be a lot of opportunities for us to bring some sanity back when it comes to water, fire, when it comes to the free health care for illegal immigrants, when it comes to the sanctuary state policy, even things like homelessness and high speed rail. California has gotten just so far out of step with with just basic sanity. There’s a change coming, though, I think.
SPEAKER 06 :
It can’t come soon enough. Congressman, great to see you. Thanks for joining us here on Washington Watch today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Of course. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. As Kevin brought up the issue of the Department of Defense and what’s been happening in the military, Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin joins me next to talk about just that. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn’t be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 09 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you’re the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together no matter the cost if you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active governance engaged conservative or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself go to frc.org sagecon and take the quiz to find out The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 06 :
I’m Tony Perkins, and this is Washington Watch. Glad that you have joined us on this Tuesday. Download the Stand Firm app at the App Store, Stand Firm, and you can have Washington Watch with you no matter where you are. You can get our news feed, our online news and commentary from a biblical perspective, the Washington Stand, and our morning devotional, Stand on the Word. That’s found at the App Store, Stand Firm. Our word for today comes from Isaiah 62. I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem. They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord do not keep silent and give Him no rest till He establishes, until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Now in these verses, God calls watchmen, pastors, prophets, and intercessors who, following the example of Jesus, will not remain silent. They are told not to let God rest until He fulfills His promises. The Lord is actually inviting us to join Him in His work by continually reminding Him of what He has pledged and promised to do. And we can confidently participate in this because of the assurance found in verse 8 of this chapter, the Lord has sworn by His right hand and the arm of the Lord His strength. Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies and the sons of the foreigners shall not drink your new wine for which you have labored. Here, God reaffirms that He Himself, the arm of His strength, will accomplish what He has promised. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Well, as we’ve been discussing, Democrats in California are taking heat for poor planning and bad policies as wildfires rage across Los Angeles County. And a part of this is how they prioritized woke policies over safety. As I often say, elections have consequences, sometimes tragic consequences, and it’s fine as long as everything’s fine. But in that day of reckoning, in that day of testing, if you’re not prepared, the consequences are significant. I mean, I think about what happened just a few months ago with the assassination attempt on President-elect Donald Trump and the fact that as they delved into the hearings and looking at the Secret Service, the top priority of the commissioner was what? DEI. It almost got the president killed. Now we’re looking at California. What’s the top priority out there? DEI and wokeness. And literally thousands of structures are burning, lives are being lost. Now, here’s the question. We know that for the last four years, our nation’s military has been subjected, held captive to these same DEI woke initiatives from the Biden administration. Is our military ready for its day of testing? Joining me now to discuss this and more, retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, Executive Vice President here at the Family Research Council. General Boykin spent the last four years of his 36 and a half year military career serving as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and he was one of the original members of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force. General, thanks for joining me today. Good to be with you, Tony. Am I overstating the concern that when you see these entities, these agencies that have a mission to do, Los Angeles Fire Department, fight, prevent fires, Secret Service, keep the protectees safe, our nation’s military focused on our national defense and our protection. When they are distracted by these DEI woke policies that take priority, they fail in their mission.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, has anybody ever shown you any of the positive results from this woke agenda that has been forced onto our military, but also forced onto our whole government? And many of the major corporations in this country today have done exactly the same thing, although they’re relooking it now. Right. So it’s fine as long as everything’s fine.
SPEAKER 06 :
Not fine with me. Well, but in the day of adversity, when what you’re supposed to do is put to the test, if you have been, your energy and your efforts have been distracted on making sure you pick the right pronouns. And I mean, the military’s actually put out videos. I know. Teaching sailors, airmen, and soldiers, and even Marines to use the right pronouns.
SPEAKER 01 :
It’s disgusting. I don’t know what else to say other than that it is disgusting because what we’re doing is we’re spending a lot of money and a lot of very precious time, particularly in the military, time that needs to be spent out preparing to win the nation’s wars. And when you have our people sitting in a classroom because of this woke agenda or when you have them getting kicked out of the military because they won’t take a shot that they don’t want and we find out now they didn’t need to begin with. That’s where we are. Are you concerned about the readiness of our military? I’m very concerned about it. You and I have talked about it and I’m very concerned about it and I’m concerned about it because First of all, we can’t meet our recruiting goals anymore. And I saw something today that was talking about the Navy couldn’t meet theirs, and they had lowered their standards in an effort to try and meet them last year, 2024. So where are we headed with all of this? We’re headed for oblivion. I mean, we’re destroying our military.
SPEAKER 06 :
We are extremely vulnerable right now. Our nation is vulnerable because our military has not been focused on preparing for its mission. That’s exactly right. The incoming administration has pledged to fix this. What are the top three areas that the incoming administration should be focused on to correct the course the military is on?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, the first thing is tell all of the DEI people on these installations your day of undermining the chain of command of our people here is over. Take a walk. We’ve got to get rid of them. We’ve got to make sure everybody understands that it’s gone. The second thing is we’ve got to relook our priorities with regards to what we’re acquiring because we’ve got to look at what our enemies are acquiring and what technology they have that we need to be up to speed on. And maybe we need to change some of our priorities with regards to that. And then the final thing is we just need the president to go back and change the names of these forts. Now, you look at me like, well, what difference does that make? You know as a Marine that tradition is very, very important. You take pride in being part of an organization that has fought battles before. And these forts, these forts have seen a lot of young men and women go through there and now we have ruined the history and the legacy of them because we’ve done something as stupid as that.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don’t think people understand the importance and the power of history. Because our history and our celebration of our history shapes who we become and who we will be. And when we lose that history, we then are, we kind of live in a vacuum where we can redefine everything. And that’s what I think this was intended to do, was redefine our military into not a fighting force, but a politically correct, you know, I don’t know what you’d, but it’s certainly not a fighting force. And it’s going to take someone tough to correct this. And I think and from my vantage point in the last administration, I know that President Trump never got a handle on the Department of Defense. That was one of the areas State Department actually was making progress under Pompeo. The Department of Defense never got there. And I think that’s in part why he has chosen Pete Hegseth to lead. But there are some that raise questions. He had his first confirmation hearing today. Some raised question about his past. And, you know, he’s young, which I don’t think that’s a problem. I mean, I think we’ve had very young leaders before. And I think energy, you’re going to have to have somebody that’s got some energy to come into that, into the Department of Defense and change what needs to be changed. But there’s questions about his moral character that raise concerns. And I think in the military, you talk about tradition, you talk about how the military operates. It operates different than corporate America. It operates different than the political environment because you have to have trust. And that means that morality is not just a you know, kind of a ideological thing. It is a very practical element of building a cohesive fighting force. Right.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you know, up until Barack Obama was president, it was illegal for you as a married man or married woman to engage in any intimate relationship with someone, it was illegal. It was a court martial offense. And now, look at where we are with this. And I… And what was the reason for that?
SPEAKER 06 :
Explain the reason for that. I mean, there’s a very practical reason.
SPEAKER 01 :
It is all about the cohesion and the unity of the organizations If you have men sleeping with another man’s wife, then you have just interrupted or disrupted the cohesion of that particular organization.
SPEAKER 06 :
When you’re deployed and your wife or your spouse is back home, You want to know that the military is saying, you know, I’m protecting your relationship because anyone who transgresses that relationship between a husband and a wife is going to be subject to criminal charges in the military. So that that person who is deployed at a forward post or in combat can be singularly minded on their mission and not distracted by what’s going on back home. That’s just one example.
SPEAKER 01 :
I tell you, it’s a serious enough issue that when I was commanding all the Green Berets, I relieved a group commander. A group commander is a brigade commander. He’s a colonel. And I relieved one for exactly that. And I could have court-martialed him, but I looked at the situation and I gave him an opportunity to resign. and he did when he realized that I was going to fire him and take him to a court-martial anyhow. So this is a serious issue. I mean, it’s a really serious issue, and look, if you look at what has happened to our military since our president, our current president, that is, Joe Biden, has been in office, you’ve got… Across this country, you’ve got people that don’t want to even talk about or think about joining our military.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 01 :
And how are we going to sustain? You ask me, you know, are we suffering in terms of readiness? Yes. And part of it is because nobody wants to serve in the military anymore because there’s a generation of people right now that were forced out of the military because they wouldn’t take a shot. Over 8,000 in the army.
SPEAKER 06 :
Speaking of that, I want to transition to one final topic before we leave. Just got a few minutes left. President Biden yesterday speaking at the State Department, kind of giving his farewell address on the foreign policy front. He said, compared, I’m quoting him, compared to four years ago, America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen. During my presidency, I’ve increased America’s power at every dimension. The world is on fire. I was reading the armed conflict location and events data, which is an independent, impartial, international nonprofit group. In the past five years that encompasses the Biden administration, conflict levels have almost doubled. The world is on fire. This administration has been a failure from day one.
SPEAKER 01 :
Nobody but Joe Biden believes that, and I’m not even sure that he believes it. Anybody with a brain, anybody with any understanding of what’s going on in America does not believe anything that he said there. He was wrong on every point, every point.
SPEAKER 06 :
You were a part of the attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran under Jimmy Carter’s administration. Ronald Reagan came in, and on the day that he was sworn into office, those hostages were released. Donald Trump has drawn a line that those hostages in Gaza that Hamas is holding has to be relieved. What’s at stake for him in making sure that’s fulfilled?
SPEAKER 01 :
His credibility, obviously. I mean, listen, I was glad to hear him say that. But this is a different regime in Iran at this particular time. And Iran has a lot of influence over what’s going on there. I hope that it does turn out that they released them over the weekend, but I remember it was on the day of his inauguration that they let those hostages, after 444 days, let them out and brought them home.
SPEAKER 06 :
The Israeli hostages have been held longer. At this point, what can we just had about a minute left? What can Donald Trump do if they’re not released on that day of inauguration?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, the first thing is he’s going to have to pull out the stops on all opportunities that we have to use U.S. power. And that means power in the economic sector. You’re going to have to sanction them to the extent that they can’t even buy bread. I mean, he’s going to have to do a lot of stuff. What he can’t do is go in and make a parking lot out of Gaza. because that would be the thing that a lot of people would ask for.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it’s almost that way now. I mean, 90% of the residents of Gaza are displaced already. I’m glad he said it, but I just know that the bar is high that it has to do it in order to maintain his credibility internationally. Now, there’s movement. It says it may be happening soon, but we will see. General Boykin, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us today. Good to be with you. All right. And folks, I want to thank you for joining us as well. If you’ve not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, where you can keep up with the latest news and commentary from a biblical perspective, I encourage you to do that. Go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app or text APP to 67742. Thanks so much for joining us. I leave you once again with the encouraging words the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and when you’ve taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
