In this episode of Washington Watch, host Tony Perkins delves into the intricate political dynamics surrounding the reconciliation bill. Featuring interviews with key Congressional figures, including Congressman Keith Self and Nathaniel Moran, the episode offers a comprehensive look at the differing perspectives within the Republican Party. The discussion highlights the tension between moral priorities, such as defunding Planned Parenthood and preventing tax-funded transgender procedures, against broader economic goals.
SPEAKER 21 :
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 03 :
The Senate bill moved way far away from the House bill, added about $750 billion to an already large federal deficit in debt. You know, it did things like it stripped away the blocking funding for transgender surgery for minors. It stripped away, you know, effectively stopping illegal aliens from getting Medicaid. It scaled back the Green News scam provisions from the House bill. We should take the time to get this right.
SPEAKER 05 :
That was Dr. Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, speaking earlier today about the one big, beautiful bill. Welcome to this July 2nd edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks so much for tuning in. So the question is, will the House meet the artificial July 4th deadline to pass the massive reconciliation bill? House Speaker Mike Johnson has been meeting with holdouts throughout the day and believes they’re getting close.
SPEAKER 22 :
I feel very positive about the progress. We’ve had lots of great conversations. I’ve met with individuals and groups all day long, as has the president, who’s fully engaged as well, trying to convince everybody this is the very best product that we can produce. But I feel good about where we are and where we’re headed.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, today we’re going to do something different here on Washington Watch. We’re going to get two perspectives from conservative members of Congress who are regular guests on Washington Watch, followed by my own analysis of the bill’s current state. First up, Texas Congressman Keith Self, who says he cannot support the measure in its current form. Then we’ll hear from Texas Congressman Nathaniel Moran, who supports the bill, and he will explain why. Later, FRC’s Travis Weber and Kena Gonzalez will walk us through the significant changes made in the Senate and why those changes raise concerns. In other news, earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court directed lower courts in three circuits to revisit rulings on transgender issues. Now, that comes following the court’s landmark decision upholding Tennessee’s SB1, which protects minors from experimental transgender procedures. We’re going to talk with Idaho Attorney General Raul Labador about what this could mean for the state of Idaho and other states. So all of that and possibly a bit more on this edition of Washington Watch. All right. As I mentioned, the House speaker is locked in negotiations as we speak over a way forward on the Senate amended reconciliation bill. The House has been at a standstill for the past several hours. Here now to discuss this, Congressman Keith Self. He is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and the Doge Caucus. He represents the third congressional district of Texas. Congressman Self, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Great to be here, Tony. Thank you. So the House Freedom Caucus has been meeting, I think, almost nonstop. I’ve had conversations with several members over the last 24 hours. Give us your concerns, your perspective of the current bill as it now sits.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you, Tony. First of all, we want to support President Trump’s agenda. There are some tax cuts in this bill that are wonderful, and most of what you will hear from anyone else will be about the tax cuts. What you won’t hear is what’s on the spending cut bill. Now, from my perspective, there are multiple reasons that this bill is morally bankrupt. It does not defund transgender surgery for minors. That is a moral issue. It only cuts funding for abortion services for one year, not the 10 in the House bill. That’s morally bankrupt. Then there are other issues, paying for illegal aliens on Medicaid. And yes, it supposedly was taken out of the bill, but there’s no teeth in it. So in effect, will it be in effect? There are others, but I’ll stop there. That’s my initial analysis. You’re going to hear a lot about the tax cuts, but the deficit, nobody’s talking about the deficit. Nobody. I got it. The tax cuts are important. We are going to get the tax cuts done in some fashion, but we cannot saddle our children and our grandchildren with an exploding national debt.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I’m going to try to be objective here on this, because I share some of the concerns you just put out there. And I’ve been articulating those. And for those who track my, I mean, look, we are very clear on how we do this. We are bringing news from a biblical perspective. And I have opinions and I share those opinions. I’m very concerned about the fact that we’re going to continue to give money to Planned Parenthood, a one year moratorium. All right. But it reminds me of this. I don’t want to get too far off in that. I want to give you the time to talk here. It reminds me of Bill Clinton back in his 1992 campaign. It’s the economy, stupid. It’s not the economy. It is the moral foundation of a nation that matters.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely, Tony. Absolutely. Well said. And frankly, we tend to see we tend to hear stories about us moving back to a moral foundation. This bill does not do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
OK, let me ask you this question, because this is a question that or a statement that’s often made in this process. So how do you respond to this is the best we can do?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I reject that. And when they say this is the last chance we have, in politics that is never true. You served in this body. That is never true. There is always another option. We need to continue to find other options. I have no idea what will happen if we take a vote on the rule later today, but we must find another option because the Senate passed this bill and left town. Folks, this process is still going on. We have settled nothing here. I recommend that the president go get the senators, bring them back now, get them back so that we can settle this between the House and the Senate.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’ve been around long enough to know that play in the playbook is to jam the House by leaving town so that it appears that the House has no option but to take what the Senate sent over.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s absolutely right. That is the playbook, and we’re seeing it play out right now.
SPEAKER 05 :
So Congressman Steffel, let me ask you this question, because I think when we raise objections, we should present ways forward. We should be problem solvers. And so let me ask you, how is the Freedom Caucus working? And I know that there’s varying views in the Freedom Caucus, but that’s probably the strongest element of the holdout right now is in the Freedom Caucus. What are some of the proposals being made to move this forward?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I think that we ought to go back into the Rules Committee with a very few issues that poll very well with the American people. The transgender surgery is a winning issue. The Green News scam elimination is a winning issue. A recent poll proved that. And then the illegals on Medicaid, some teeth in that prohibition. Those are three issues that are winning issues with the American people. Those are three that I think if we went back into the Rules Committee, put them in, and then decide how they’re going to move forward, those are winning issues.
SPEAKER 05 :
Let me get let me kind of pull back the curtain and let people kind of understand the pressures here that come to play when you’re having to make a decision. There’s tremendous pressure to conform. And when the Republicans rally around something, it’s like everybody’s got to get in line. But the process only gets better the more conversations we have. And I know there comes a point where you have to vote. But when you consider the significant amendments made in the Senate, I think it’s only right that the House have an opportunity to address those.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, absolutely. Plus, remember, Andy Harris and your lead-in said $750 billion were added. Look, folks, the best the House bill would have done if we’d gotten everything was to keep the $2 trillion a year we’re going into debt every year. to add up to $37 trillion now, if we were going to add, and when you count in interest, over a trillion more dollars over the next 10 years, we’re just exploding the debt. We’re living a party while our grandchildren will be paying the bill.
SPEAKER 05 :
So let’s talk about this July 4th deadline that was kind of a self-imposed, and I believe in setting deadlines because things don’t get done, but that’s not a hard and fast deadline.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, it’s not. And frankly, both the president and the speaker have cracked the door on that, Tony. So I think that that deadline, whether or not we meet it, I don’t think that is a major issue anymore, because both the president and the speaker in the past, the recent past, have suggested that, yes, we may go past it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, another frequent guest on our program, Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, posted on X that he was in a two-hour meeting with other conservative Republicans at the White House with the president, and he said it was very productive. What are your colleagues saying? Are they getting closer, or are we still just kind of having these initial conversations?
SPEAKER 08 :
I really do not know and cannot comment on that, Tony. I will wait until the attendees at the White House meeting tell us more.
SPEAKER 05 :
So what ideal outcome for you, what would it look like?
SPEAKER 08 :
ideal outcome is that we do exactly as I said. We go to the Rules Committee now, do not have a vote on the rules today. Go back to the Rules Committee with these very popular amendments. Go back to the Rules Committee, put them in, vote on them, send it back to the Senate. Look, the Senate doesn’t think we’re serious. You know the playbook. When they vote a bill, send it over to us and leave town, they don’t think we’re serious. Are we going to continue to buy into the Senate playbook? That’s the simple question.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right now, do you think the rule passes tonight?
SPEAKER 08 :
I don’t know, depending on what’s going on in the meetings right now. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 05 :
It doesn’t take but just a handful to keep that rule from passing. And just so folks understand, I know we’re getting kind of into the procedural weeds, but I would say just from a rough perspective where the Senate has their procedural votes where they’ve got to start debate, there is a rule vote in the House that allows debate on the bill to begin. It kind of sets the parameter for the debate. It historically has been a… You know, just really insignificant, symbolic move. But in this Congress and actually in the last Congress as well, it’s become a way to send a message that the the bill’s not ready for prime time just yet. And and that’s what I’m hearing from some of your other colleagues.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think that’s exactly right. And frankly, you know, they say that you’re not supposed to vote against your own party on the rule. But more than 80 people in the 118th Congress voted against a rule at some point or another. So you’re exactly right. It’s become a tool to signal to the leadership this is not PTP, as Dick Vitale would say, primetime ready.
SPEAKER 05 :
I will say this in defense of the speaker. The speaker has been, I think, has run a more transparent process than any speaker in modern time. But it is a lot to juggle the different views, especially the factions within the Republican Party. But that said, Congressman Keith Self, I again want to commend the House Freedom Caucus for standing firm in the face of a tremendous you know, pressure from the president and others just to go along. Because I think, as you said at the beginning, we’re not against the president, not against his bill, not against his agenda. Just want him to succeed and make it better.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. And we have personal commitments from the speaker, who is a very honorable man. And we’re looking to him to simply meet those commitments that he made to us.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. Congressman Keith Self, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, Tony. All right. We’re looking at the C-SPAN right now. They’re voting on the procedure to vote on a rule. They had to amend a rule to get to the rule. It’s a little complicated, but it looks like they have the votes to move forward. All right. Coming up, we’re going to discuss the one big, beautiful bill with a House member who wants to see his chamber pass the Senate’s version. Congressman Nathaniel Moran from Texas joins me next. So don’t go away. A lot more Washington Watch straight ahead.
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The family is the oldest, most tested, and most reliable unit of society. It is divinely created and sustained. And yet, there are those who are always tampering with its values and structure. That’s why we need organizations like the Family Research Council that can effectively defend and strengthen the family.
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Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation’s capital, FRC continues to champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
SPEAKER 06 :
FRC is one of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north. And I shudder to think had they not been here that it could have been worse, worse, worse.
SPEAKER 10 :
The Family Research Council is key. It’s one of a handful of groups that I think will determine whether our children live in a country that enjoyed all of the freedom and all the opportunity that we enjoyed in this great land.
SPEAKER 13 :
It’s just a wonderful parachurch organization that doesn’t seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward successfully, not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the Holy Scriptures.
SPEAKER 01 :
FRC is not going to be whooped. You know, we’re going to fight. We’re going to take a stand. And again, we don’t retreat.
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You will never see in front of this building here in Washington, D.C., a white flag flying. We will never step back. We will never surrender. And we will never be silent. Hello, friends, this is Tony Perkins. You know what? We just finished our 21 day family Bible challenge through the book of Matthew. And if you joined us, I pray that it has already borne fruit in your life and in your home as you place the Lord and his word at the center of your home. Now, our journey through the Bible doesn’t end here, though. The challenge was a part of our stand on the word Bible reading plan. And from here, we’re going to cover the rest of the New Testament. And now that we finished the book of Matthew, let me ask you, would you consider joining us for the rest of the journey through the word of God? In 10 to 15 minutes a day, you’ll see how the good news of Jesus transform the lives of common people, people just like you and me, and how those same people transform the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to continue the journey with me and discover the life-enriching power of the Word of God. Visit frc.org slash Bible for a reading plan. That’s frc.org slash Bible to learn more. All right. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Glad to have you along for the ride today. All right. In the previous segment, I spoke with Congressman Keith Self, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, about the Senate’s version of the one big, well, not so beautiful bill and his opposition to it. Now we’re going to get the other perspective. I want to bring in another Texan House member who supports it. Joining me now to discuss this, Congressman Nathaniel Moran, who serves on three House committees, including the Committee on Ways and Means. He represents the first congressional district of Texas. Congressman Moran, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 15 :
Hi, Tony. Great to be with you tonight. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. Let me just how do you guys in from Texas settle your differences?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, we gotta continue to talk through the differences and certainly when you go through the decision making process, I tell my folks back home, I start with principles, we add to that the facts, and then you look at the application and the analysis of those facts, and then you gotta make a decision. People with the same principles, looking at the same facts, can actually apply and analyze those facts a little bit differently and reach a little bit different conclusion. It doesn’t mean that there’s a problem in Congress. It simply means we’re working through the process the way it should. And that’s what’s happening right now. That’s what the Senate’s been doing for the past week. And frankly, that’s what the House was doing for an entire year before that. So I respect the differences of opinion within my colleagues. I happen to fall down on the side and the belief that This bill, though not perfect, and certainly I could pick apart a lot of provisions in this bill, particularly those that the Senate sent back to us, this bill on balance is a very pro-family, pro-faith, pro-American bill, and for us not to pass this bill I think would be devastating to families and to the American economy in the years to come.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I want to start with your kind of introductory comments, because the reason I had you and Keith on is because you are very similar. You represent districts that are very near one another. Both of you analyze things from a what I would describe a biblical worldview. So it is we can come up with differences of opinions on this bill. But let’s talk about some of the elements of that that the Senate changed that Keith brought up in our conversation earlier that he felt that were he totally supports the the tax cuts. I’m not sure there’s a Republican that doesn’t support those. His concern was it started out with 10-year defunding of Planned Parenthood. That’s down to a year. It had the defunding of transgender surgeries or treatments. That’s now gone. So he said the moral components of that bill have been stripped out by the Senate.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I agree that those provisions, I would have liked to seen those provisions in there and I’m really sorry that they were stripped out. But if we can defund Planned Parenthood for another, for a year, that’s a victory and a step in the right direction. And given all the other components of this bill and the other things that are at stake when it comes to faith and family and frankly freedom, because when we’re talking about a tax bill, that’s what we’re talking about. And this started out in its core as a tax bill. This is not the end all be all decision making tree or process for every moral matter that we have to deal with in Congress. This is at its core a bill about taxes and liberty and I think that we need to provide that liberty back to the families, the farmers, the hard working Americans across the state of Texas and across every state in the United States and that will not happen if we don’t pass this bill. And if we get caught up in the trees and quit looking at the forest, that can be problematic for us. I think we need to remember this is a big picture item that we need to pass for the president, for our families in the United States, and then come back and continue to work on these other things. Again, I agree wholeheartedly on the things, the criticisms that Keith levied against what the Senate did. Wholeheartedly agree with him. but come down to the conclusion that we still need to pass this bill and continue to work on those other matters.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think Congressman Self was pretty clear on this, that he wants to see the bill passed. He’s just of the perspective that it can be improved before it is passed. Do you see that opportunity to improve the bill?
SPEAKER 15 :
No, I don’t. Quite frankly, I think that it would be a mistake for us to delay. I know that there are some that are calling for us to ease off the pressure this week and let’s maybe go to conference or try to work out differences or try to somehow get the Senate revisions undone and go back to where we were. But I think at the end of the day, time is on the… is to the benefit of those that would want to kill this bill altogether. And so to say, well, it’s not a perfect bill. Yeah, I agree with that. None of these pieces of legislation that are this big is a perfect bill. But if we delay it past this week, if we take the pressure off of passage this week, I think you’re going to see even more problematic matters rise and it’s going to get even worse. We should have had the House bill. It was a better bill and I don’t like seeing the Senate just take ours up and be done with it. They didn’t. They made it worse. If we come back and we try to conference again, I think it’s going to get even worse and we’re going to have more voices against it and then you’re not going to see any passage of this bill and that would be devastating to families across the United States.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would agree that the bill needs to get across the line. I do think there’s some things that the administration can do to address some of these issues from a policy standpoint through executive action, not necessarily EO’s, but even policies when it comes to Planned Parenthood or the transgender. I think the Department of Health and Human Services could promulgate rules addressing Medicaid funds going to transgender procedures. So I do think there’s more than one way to skin a legislative cat. If you will. Let me ask you this question, Congressman, because this is what I get. And I’ve spent a lot of my time defending members of Congress because I do think we’re making progress. It’s slow. But there are some saying, how is it we’re still funding Planned Parenthood when the Republicans are controlling the White House, the House and the Senate?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, it is astounding to me because what Planned Parenthood is doing across this nation is atrocious. You know as well as anybody how ardently pro-life I am and the stance we’ve taken and want to continue to push back against the the horrible nature of the services that are provided by Planned Parenthood to cut the lives short of so many across this land. And so I don’t understand, frankly, how some of our colleagues on this side of the aisle that claim to have a biblical perspective and biblical worldview could support that kind of activity. But we’re going to take every effort to push back on that. And this is a step in the right direction. By the way, I agree with you. I’d like to see the executives take more action. And I hope that they will do that in light of what the Senate has done in the instance of the bill. But the bill language is the bill language at this point. And we do not want to cut off our nose to spot our face.
SPEAKER 05 :
Nathaniel, I want to thank you for joining us. And I do want to validate that you are a strong pro-life conservative member of Congress. We’re grateful for you and thankful not only for you coming on the program, but thankful for your service on the Hill. So, folks, stick around. We’re back with more after this.
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The Center for Biblical Worldview’s all-day workshops delves into the formation of a worldview, what it is, how it’s formed, when it’s formed, what that means to them personally and their churches and communities.
SPEAKER 11 :
My hope for people when they come to these worldview workshops is that they will come away better equipped to engage the people and the ideas that they’re living with and around. And our goal is to give people more confidence in the gospel and the fact that what God said to us actually is true, actually is the path to happiness and human flourishing for all of us, but also more confidence in their ability to have these conversations and help lead other people to the truth.
SPEAKER 18 :
for Bible believing Christians to know what God’s Word says on these issues and to learn how they can apply it to their lives. And we believe that the more Christians that we equip, that’s how we’ll change the nation.
SPEAKER 16 :
Hey, fam, listen, Pastor Sammy here at Lighthouse Church, and I cannot tell you how equipping, how empowering, how… incredibly educating this conference has been. And so I just want to encourage anybody that either has not been part of or is thinking about hosting this event, certainly to pastors, leaders, even CEOs for that matter. This conference is lights out. Stand behind it myself. I can’t commend it enough. We’re going to be talking about this for some time to come.
SPEAKER 19 :
The culture is kind of squeezing in on us as God’s people, forcing those of us with biblical views to change those views or to suppress those views. It’s forcing us to engage with issues that we’ve never had to engage with. And so what this teaches us is what those issues are, what the Bible says about those issues, and then how we can critically engage our culture on these things in a way that is committed to biblical principle.
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Visit frc.org slash worldview for more information.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in. All right, on Monday, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling or an order basically telling lower courts in three circuits to reveal, review rather, cases related to transgender issues. Now this comes as a result of the decision, landmark decision last month, on the issue of transgender. There was a case out of Tennessee, SB1, which the state of Tennessee wanted to protect minors from transgender, these experimental transgender procedures. Well, the court upheld that. And in light of that, they have ordered these three circuits to review cases that have been previously determined. Joining me now to discuss this is the Attorney General from one of those states in one of those circuits, Attorney General Raul Labrador of Idaho. General Labrador, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s great to be with you again. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
I bet you’re happy you’re not on Capitol Hill right now in the midst of all that reconciliation battle.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s crazy. I keep talking to my friends who I served with when I was in Congress there for eight years, and they’re in the middle of a mess, and I’m glad I don’t have to deal with it right now. But we’re dealing with some great issues here in Idaho.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you are, and I want to commend you. You’ve taken some really strong pro-life positions and now protecting the issue, dealing on the issue of transgender. So let’s talk about the Supreme Court’s order that came down Monday. How is that affecting you in Idaho?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, as you know, the case actually dealt with a little different issue. It wasn’t about kids and transgender issues. It was about what the plaintiffs did in this case is they sued the state of Idaho saying that we had to provide medical surgeries and medical procedures for transgender individuals in the prison system. We disagreed with that, and we said that we don’t have to provide those procedures. And the lower court, the federal district court, and the Ninth Circuit ruled against us. And we appealed that case to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that the law was not clear. Now, this was a technical decision because we had only litigated one of the issues of the many issues that are being raised. where the court had determined that our health expert here in the state of Idaho was personally liable for violating the rights of these individuals. And the Supreme Court decided to vacate the Ninth Circuit decision and the lower court decision returned the case back to the Ninth Circuit and told them to review the case based on the Scermetti decision, based on the findings that they had in the Scermetti decision.
SPEAKER 05 :
So what overlap is there from the Scermetti decision? And that, by the way, folks, is the case out of Tennessee. So what would be the overlap there with Idaho?
SPEAKER 04 :
So the overlap is that the courts ruled that the law was so clear that this government official should have known that she should not have denied the treatment. And I think now that they’ve clarified some issues on transgender issues and this type of review that has to be done in those cases, that I think the court made it pretty clear that it’s not clear. that she should not be held personally liable for these things. But I think it will also deal with the underlying issues that haven’t been litigated and decided by the court yet, where they made it clear that these transgender issues did receive a different type of scrutiny in the courts. So I think it clarifies the feel for the court, and I think it’s gonna help us to win on these cases.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because in some of the other cases, you’ve got a case out of Oklahoma where it was an issue of, I think, either driver’s license or birth certificate, government document, a name change. That is now having to be revisited in light of this case.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s correct. There’s numerous issues, and we have many of those cases. Actually, the state of Idaho, before I became attorney general, lost a case based on driver’s licenses. Pretty soon we’re going to be asking the court to reconsider based on the Scermetti decision and other decisions that happened in this past year. session of the court. I think the Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court has done a great job of clarifying these issues. I think the science is actually more clear. Many of us on the conservative side believe that the scientific evidence that was out there was actually weak and not supporting the claims that were being made by these plaintiffs. But the more it’s coming out, the more we’re realizing that we were right on these issues, not just legal issues, but scientific issues. and others. So I think the science has been developing as we thought it would, and the legal ramifications of these actions are developing as we thought they should. So we’re going to see many of these cases being litigated, and we’re excited that Idaho got this victory. I mean, this is one of the things I promised when I became Attorney General, that I would be a lot more aggressive in fighting all these liberal groups and activist groups that continue to sue the state of Idaho. They come to Idaho because we have a conservative legislature, but sometimes a more liberal judiciary, especially in the federal courts, and we’re trying to ensure that we protect the rights and liberties and freedoms of the people of Idaho.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, General, you’re doing a great job of that. One final question for you. Just got about a minute left. So as you’re describing the Scermetti case, the case out of Tennessee, that sounds like it’s going to have broad implications for the whole transgender issue.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s going to have huge implications. I think they decided one really specific issue, which I think was the easiest issue to decide, whether a state could actually forbid this type of care, transgender care, for minors. And I thought that was the easiest. To me, it was the most common sense decision by any state to say that you shouldn’t force kids to to participate in those treatments or even allow those treatments. But that’s going to have a broader implications in sports, in prisons, in all these different areas. So I think we’re going to see a series of cases. That’s what the U.S. Supreme Court did is they returned all these cases for further review.
SPEAKER 05 :
General Labrador, always great to see you. Thanks for joining us. Folks, stick with us. We’re back with more after this.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 20 :
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How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory, or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles, or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture. and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. The website, TonyPerkins.com. But the better place to go is to the Stand Firm app. You can go to the app store, get the Stand Firm app. That way you can have Washington Watch with you no matter where you go. You also have access to our news and commentary from a biblical perspective and my daily devotional, Stand on the Word. And by the way, our word for today comes from Luke chapter 1 when the angel said, Gabriel appears to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. But the angel said to him, “‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.'” Zacharias said to the angel, “‘How shall I know this? For I am old, and my wife is advanced in years.'” Gabriel said, who stands in the presence of God, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute because you did not believe the words which… will be fulfilled in their own time. So it seems Zacharias had long since stopped believing his prayer could be answered. Yet God had not forgotten. His delay was not denial. It was preparation. So let this be a reminder. God hears, God remembers, and God fulfills. Even when hope fades, keep praying, keep believing. God’s promises will be fulfilled in their time. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. All right. As we’ve been discussing today, the Congress has been focused almost from the beginning of this Congress in January, the one big, beautiful bill. And it’s been touted as potentially being the most consequential piece of legislation in decades. And when it passed the House, a strong argument could be made for that. But after going through the Senate and what’s called the birdbath, the big… beautiful bill is not so beautiful. So how did it come to this, and why is it important to restore God-honoring values, advancing provisions that really make the legislation beautiful? Joining me now to discuss this, Travis Weber, FRC’s Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, and Kena Gonzalez, FRC Senior Director for Government Affairs. Travis, Kena, thanks so much for joining me today.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good to be here. Travis, before we get into reconciliation, there’s some news that just broke before the program started. In advance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House next week, Likud ministers, that’s members of his own party, are calling on him to declare sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Now, that’s an issue we’ve talked about quite a bit here on the program, even this week. This, no doubt, this call, this letter that was sent out by his party is to head off any discussions next week of a two-state solution as they discuss peace in Gaza.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I mean, Tony, this should be a no-brainer for anyone who looks at the situation in Israel in the Middle East. You know, we were, you and I and others were there in April. We saw, we walked on the lands that are the lands that our forefathers in the faith as Christians walked on in the hills of Judea and Samaria. So after October 7th, which Hamas launched a premeditated planned attack over years of planning, following Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, we cannot countenance in good faith any deal which gives up land that belongs to Israel with the expectation that it’s going to produce peace. We know President Trump is wanting deals for peace. This is one in which any observer of the situation should understand it’s not going to produce peace. And so this is an important move, an important call to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the land. And in light of the current realities with Iran, Hamas and Gaza and other regional realities, it’s not going to produce peace. We have to understand to just give more land away.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think in light of October the 7th, it’s very clear because this is a pretty significant step from the Likud party to actually call upon the prime minister to declare sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. And my meetings with the prime minister and his team over the last week well since October the 7th, this has been, it’s one of their objectives but it’s been way down the list. But now that Iran’s been dealt with, this letter in part states that they have to deal with the internal danger that is existent in Judea and Samaria from the threats coming in from both Iran and others that are feeding the Palestinian radicals. So anyway, very interesting to see how that might lead next week and lead into the meetings next week. And by the way, folks, many of you, hundreds of you have signed the letter that will be distributed, will be sent to the president, making sure that in any peace negotiations we do not have, the United States does not push for a. two-state solution. We should do nothing that divides the land of Israel. That has never worked out. It never will work out. It is contrary to the stated purposes of God in His Word. So text the word letter to 67742. That’s the word letter to 67742 and you can sign on to that. All right. Back on to reconciliation. You know, we had two members on. They had Congress from Texas, Congressman Keith Self and Nathaniel Moran on both guys. I would say identical in their ideological makeup, biblical worldview. But. Different views of this bill. And I did that in part to show people that it’s a difficult process of navigating through this. And people who are friends, people who see the world in very much the same way can differ on this. Now, that said. Here at the Family Research Council, and I emphasize this to some of my friends on the Hill who were not happy with us expressing opposition to this bill in its current form, that our role here is not as an appendage of the Republican Party or even our friends on Capitol Hill. Ours is to advocate. Our mission statement is very clear for the sanctity of human life. for religious freedom and for the family, for marriage, human sexuality in alignment with biblical truth. That said, Kena, I want to go to you first to just point out the problems, the biggest problems. I know this is a huge bill, but from our issue set, why we have concerns with what the Senate sent over to the House.
SPEAKER 12 :
yet the senate sent back an amendment tony uh… to the house passed version which we supported uh… wholeheartedly that was almost a thousand pages long no a lot of things frankly had changed but some of the issues that had changed in the bill that i think would be of most interest our viewers are that instead of defunding planned parenthood for ten years uh… it defunded planned parenthood for one year which is really just a very short pause on defunding. Another is that taxpayers will still be forced to underwrite these experimental gender transition procedures that the House bill had said they no longer would have to pay for permanently. So that was a major loss. Medicaid reforms that really fix Medicaid and make it more accessible, more directed, and more focused on those who truly need it instead of those who are able to work, that was slimmed down, slowed down, trimmed. And so that was moving in the wrong direction. The same thing with Green New Deal subsidies in the bill. Those had been ended in the House. The House had come to a compromise on when and how to end some of those. And in the Senate, that was slowed down so those subsidies will continue to flow longer. And the last thing, Tony, that I would raise here is that it really gutted a very exciting public school scholarship program that would allow children in failing schools to attend private schools across the country in a way that really should have passed, but that also was gutted, and now that’s made optional. So that means that a blue state governor, a Democrat governor, doesn’t have to institute that program in their state, and the bottom line there is that children in blue states and failing schools will be stuck.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Let me put that for those watching. You can see the graph that we have up there that does this comparison between the House and the Senate bill. So here’s how we approach this. As you’ve listed those issues, those are all important issues. But there is a hierarchy of of issues which you have placed at the very top of this. And that is the federal funding to Planned Parenthood. It was 10 years, which then becomes a significant issue. move in terms of getting taxpayers out of the business of funding an organization that claims over 400,000 lives a year. That’s a moral issue. That is a defining issue for the nation. Second in the list of concerns is that in the original bill going from the House, which is what got our support, frankly, and working with the leadership to get this inserted, was to end the forcing of taxpayers to fund transgender procedures. That’s completely out now in the bill. You can take the graphic down. I want to see Travis’s face. So the reality is Medicaid, yeah, I want to see that strengthened. I don’t want it to be wasted. But if that were the only issue, I probably wouldn’t be opposed to it. If it were just the educational, I think it’s great to give people educational choice and we’re going to work for that. But that’s not a defining moral issue. The issue of the sanctity of human life is. Now, those first two issues, the Trump administration could take actions, I think, to offset what the Senate did. For instance, I think the Department of Health and Human Services could promulgate rules to make sure taxpayers are not funding transgender procedures. Now, it could be litigated in the courts, but that happens all the time anyway. But they should take that step. on the issue of Planned Parenthood. They could offset that by the Trump administration could do away with the Biden era policy that is still in place that allows abortion pills to be prescribed and sent through the mail without an in-person consultation. which is violating state pro-life laws. And of course, the abortion pill is now 63% of abortions. So I do think there are ways to offset the moral deficit created by the Senate version of this bill. Kane, I’ll give you the first response to that.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, absolutely, Tony. In Washington, no defeat is final and no victory is permanent. And so when the Senate took these things out, in part it was blamed on the birdbath, right? This procedure that goes through the parliamentarian. But what we saw in many other provisions that were in the bill that we’re not talking about today, but were important to one or more senators in the Senate, is that those were litigated and relitigated and relitigated in front of the parliamentarian. And we really do not have assurances at this point that these issues were really litigated at that level.
SPEAKER 05 :
So you’re saying that the priority was put on the economic issues. As I mentioned earlier with Keith Self, it reminds me of Bill Clinton’s 92 campaign where it was the economy stupid, where we know it’s not just the economic issues.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think that’s an apt comparison, Tony, and I want to be careful here. This is just what we know. We’ve been asking our friends in the Senate for more information, but as far as we can tell from what we’ve seen, it does seem like not as much priority was given to these issues, which, as you said, we had elevated to the very top of our list.
SPEAKER 05 :
Travis, your take on this.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, no, Tony, I think it’s important that viewers understand the many dynamics associated with this whole process, right? Because even if they see something about this in the news, there’s a lot to report about the bill. So news will focus on certain aspects. So for those who are concerned about faith, family, and freedom, What we are discussing here, and specifically what you and Kane have been discussing about the negotiation, the back and forth, and the additional removal of the provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses for 10 years, and a ban on all gender transition procedures with taxpayer funding. These are issues of core concern to the moral foundations of our country and how, as a country, we are going to speak into the question of human dignity and family. So they’re foundational. And Tony, as you’re noting, we have to proclaim them in Washington. We have to set forth policies as we’ve been doing. It’s important for folks to understand the dynamic involved in this, the political dynamic, the negotiating about various matters, and as Kaina said, what we do and what we don’t know. But Tony, I’ll just emphasize, as you’re pointing out, there are things the Trump administration can do to address the areas that you mentioned, the issue of the abortion drug being sent through the mail still to this day, in addition to the question of whether any taxpayer money should be used to fund any gender transition procedures for adults or children. These are both areas that we will continue to advance and can be addressed now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I mean, this is… kind of an open secret people don’t really it’s not talked about but biden era policy remains in place that allows these abortion pills to be mailed into pro-life states which essentially eradicates these pro-life laws that are in place. So folks, you can actually weigh in on this as well. We’re calling on the department, we’re calling on the FDA and the White House to address this issue. Text the word LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742. Kena, we just have about a minute left. The process is stalled right now. House Freedom Caucus members are meeting with the Speaker and I think with the White House trying to work out a way forward. What do you foresee in the next 24 hours?
SPEAKER 12 :
I think our friends on the Hill, Tony, are very concerned and several of them, Keith Self was one, he raised it on the show, but several of them are raising these issues of defunding Planned Parenthood in a more thorough way and or defunding gender transition procedures that mutilate kids and adults. And we’re very excited to see those issues raised because, as you said, those are at the top of the list. So, Tony, it’s just a joy to work in Washington with you to elevate these issues and make sure that biblical issues are getting the attention at a time when they could actually be changed.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I don’t know that I would describe it as joy, but we’re happy warriors. Kena, Travis, thanks so much for joining me today. Thank you. And folks, thank you for joining as well. I encourage you to text the word LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742. And weigh in on this, but also pray. Pray for our leaders. You heard from two very good members of Congress, and there are more. They’re struggling through this. Pray that they would have wisdom and that it would lead them to the right outcome. All right, thanks so much for joining us. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, just keep standing.
SPEAKER 21 :
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