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In this episode of Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, we explore the implications of recent executive orders by President Trump that seek to refocus the U.S. military on its core mission of defense and combat readiness. Key highlights from the Republican Issues Conference provide insights into the conservative agenda moving forward, with deep discussions on fiscal policies and national debt concerns. We discuss how these policy shifts signal a return to America’s foundational principles and examine the role of the State Department in these new directives. Join us as we delve into a candid conversation with Congressman Keith Self,
SPEAKER 01 :
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 11 :
To ensure that we have the most lethal fighting force in the world, we will get transgender ideology out of our military. It’s going to be great. In addition, we will stop our service members from being indoctrinated with radical left ideologies such as critical race theory.
SPEAKER 16 :
That was President Donald Trump speaking to House Republicans at their Issues Conference yesterday in Miami. Welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for making us part of your day. Well, in a series of executive orders issued last night, President Trump shifted the military’s focus back to its core mission, fighting and winning our nation’s wars rather than modeling the latest cross-dressing camouflage. We’ll discuss these developments and more from the Republican Issues Conference with Texas Congressman Keith Self in just a moment. And guess what? It’s not just the military that’s returning to America first focus. The State Department is, too.
SPEAKER 10 :
In our republic, the voters decide the course of our nation, both domestically and abroad. And they have elected Donald J. Trump as our president when it comes to foreign policy on a very clear mission. And that mission is to ensure that our foreign policy is centered on one thing, and that is the advancement of our national interests.
SPEAKER 16 :
That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We’ll talk with Dr. A.J. Nolte from Regent University about how Christians can and should lean into U.S. foreign policy in this new administration. Also, last Friday, President Trump pardoned 23 peaceful pro-life advocates imprisoned by the Biden administration under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or FACE Act. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking at the March for Life, made clear those days were over.
SPEAKER 13 :
No longer will the federal government direct FBI raids on the homes of people like Mark Houck and other Catholic and Christian activists who are fighting for the unborn every single day. And no longer will our government throw pro-life protesters and activists, elderly, grandparents, or anybody else in prison. It stopped on Monday, and we’re not gonna let it come back to this country.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, to ensure that it is, in fact, a thing of the past, Utah Senator Mike Lee has introduced legislation to repeal the FACE Act, ending the federal government’s overreach toward pro-life Americans. Senator Lee will join us later to explain. And finally, while a lot of bad policy is being replaced with good policy, we know from experience that it can swing back again. America needs more than a political reversal. We need a spiritual revival. Next Wednesday at the Museum of the Bible, we’ll be praying for just that. And you can join us. Dr. Jim Garlow will share the details a little bit later. And by the way, don’t tell him, but I’ll give you a head start. If you would like to join us next Wednesday, February the 5th at the Bible Museum, it begins at 7 a.m. You can find out more by going to PrayDC, PrayDC.org. Well, yesterday, President Trump signed a proclamation and four executive orders, including orders aimed at restoring America’s fighting force and prioritizing military excellence and readiness. The White House noted the military’s clear mission to protect the American people and our homeland. And it said success in this mission cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion. Music to a soldier’s ears. We’ll join him now to discuss this and more. Congressman Keith Self, who served our country for 25 years before retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He is a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. He represents the 3rd Congressional District of Texas. Congressman Self, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you. Great to be here, Tony. Thank you. So before we get into the executive orders, give us an update there on how things are going with the issues conference with the GOP.
SPEAKER 04 :
We are having a lot of frank and open discussions because we want to support the Trump agenda. I think across the board, that’s what we’re discussing. How do we do that? Because the other existential threat, of course, is our $36 trillion in debt and, frankly, going to over $50 trillion if we don’t do something about it. over the next 10 years. So the open and frank discussions are happening now. And I believe that we will come to a conclusion hopefully in the next several weeks. Thank you.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I’m getting reports that there there is some very frank conversations and the a lot of it does deal with the debt and spending. A lot of the proposals being put forward by the Trump administration obviously requires dollars and the reconciliation. I think many conservatives I’m hearing hope to be able to cut spending. Do you think that’s going to happen?
SPEAKER 04 :
We have to, Toto. We have to. We cannot continue to drive this country further into debt to put more debt on our grandchildren, because this is that we already see the bond market starting to discipline us. Congress doesn’t control the bond market. The president doesn’t control the bond market. The bond vigilantes could raise their ugly head at any time and start disciplining us if we do not control spending. So it’s part of the reconciliation equation that we’re working on very hard.
SPEAKER 16 :
Vice President J.D. Vance spoke there today. The president was yesterday, the vice president today. What can you tell us about what he had to share?
SPEAKER 04 :
J.D. Vance gave an excellent message, and he understands the need to cut. I will tell you, he’s very clear. We must cut spending. The government spends 40 percent more than it did just before pre-COVID days. And I will tell you, that’s unsustainable. We have got to get somewhere down toward that $2 trillion of savings, because that will take us, one, back to pre-COVID spending, and, two, will put us on a sustainable path to start cutting the deficit, which, of course, bends the curve on the debt over the long term.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know, I think that makes perfect sense when you would you if you actually look at the numbers and you look at just the mushrooming of federal spending at covid, just taking it back down to those pre covid levels. Of course, you’ve created monetary constituencies with those covid funds and they’re going to fight tooth and nail to keep them. But you are absolutely right. This is an existential threat to the future of America, and it has to be done. And if not now, I don’t think it’ll ever be done.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I agree. This is the time when we have the trifecta in the federal government. We must do it now. There are some no-brainer ideas out there. If you’re an able-bodied American, you ought to be working. You shouldn’t be on the government dole. But there are a plethora of ideas here. We just need to translate those into the budget resolution that will then start the process toward a reconciliation bill.
SPEAKER 16 :
and come to an agreement because you don’t have many votes to spare to get that across the line as the Republican conference. I want to talk about boldness on behalf of the president. I was thrilled to see that he went back to the same policy that he enacted back in 2016, one that we worked with him to get done, and that was to return our military to focusing on its mission, to fight and win our wars, you know, not modeling the latest cross-dressing camouflage that we see with the transgender agenda there. That had to be encouraging to those that have been fighting for the well-being of our military.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is absolutely necessary. It was perfect tone by the president. We will return the military to lethality, to deterring our adversaries across the world. This was perfect. I will tell you, this will help with recruiting. That will this will help with training. This will help with morale. This is the way it’s done. Leadership makes a difference in the military. And our commander in chief demonstrated that leadership yesterday with these executive orders.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, he made in his comments to the Republicans last night, he mentioned that just since he took office, he’s seen the recruiting numbers have gone up in our nation’s military because I think once again, people see confidence, a return to common sense. And, you know, for those who joined the military, they joined for a reason. They joined because of the military’s mission. And with a military and an administration pushing the military back to that mission, it can only benefit.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, absolutely. Our young people want to serve. They want to serve something greater than themselves. They want to be challenged. They want to know that their sacrifice will be honored and will be worth something. And I think that’s what they see in President Trump. Our military is going to do that for them. It’s going to give them a place to serve something bigger than themselves. This nation is worth saving. This nation is worth defending. This nation is worth protecting. Donald Trump set the military on that course. yesterday.
SPEAKER 16 :
So let me ask you this, Congressman South. The young people going in, obviously, as you said, they’re attracted to this. And most of the ranks, they’re there for that reason. But when you get to the higher ranks that have now been basically marinated in this DEI ideology, how are we going to do a course correction there?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I think Pete Hegseth has already determined that he’s going to make that course of correction. But this is very traditional. This is very historic in the United States. Between wars, which we frankly are now, because we’re in a sustainment in the Middle East today, between wars, we have political generals. We promote those political officers. And, frankly, when wartime comes, we have to scrub the ranks. We have to go down into the general officer ranks, sometimes deep. If you remember, Shai Meyer, I think, was promoted from two stars to four stars to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And I will tell you, that’s what’s going to happen, either the chairman or the chief of the Army. But I will tell you, that’s what’s going to have to happen, because, frankly, this is historic. This is what we do between wars. So, Pete Hegseth has the mission from the president. And I think he will do exactly that, to return our leadership to a warfighting perspective and those people who will train, equip and man a lethal military force.
SPEAKER 16 :
Congressman, you and I have talked about these types of things before. We’re elated, excited about most of the policies. I speak for myself. Most of the policies coming forward that are within the framework of the law and moving us back to the rule of law and getting our government back to where it should be. But we saw four years ago how quickly that turned with the Biden administration coming in. And so… I’m concerned long term about our country where we see this back and forth, this ideological shift every four years. That’s unsustainable.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. And because we’ve seen Trump, Biden, now Trump, we’ve got an example of exactly how not to do it. This is Congress’s role, because we need to codify into law a lot of these policies, because, as you say, the next president could undo a lot of what Trump is doing now. The only way around that is to codify it into law so that we don’t have competing EOs every four years. Right.
SPEAKER 16 :
Has that been discussed? Have you and your colleagues been discussing how we can take these and basically preserve them going forward by making them statutory?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, a lot of those discussions are going on in the chairman of the various committees. This is an ongoing discussion, and I think we will probably get a long way toward that once we get past the reconciliation process.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I hope so, because we cannot sustain that whiplash like that. It’s not good for our country and it doesn’t strengthen us on the international scene either. Congressman Keith Self, always great to see you. Thanks so much for stepping out and joining us today.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know, and this is another matter to pray about, folks, because literally, I mean, this is back and forth, and it is unsustainable. And here’s the problem. The reason it happens is because we have policy now that is untethered to transcendent truth, and they just make it up as they go. We have to have the rule of law. That’s what the Constitution’s about. But the Constitution is anchored in transcendent truth. That is the moral law of God. And we’ve got to move our nation back to that. How do we do that? Well, as Christians, we share our faith, we live out our faith, and we change the hearts and minds of people through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ve got to be bold. This is our moment. We’ve got to move while we can. All right, don’t go away. We turn to foreign policy when we return.
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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.
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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 16 :
Washington Watch, good to have you with us on this Tuesday. Be sure and download the Stand Firm app if you’ve not already done so, because we’ve got lots of resources there for you, including the first 100 days toolkit, which will give you the tools necessary to help advance policies like we were just talking about. So if you don’t have the app, just text the word toolkit. That’s one word, toolkit, to 67742, and I’ll send you a link. President Trump has made it clear that his policies are about putting America first, and that includes foreign policy, something that his new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has made clear. Now, my next guest says that America first does not have to mean everyone else last. A pro-faith, pro-family, pro-freedom America benefits the entire world. Joining me now to discuss this, Dr. A.J. Nolte, Chair of the Government Graduate Program and Director of the International Development Master’s Program at Regent University, is also the Director of the Institute for Israel Studies at Regent University. Dr. Nolte, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Tony, thanks as always for having me. All right, let’s talk about, since I think you know this, because every time I have you on, we’re talking foreign policy. I think it’s very important for Christians to be informed and engaged in foreign policy. And you agree, because you’ve just written a piece that suggests there are 10 areas that Christian conservatives in this moment need to lean in to help shape the foreign policy of the Trump administration while we have the opportunity. Talk about it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, absolutely. So thank you for featuring it. The piece is called Faith, Family and Freedom Beyond the Water’s Edge. And it’s 10 policy recommendations for how social conservatives can use the opportunity we have of allies within the Trump administration, not least President Trump himself, to advance some very important foreign policy goals. And And so I break it up into issues of religious freedom, issues of, you know, which, of course, focuses on religious persecution and Christians’ support for Israel and some pro-family policies that the United States can also pursue. And then, of course, long-term Christian values of freedom. promoting humanitarian aid, which is so often delivered by faith-based organizations. And so in those four areas, there’s a number of policy recommendations I’ve laid out for areas where we can try to advance our traditional socially conservative Christian foreign policy priorities.
SPEAKER 16 :
Let’s talk about one for just a moment, because I was just talking with Congressman Keith Self. We were talking about a number of these executive orders, how Congress needs to codify those into law. And one of those is one that you write about, that every time you have a Democratic administration, deal away with it. Every time you have a Republican administration, there’s advocates like us saying, please reinstate it. And that’s the Mexico City policy. Explain what it is and why it’s important that that become law.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Mexico City policy, very simply put, is a basic commitment from the United States government that U.S. taxpayer dollars will not be used to fund abortions abroad. It’s not prohibiting health care for vulnerable women who are pregnant. It’s prohibiting abortions, right? And so the idea is that with this policy, the United States taxpayers, you and I, will our dollars not be used to pay for abortions in other countries. And unfortunately, the U.S. doesn’t have the best history. Oftentimes in the 60s and 70s, there was an ideology of population control that said the problem with global development is that there’s too many people. And as Christians, we know every human being has human dignity, and we know that’s not right. And so the Mexico City policy reverses that and says, we’re not going to use our taxpayer dollars to get rid of unborn babies in other countries. And I would say, yes, it needs to be made permanent. It needs to be put into law in the same way the Hyde Amendment is domestically. And let’s dare the Democrats to say that it is in the national security interests of the United States to pay for abortions in foreign countries using taxpayer dollars.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, related to that, one of your other recommendations is that in our foreign policy, we actually promote the idea that children are good. Having babies are good because we are facing many countries. Africa may be the only one that is somewhat on a different trajectory, but we’re moving toward a demographic winner when you look at our reproduction rates around the world.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. There were two driving policy frames that kind of have distorted foreign aid policy often in the past. One is this idea that there’s too many people in the world, and also that overpopulation causes underdevelopment. And now what we’re finding actually is, as economists like Julian Simon have known for decades, people are the ultimate resource, and population growth ultimately… economic growth, and even better environmental conditions, as some demographers and economists have demonstrated. And also, population is declining globally. So instead of having an idea that more children are the problem, I think we need to think about more children as a solution to the problem, as a positive, and look at our ally Israel, which has been very successful in terms of their demographics.
SPEAKER 16 :
Dr. Nolte, at its core, is that not a humanist worldview conflicting with a biblically oriented worldview? When you look at life and the fact that we see life, children taking as opposed to giving?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, absolutely. I think, you know, from that perspective, that utilitarian or humanist perspective, it’s a question of how many mouths we can feed. And we worry about quality of life. We, from a Christian perspective, start from a sanctity of life. And we believe that if you start from a sanctity of life perspective, that promotes human flourishing and actually gets you quality of life. And so it’s a fundamental worldview difference. And it’s time to recalibrate the U.S. government’s view on that.
SPEAKER 16 :
Let’s talk, we just got a couple minutes left, but you mentioned foreign aid. USAID is kind of the agency that helps humanitarian efforts around the world. This has been a place that you’ve actually teamed up with Family Research Council. We’ve done some research on that. It’s been hostile toward faith-based organizations. It’s time to change that.
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree. And my colleague Ariel Del Turco, who’s in your Religious Freedom Center, a Regent grad as well, she and I did a report looking at promotion of religious freedom through international development. Again, U.S. foreign aid is actually pennies on the dollar in terms of increasing our influence, but we need to be smart about it. And the people that are the most efficient at providing global aid are faith-based organizations. And we have to absolutely mobilize them and give them a seat at the table in terms of foreign aid. And also think about religious freedom as not just a human right, but also something that promotes security, stability, and human flourishing around the world.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, there’s evidence, abundance of evidence that says that is the case, where you have religious freedom, you have economic prosperity, and you have social stability. So we have, going back almost 25 years, made that a priority, at least in most administrations. And we’re out of time here. But you point out something that’s very important that we’ve got to address. And this is the conflict with the LGBTQ agenda and religious freedom. And that is what has moved the Democratic Party away from the holistic approach to religious freedom. Again, Dr. Nolte, we’re out of time. Great piece. It’s at TonyPerkins.com, folks. You can check it out. Dr. Nolte, look forward to talking to you again real soon. Thank you so much. So go to TonyPerkins.com. If you listen to this program a lot, you know we talk about foreign policy because we have to go beyond our own borders and influence the world around us in a positive way. All right. Don’t go away. When we come back, Dr. Jim Garlow joins me right here.
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Have you ever been to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.? Well, now you have a special reason to be there on Wednesday, February 5th. First, you can take part in the third annual National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance. God’s ways are higher than our ways. The Lord clearly reveals in Scripture any nation that genuinely worships Him is a nation with leaders willing to repent and ask forgiveness for sins. The NGPR is a unique public gathering where scores of congressional leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, join with international leaders representing more than 50 nations for one sole purpose.
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Forgive our nations against you and you alone have we sinned.
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You can be there in the room to pray along with members of Congress, dignitaries from other nations, and Christian leaders from across the U.S. The NGPR is hosted by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Dr. Jim Garlow, founder of Well-Versed World, along with Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and former Congresswoman Michelle Buchman. Right after the prayer and repentance gathering, participants will move to the World Stage Theater for a private update on important events happening in Israel. and watch a preview of the historic new documentary on the Megiddo Mosaic, the most remarkable archeological find in Israel since the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is truly one of a kind opportunity to learn what’s going on behind the scenes in Israel and how it could affect the whole world. Both of these Bible honoring events require tickets. Go to PrayDC.org, register today to attend in person on February 5th. As a bonus, your ticket grants you a free admission to experience the rest of the Museum of the Bible. Seating is limited for both events. Go to PrayDC.org to get tickets today.
SPEAKER 16 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. All right, as I said at the top of the program, we’re encouraged to see a lot of this bad policy is being replaced with good policy. But we know from experience that it can swing back again. Four years from now, we could be right back in the same spot. America needs more than a political reversal. We need a spiritual revival. And that’s what we’re going to be praying for next Wednesday at the Museum of the Bible. We’ll be praying. We’ll be repenting. I know that’s a word we don’t hear very often, but we’ll be repenting. America still has sins to repent from. We need to repent of it and we need to turn. And you can join Christian leaders and government leaders as we come together next Wednesday, February the 5th at 7 a.m. at the Museum of the Bible for the third annual National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance. House Speaker Mike Johnson will join us. And it’s one of the most powerful events This is not my words. This is the words of members of Congress. Many of them that have been there for decades said this is the most powerful event I’ve ever been to. It is stirring. It is God honoring. And it is much needed. Joining me now to discuss this is Pastor Jim Garlow, who. called me and then Congressman Mike Johnson back in November 2022 with the idea about this event. And so the three of us co-founded it shortly thereafter. He’s also the founder and CEO of the ministry Well-Versed. Pastor Jim, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you. Thank you. Thank you, Tony. Good to be on with you. All right. I’m telling you, this event is This will be the third year. It has impacted so many people literally around the globe. There’ll be people coming from all over the world to be a part of this event. Describe it and then talk about how people can be there and be a part of it.
SPEAKER 15 :
You already mentioned it’s 7 a.m. That’s early in the morning. It’s not a prayer breakfast. It’s a prayer time with no breakfast. And there are people gathering from many different countries. Last year, I think we had 35 different countries represented of people who came to the platform to pray in repentance. These are one-minute prayers. We’re not having speeches. We’re not having talks. We’re not having sermons. All these members, elected officials, members of Congress and then from Parliament across Europe and such, They come for one purpose, to pray a one-minute prayer before a holy and righteous God, repenting of sin. It can be personal sin, sin in the church, national sins, whatever, before a righteous God, asking for his forgiveness and for his blessing. It’s a unique experience. That’s from 7 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. The sixth floor in what’s called the gathering room. And as we go down to the floor below, one floor down, we go to the world stage theater. At the world stage theater, we have a whole emphasis on Israel. So what’s the second portion to it?
SPEAKER 16 :
This… is not, as you said, it’s not a prayer breakfast. In fact, there’s a lot of prayer events that take place in Washington, D.C. In fact, next week will be the National Prayer Breakfast. This is not an ecumenical gathering. This is not a, this is, as the name says, this is a gathering, a national gathering for prayer and repentance. Why is repentance such a critical message for this moment in our nation’s history?
SPEAKER 15 :
You said it really well a moment ago, and I think that message needs to be strongly emphasized. We have experienced a political revolution, but we have not yet seen the evidences of a full-blown spiritual revival. And unless we are anchored to transcendent truths of the Scripture, this will be short-lived. Being a conservative is a good thing, but it’s not enough. Being a patriot is a good thing, but it’s not enough. Being firmly tethered to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to walk as a regenerate son of God, made possible through the cross of Jesus Christ, where we lay down our lives for him, for he who laid his life down for us. That is the anchor point which will hold us biblical truth. So as a nation, we’re still, contrary to what many people believe, in a precarious role. We have to see the spiritual awakening follow in the flows of this political revolution that we have seen before our eyes and we’re witnessing. And that’s what we’re asking the Lord for. That’s what will put our nation on solid foundation once again. Make America great again is very good. Make America righteous again is the foundation by which we make America good again.
SPEAKER 16 :
And folks, that again begins next Wednesday morning, 7 p.m. at the Museum of the Bible.
SPEAKER 15 :
7 a.m.
SPEAKER 16 :
Did I say p.m.? ? Yep, she did. It’s okay. It’s all the same to me. I’m up all the time. So 7 a.m. in the morning. If you get there at 7 p.m., well, you can still pray, but we won’t be there. 7 a.m. next Wednesday morning, Museum of the Bible, dcpray.com to find out more information about how you can be a part of this event. Jim, we just got about a minute left. What is your prayer going into this in terms of a takeaway? What would you like to see happen as a result?
SPEAKER 15 :
When you have genuine repentance of the heart, contrition of the heart, people are drawn back into the word of God. And we reestablish the word of God, the truth of God, the way of God, the will of God as a foundation for our individual lives, the lives of our families, our institutional churches, and our nation, our community. That’s the first part. The second part is to realize how critically important it is to support Israel in every way we possibly can. At that second part at 10 a.m., at 10 a.m., 7 a.m. it begins, but then at 10 a.m. we go to a focus on Israel. We’re going to be covering some of those amazing, exciting announcements flowing out of Israel. The Megiddo mosaics, one of them, a lot more updates on unusual things happening in Israel that people have not heard. And so that’s the second part of this as well, that morning at 10 a.m.,
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, that’s praydc.org, praydc.org to find out how you can be a part of this next Wednesday. Dr. Jim Garlow, thanks for joining me. Look forward to being with you next Wednesday morning, 7 a.m. at the Museum of the Bible. Thank you.
SPEAKER 15 :
We’ll see you there.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right. All right, folks, stick with us. When we come back on the other side of the break, we’re going to be joined by Utah Senator Mike Lee to talk about how he wants to make sure pro-lifers are protected going forward. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 07 :
As President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration approached, a powerful prayer gathering took place in Washington, D.C., drawing Christians together to intercede for our nation.
SPEAKER 16 :
The church does not recapture its prophetic zeal. It will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority. God help us to recapture that prophetic zeal.
SPEAKER 15 :
This is not an inter-religious service. We will not be praying to Allah or Buddha. We’ll be praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We’re talking to God, a holy, righteous, just God from a nation that desperately needs the touch of this God.
SPEAKER 12 :
We’ve not been a secular nation. We don’t want to be a secular nation. We’ve been a nation built around God, and our history shows that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well-versed and Family Research Council led the inauguration praise and prayer convocation, urging attendees to pray for the incoming presidential administration and for the church to embody holiness and righteousness, champion biblical justice, and proclaim truth prophetically.
SPEAKER 16 :
Lord, may this not be the end, but may this be the beginning, this convocation, this gathering. And may we commit to pray and to seek you and to walk in your word and in your ways. In Jesus’ name, amen. 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 saying 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 06 :
Download the new Stand Firm app for Apple and Android phones today and join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We’ve created a special place for you to access news from a biblical perspective, read and listen to daily devotionals, pray for current events and more. Share the Stand Firm app with your friends, family and church members and stand firm everywhere you go.
SPEAKER 16 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. I’ve got a great resource for you as we move into the first 100 days of the Trump administration. It’s the first 100 days toolkit. And it’s exclusively on the Stand Firm app to access your toolkit waiting for you. Just text the word toolkit to 67742. That’s toolkit, one word, to 67742. Our word for today comes from Jeremiah chapter two. I brought you into a bountiful country to eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priest did not say, where is the Lord? And those who handled the law did not know me. The rulers also transgressed against me. The prophets prophesied by bail and walked after things that do not profit. The people were spiritually complacent because they had become intoxicated with the blessings of God, so they forgot God. The keepers of the law, the elite of that day, well, they ran with their contempt for God and his truth, crying out, where’s God? The civil rulers then paid no attention to God and abused their authority. And the preachers and prophets, well, they gave a popular ear-tickling word. a word people wanted to hear that made them feel good rather than challenge them to be good. So here’s the bottom line. Spiritual complacency, aided by contempt for truth, fuels political corruption, which brings moral and cultural chaos. Find out more about our journey through the Bible text Bible to 67742. By the way, if you like the book of Jeremiah, you can order your copy of my book, Jeremiah, Courage in a Council Culture, and you’ll be equipped to stand firm for biblical truth in our nation and our culture. Just text Jeremiah to 67742. That’s Jeremiah to 6742 to get your copy. While conservatives celebrated President Trump’s partnering of 23 pro-lifers who were unjustly targeted by the Biden administration’s weaponized Justice Department, the left was not pleased. And if you were watching them on legacy media, they sounded like the sky was falling. They were having a meltdown. But. Has the FACE Act been the shield that the left claims that it has been for the abortion clinics, or has it simply been a sword that has been exclusively used against pro-lifers? And is it time to make sure that they are disarmed when it comes to the FACE Act. Joining me now to discuss this, Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who serves on four Senate committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Budget Committee, is also the author of a bill in the Senate that will repeal the FACE Act. He joins us now by phone. Senator Lee, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks so much, Tony. It’s good to be with you.
SPEAKER 16 :
So let’s talk about this. You know, it’s great that President Trump has pardoned these pro-lifers. And it’s great that he has told the Department of Justice not to, you know, use these types of laws to go after people. But isn’t it time to just make sure that we don’t have a weaponized government by taking laws like this away?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, 100 percent. And look, President Trump, to his great credit, made history last week by pardoning some pro-life activists prosecuted and imprisoned by the Biden Justice Department, which went after grandmas and grandpas, putting people behind bars for years. And, of course, the law that the Biden administration used to do this is the law we refer to called the FACE Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The law was designed ostensibly to protect access to both abortion facilities and places of worship. and provide federal penalties for those people who might attack either of those things. But while the protections for churches and places of worship have almost never been enforced, the FACE Act has been enforced. It’s been used fairly consistently to prosecute peaceful pro-life activists. sometimes for something as simple as praying outside of abortion clinics.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right. The history of that, just for the benefit of our listeners and viewers, it goes back to Bill Clinton back in the 1990s, 1994. And it was actually the late Orrin Hatch from Utah that added… the provisions to protect churches and places of worship when that bill was in the Senate and that was passed. But as you’ve pointed out, it’s not been used for that. It’s been used to go after, and I should make it very clear, peaceful pro-life protesters. These individuals, these 21 individuals or 23 individuals that were released, they were not charged with violent crimes. They were simply praying and standing outside of abortion clinics.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly, which is a real problem. They persisted in this really unequal, unjust, politically oriented enforcement on one side of the law, despite the fact that you have hundreds of attacks on churches in recent years. And so it became clear that, as far as they’re concerned, the Faith Act exists only as a political tool, just to punish conservatives and people of faith and not protect them. And that kind of one-sided enforcement is wrong. And so now that President Trump’s pardoned the activists who have been imprisoned by the Biden administration, a full repeal of the FACE Act is something that I think is necessary to prevent future administrations from similarly using this unjustly for the purposes of political persecution. I think this is a bill whose time has come. I’m running it in the Senate. Chip Roy is running it in the House, and this thing needs to pass.
SPEAKER 16 :
Do you think you’ll be you have to get Democratic support because you’ve got to get across that 60 vote threshold. Do you think you have some senators and the Democratic Party that will support this?
SPEAKER 03 :
Look, this has become something of a sacrament to the left. So I’m not going to overstate things here in terms of our ability to persuade enough Democrats to come along with us. But I’ll be looking for every opportunity that we can. If we can get to 60 votes to pass cloture, to have it pass muster under our cloture standards, we’ll get it done that way. We will keep fighting as long as it takes to do that. If we see an opportunity, we will take it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Senator, the left already, you know, laying the groundwork for how they’re going to fight against your efforts. They say that Trump’s actions and the repeal of the FACE Act will lead to an uptick in violence. Respond to that.
SPEAKER 03 :
OK, so insofar as it will lead to an uptick in violence, there are myriad laws, including myriad federal laws, which would be applicable in such circumstances. even in the absence of the FACE Act. But what we have with the FACE Act is something that’s relatively easy to satisfy, something that has on occasion been used to prosecute people for engaging in relatively peaceful protests involving people doing things like praying outside of an abortion clinic. And so given how they’ve misused this tool, it’s a tool that they shouldn’t have. But in any event, it is simply unfair of them to suggest that without this, there’s going to be Armageddon. that acts of violence taking place at abortion clinics will go unpunished. That’s not true. Deep down, they know that’s not true. And it’s a disingenuous argument.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, it’s also disingenuous for them to act like they’re concerned about violence. Where were they when the pro-life facilities and the churches were being attacked during the Biden administration after the leak of the Dobbs decision? I mean, they weren’t prosecuted. They didn’t raise the issue. In fact, they were wanting to join the parade in many cases.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right. They were nowhere to be found. And after we’ve had not just dozens, but arguably hundreds of instances of things that should violate the FACE Act. And criminal prosecutions were not brought, but they were consistently brought for people who showed up to pray outside of an abortion clinic or otherwise demonstrate. You get a problem with that, and that’s all the more reason why it needs to be repealed.
SPEAKER 16 :
This is so important. I was talking earlier with Congressman Keith Self about this, and we cannot state this enough, that while we celebrate these actions that President Trump has made to bring us back within the rule of law, we have to codify this. It has to be secured because the next administration could be another Biden-type administration. Our society can’t handle this whiplash back and forth and this lawlessness.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, that’s exactly right. That’s why we really shouldn’t have it. It’s a law that is by its nature loaded toward one end of the political continuum and against the other, and that’s not fair.
SPEAKER 16 :
Before I let you go, Senator Lee, last week, in addition to the repeal of the FASAC, you introduced three other pro-life pieces of legislation on the day of the march. Tell us about those as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. So in addition to what we’ve discussed with the Space Act, I’ve got a few other bills that would help deal with some of these problems and that would promote pro-life principles. One is the Abortion is Not Health Care Act. This would end the tax deductibility of abortions as medical expenses and clarify that the gruesome practice is not health care. IRS currently recognizes abortion as medical care and allows certain tax benefits to flow from that practice. And that ends up being an effective subsidy involved in the killing of hundreds of thousands of unborn children each year. So we would amend Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code to make that change. I introduced another bill called the Protecting Life and Health Savings Account. It’s similar to the first, but then the preferential tax treatment of abortion in health savings accounts. There again, current law allows individuals to use tax-advantaged funds from health savings accounts, or HSAs, and flexible savings accounts, FSAs, and a few others, allowing them to count as medical expenses. So this would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude abortions. as something to take them outside the category of health care. And then we’ve got another bill called the Protecting Life and Foreign Assistance Act. This would ensure that our foreign aid is not funding or promoting abortions overseas. Many of your listeners may remember the so-called Mexico City policy, first put in place by President Reagan back in 1984, and that prohibits the availability of family planning foreign assistance funds to organizations that happen to provide or promote abortions or advocate to change abortion laws in a foreign country. Since then, the policy has been alternately rescinded and reinstated with changing administrations. We’d like to make it law, and that’s what the Protecting Life and Foreign Assistance Act would do.
SPEAKER 16 :
And now this is the time. We were talking about that earlier, how we need to codify all these measures into law. Senator, I want to thank you for joining us today, but I want to thank you for boldly stepping out there on these pro-life measures, especially with the backdrop of the disappointment of the Republican Party platform kind of being… taking all the life language out of it. I think it’s very important that the Republicans lead on this issue and define it by the party, by their actions. And so I commend you and I’m grateful for the pro-life stands that you’re taking. So, Senator Mike Lee, thanks for joining us today. Thank you very much. Good to be with you. Senator Mike Lee of Utah. And again, it’s encouraging to see a number of Republicans, both in the House and the Senate, and even the President. And with that backdrop of not having the strong language in the party platform, which I hope we’ll get back in four years, But for now, actions, pro-life actions are extremely encouraging. In fact, we got about just about about three and a half minutes left. I want to bring in Travis Weber, vice president of policy and government affairs at the Family Research Council, to highlight some of the pro-life initiatives or actions that the Trump administration has taken in the first week. Travis, welcome to Washington Watch. I just got a few minutes left, but I wanted you to just kind of inform our viewers and listeners of the very positive pro-life initiatives and actions taken during the first week.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, so Tony, I think top of mind, the executive order announcing that it’ll be a policy of this administration for federal dollars to comply with the Hyde Amendment. So to ensure that tax dollars are not being used to fund abortions. With all the challenges of our nation and the challenges that families are facing should be a no brainer. The tax dollars, the hard earned tax dollars that the American people should not be funding abortions. The Mexico City policy, which Senator Lee and yourself were just discussing, also prohibits US tax dollars from being used to fund abortions or abortion promoting organizations overseas. And Senator Lee was also referencing the bill that it would be great to see passed into law that would codify that as a policy of the United States legislatively. But we’re glad that President Trump has reissued the strong Mexico City policy along with the Hyde Amendment executive order. This dovetails with what he announced on the foreign aid review. Because, Tony, as you know, we’ve been raising concerns about the use of foreign aid programs to push abortion, including the PEPFAR program, which has spent $100 billion since 2003 and was recently found to have funded four abortions in Mozambique. When Chris Smith saw that, Congressman Chris Smith put out a release saying, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to get to the bottom of this. And I believe President Trump and his administration will be trying to do that as well, as they announced the 90-day freeze on foreign aid and have issued memos requiring review of where US dollars are being used to fund abortions or gender ideology overseas. So ideally this will clean up everything the United States has been shamefully pushing around the world and give us a clean slate for the US to to actually correct some of the black mark that’s been on our image globally. So on the life issue, Tony, these two very key announcements, obviously the FACE Act, the approach to the FACE Act prosecutions that he will take, the president will take, and the other statements they’ve issued, including the speech of the March for Life and the pardons of the face of the pro-lifers who were prosecuted. all good announcements on the life issue. Obviously, in addition, we’re seeing some movement, positive movement on the gender issue. But Tony, we’ll continue keeping an eye on what’s happening through the administration, especially as the implementation of this cleanup process of the foreign aid review. We want to make sure that that’s cleaned up with anti-family provisions to hopefully be used for pro-family provisions, both at home and around the world.
SPEAKER 16 :
I would just add on the gender issue that you mentioned in the definition of gender, there was a recognition that conception is the point in which these things are determined. That’s where the personhood, the identity, the gender is determined in the executive order. So that is also a strong pro-life statement. Travis, very quickly, is there a place yet? I know we’re writing some things as the Washington stand. Have they put out something on their life positions yet?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, I know news articles continue to come out on the Washington Stand on this topic, but Tony, I think we’ll continue to refine and have resources for our followers as we track the Trump administration’s executive orders, because certainly we’re going to be looking at a lot more to come here.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay. Travis Weber, thanks for joining us. And folks, thank you for joining us as well. And you can find out those updates on the StandFirm app. So get the StandFirm app, get the toolkit at StandFirm. That’s all we have time for. Thanks for joining us. Until next time, I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul. When you’ve done everything you could do, prayed, you prepared, taking your stand, just keep standing.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
