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On today’s program: Kevin Hern, U.S. Representative for Oklahoma’s 1st district highlights key priorities for the reconciliation bill and stresses the importance of GOP unity heading into the new year. He also provides insight into this weekend’s
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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We have a wonderful Republican Congress. We have a leader that I have a lot of confidence in. I think he’s going to be hopefully a great leader, a great speaker. And we have a leader, by the way, in the Senate, I think has been great. John Thune has been doing a fantastic job. They’ll be coming down, the senators also will be coming down, and then ultimately we’ll be meeting in the White House in a few weeks, but right now this is the winter season.
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That was President-elect Donald Trump at a press conference earlier today in Mar-a-Lago discussing a number of topics, including a meeting with Republican lawmakers this coming weekend at his Florida estate. Welcome to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Thanks for tuning in. Also among the topics in today’s wide-ranging press conference was reconciliation, which is a budgetary mechanism that will be used to accomplish a number of the incoming president’s priorities. We’re going to talk about that with Oklahoma Congressman Kevin Hearn, who’s the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee. The Biden administration announced that 11 terrorists who were being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were transferred to Oman. Now, previous terrorist detainees, terrorist detainees that were sent to Oman have been released by the Oman government. Meanwhile, Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett is urging the incoming Trump administration to end the funneling of U.S. foreign aid to the Taliban. Congressman Tim Burchett joins us later to explain what’s going on. McDonald’s announced yesterday that they will be holding their special DEI sauce from their burgers. McDonald’s said they would end their racial quotas for hiring. Then, today, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Chief, said they would be ending their fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, which has led to many conservatives being censored.
SPEAKER 01 :
We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship. The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech. So we’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platform.
SPEAKER 10 :
So do you believe him? I should make that a poll question. Zuckerberg said the change comes as a result of the November election. He said it points to a cultural tipping point for free speech. I didn’t know we had to have an election to underscore that free speech was important. Stephan Padfield, Executive Director, Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research, will join us for that conversation. You know what, this political awakening that is happening with corporate America is encouraging, no doubt about it. However, however, We should not believe that the problems are solved and that corporate America is becoming a champion of these fundamental freedoms. We need to see what is happening here as an opportunity, an urgent opportunity that requires action. Suzanne Bowdy, editorial director and senior writer for The Washington Stand, joins me for that conversation. If you’ve not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, I encourage you to do so. Go to the App Store and get the Stand Firm app. You can watch Washington Watch no matter where you are. You can also get our daily devotional, The Stand on the Word, as well as our news feed, The Washington Stand, news and commentary from a biblical perspective. You can find it in the App Store, Stand Firm, or you can text APP to 67742. Republicans on Capitol Hill are plowing forward with their agenda despite the impacts of yesterday’s snowstorm on Washington. And this weekend, many of them will be heading down to where it’s a bit warmer, Mar-a-Lago, to meet with President-elect Trump. What might we see unfold in the days ahead? Well, here to discuss is Congressman Kevin Hearn, the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, which serves as the advisory committee to the House Republicans. He represents the 1st Congressional District of Oklahoma. Congressman Hearn, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Great to be with you, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
Happy New Year to you. Hope you stand warm.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s a little snowy here in D.C., but it’s very nice. Very pretty.
SPEAKER 10 :
So let’s talk about some of the items on the Republicans’ plate this week. Let’s start first with reconciliation. Yesterday and again today in the president’s press conference talked about whether or not there’ll be one or two reconciliation bills. What are we looking at?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, here’s what we don’t disagree on at all, and that’s all the policies, the border policies, the energy policies, making sure our military is strong, making sure our tax policies are not increased on all Americans and businesses across America. that we continue this ability to limit the size of the federal government the president came out sunday night and wanted one big beautiful bill that’s what we intend to deliver on the house side on the senate side there’s still some questions about can we move quickly enough so the president as he stated today he said you know he’d really rather have one big bill and get it all done at one time But if it took two, then he would certainly look at that. And that’s part of the reason he wants to get everybody down to Mar-a-Lago and out of D.C. to listen to the concerns and do what a good business guy does, take all the input and then make the final decision.
SPEAKER 10 :
So two bills, only half is beautiful?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, you know, we’d like one big, beautiful bill on the House side. We have a very narrow margins of votes and much more, much less than what the Senate has actually for the first time in a long time. So Speaker Johnson and the people involved in this process on the House side understand what we need to do to get a bill passed. And we think one bill is the way to go.
SPEAKER 10 :
So just take just a moment. Let’s explain to our viewers and listeners. I’ve done this before, but this is pretty deep into the weeds in Washingtonese, talking about a reconciliation. This is a 1970, goes back to the 1974 Budget Act, which allows policy related items that have budgetary impact to be addressed in such a way that it does not require the super majority in the Senate. A simple majority vote in the Senate allows us to go forward. Correct?
SPEAKER 07 :
Correct, it was a process put in place in 1974. I would argue sort of as a fail safe that if you couldn’t get the budget done, the appropriations done, then you had a way to actually do it. It’s sort of an alternative pathway that was even more restrictive, more difficult, very narrow, no policy changes that you’d normally get in a budgetary process. So it’s really about, as you said, had budget impact. And then it’s really about how do you get around the 60 vote filibuster rule in the Senate, so the simple majority in the Senate. So it takes a lot of coordination between the House and the Senate. And at the end of the day, it’s the parliamentarian on the Senate side that really controls the integrity of the reconciliation bill. So you have to work very quickly. You have to work very earnestly in making sure it’s correct, and then you make sure the policies in there meet the criteria that the parliamentarian says, and then you get it on the floor. And you can move rather quickly. We’d like to have it done by Memorial Day.
SPEAKER 10 :
What are the policies, with budgetary implications, obviously, what policies are we looking at in the reconciliation bill or bills?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, you know, you’d like to get some pay-fors and you’d like to make sure everybody has something that they can vote on. As you know, the president’s team and the president has said in many meetings that I’ve been involved in, none of us in these tight majorities are going to ever get everything that we want. So we try to create a bill that everybody can get something that makes them feel like they’ve achieved their representation of their constituents back home. But Border security is one, making sure that we can save money there with implications on what we’ve been spending to offset the housing of illegal immigrants, shipping them all over the country. One thing we’ve understood in the Biden administration, they’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars doing that. Energy policy, unleashing the energy production in the United States, huge revenue generators for the federal government. for the Federal Treasury, and then certainly the tax policy. You know, when you looked at 2017, the Trump tax cuts were done under reconciliation. I think it’s also worth noting that when you do reconciliation, it’s not necessary because you can get bipartisan reconciliation bills, but generally speaking, they’re partisan. So on the House side, it would be necessary to have all Republicans so you couldn’t lose but one. And then on the Senate side, you need the 51 percent vote. So, you know, it’s real challenging, but it can be done. All the big moves in Congress in the last 30 years have been done. Actually, the last time this happened in a big way and it was very meaningful was under President Clinton. Well, the first time President Clinton and Newt Gingrich when they got a balanced budget. So a lot of opportunity. And I feel good that we’re going to do it. We’re going to move as quickly as possible.
SPEAKER 10 :
Congressman, let’s talk just a moment about that narrow margin, because the legacy media would like for us to believe that there is great disunity among the Republicans in the House, the Republican conference. Can you speak to that?
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, it’s interesting you say that. I actually just told a group of media reporters I’ve been here six years. I’ve probably never seen the Republican Party more unified than it is today. We have no agreements or disagreements on the policies. The only narrow, you know, eye that we could look at right now would be to look at how we’re going to do the process. But when you look at the policies, border policies, energy policies, plussing up our military to regain our national security posture and securing our tax cuts that we have from 2017, we’re all in agreement on that. I think when you see what happened with you know, the mandate that President Trump got with the vote, the electoral vote, the popular vote. Yes, you know, Speaker Johnson had to, you know, go talk to two individuals, two of our members, friends, to get some assurances that they needed. But we got it done in the first-round ballot. And you contrast that to two years ago. It took 15 rounds and a speaker race in the middle of all that. The Republican Party is very united. I’ve talked to people around here a long time, very united. So we’re looking forward to getting President Trump’s 100-day agenda going and getting the reconciliation package and getting America safe and secure and low taxes.
SPEAKER 10 :
I just want to put, I guess, highlight what you said, that there is agreement on the policies. It’s the tactics or the way we get there. And that’s understandable because everybody has their own ideas on things. But you do have a pretty unified conference when it comes to the big ticket items of what is important. And one of those items you’ve been very good about talking about with your business background, it’s one that is increasingly popular. a concern to many Americans that are paying attention is the debt, our nation’s debt that is ticking up rapidly. What are we gonna do about that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, it is a grave concern. And one of the drivers of that now in mandatory spending is our ever-growing interest rate on the debt, the massive debt. You know, we have $36 trillion in debt, so every 1% that increases on an annual basis, that’s $360 billion more. We’re now spending more on interest on our debt than we are on military. We’ve got to curtail spending. When you look at the revenues as a percentage of GDP over the last 20 years, it’s hovered around 18%, 19%, 20%. But when you look at spending, spending has gone from 18%, 19% to 25%, 26%. So we’ve spent $8 trillion in the last four years. And then when you talk to people that are adverse to cutting, they can’t seem to find any way to cut any money. And so it’s one of those things where we all do need to come together. I fear at the end of the day, the bond market’s going to control what we ultimately end up doing when they control what they’re willing to pay, you know, we’re willing to give us for debt as far as the interest rate goes. And it’s going to come to a screeching halt. But we have an opportunity on reconciliation to look at some of this, some of this that, you know, what could be some revenue drivers to offset some of these costs? And we’ll do so.
SPEAKER 10 :
Final question, just following up on that, we just have about a minute left. Are you optimistic that we are going to trim government with the Department of Government Efficiency? Do you think we’re going to find those areas where it began to trim some government spending and bring it in under control?
SPEAKER 07 :
I do. It’s going to take somebody outside of the Congress to do it. And I think you’re going to see what Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and the Doge work that they’re going to do is cut down on the need that these agencies have to have authorized and appropriated. That’s where it’s going to start. And we’ve got a long ways to go. Government is out of control on its size. I believe that the real work in America is done at the local level. And that’s the way our country was designed. And this fine men are going to make that happen.
SPEAKER 10 :
Congressman Kevin Hearn, thanks so much for joining us today. Always appreciate your insight and input.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right. A lot of work ahead and we’re going to be tracking all of it. All right. After the break, 11 terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay were transferred to Oman to restart their lives. Should the move by the Biden administration be a cause for concern? That’s next.
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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 has been another year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. This 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, 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. 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 Govern. Launching 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 for another year of 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.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app. The release of Yahya Senwar in a 2011 prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas should serve as a stark example of the risk involved in freeing terrorists. Senwar went on to become a senior Hamas leader and the chief architect of the October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel. He was killed by Israeli defense forces this past October. Well, the transfer of 11 Guantanamo Bay detainees to Oman, facilitated by the Biden administration, has sparked fears that these individuals could go back to their old ways of business, terrorist networks, and target the U.S. or our allies. Joining me now to dive deeper into this issue is Congressman Tim Burchett, who serves on three House committees, including the Foreign Affairs Committee. He represents the 2nd Congressional District of Tennessee. Congressman Burgett, happy new year and thanks so much for joining us here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thanks for having me on, brother. It’s always a pleasure.
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So, Tim, let me ask you this question. Are you concerned at all by the Biden’s release of these 11 terrorists from Guantanamo?
SPEAKER 11 :
100 percent. I believe in the last four years we’ve been run by a group of anarchists. I don’t think it’s just one. I don’t think Joe Biden’s cognizant about half of what he does. But from this to awarding people that just hate our country all these medals. The border, 14 million people. You’ve got people on a terrorist watch list. I have a bill myself to stop us. We send about $40 million a week to the Taliban. They’ll hate us for free. I can’t even get the Senate to take it up, members over there, Republicans or Democrats. I think we’re completely compromised. I think If Donald J. Trump was not elected president, America would cease to exist as we know it. I think there was a movement afoot. You can say it’s a conspiracy theorist or not, but there’s just too much anarchy and craziness that’s being put into our laws and people that are put into place. I mean, today, that Lakin Act that we passed him, honoring that poor little girl who was murdered in Georgia and brutally raped by an illegal. You know, we had over 150 Democrats who didn’t even vote for that. Where’s the outrage? We’ve got a border that’s porous. We’ve got these cartels bringing children over to be traded off as sex slaves. Not really sex. At that age, it’s an act of violence. But, you know, where’s the outrage? Where are the preachers calling out, saying, Stop this. Why are we not electing people that are God-fearing or at least adhere to the Constitution of the United States? We are fallen, and we better realize this is our last great chance. And when we send 15 to 20 percent of the population to the polls, this is what we get. We have preachers that are afraid to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are reaping what we’ve sown.
SPEAKER 10 :
I agree with you on all of that. And I want to put a fine point on something you said, is that we’ve been given really an opportunity. This country is not saved, but it’s not been destroyed by the outcome of this election. We have an opportunity to save it, but it’s going to require us to do something. And it’s along the lines of what you just described. But I want to go back to a point you made about the foreign dollars from the United States, United States giving foreign aid to the Taliban. You wrote a letter. You made it public to President-elect Trump calling on his incoming administration to stop this funding, indirect funding of Taliban. Explain.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, you know, you’re familiar with NGOs, non-government organizations. They were created to do good things. And as most of these type deals, they’ve run astray. And so we’re sending this money as aid packages And as you know, money is fungible. It can move. It’s like water in a glass. It moves to every corner of it and fills it and covers it. And so does money. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. And we’re disguising it as aid. But we’ve found out through, there’s a guy named Sean Ryan, who’s a former Navy SEAL, who has a podcast. And he had a fellow on there. It goes by the name of Legend. He’s a Middle Eastern. He’s a Muslim. But he fought for this country. And he’s fighting for a free Afghanistan. And and so he has disclosed this. We’ve researched it and find out that it is that it is the truth, Tony. And we’re spending it’s around 40 million dollars a week. It is getting to our enemy. Now, those folks are sworn as Taliban. They’re sworn to hate and want to kill Christians and Jews. I dare say that probably is everybody listening or watching to this story. this telecast right now, that applies to you all. Yet our government is sending 40 million a week. I’ve got people in Upper East Tennessee and North Carolina that don’t have running water because of that hurricane that we’ve forgotten about. And we can’t seem to get any money there. We spent over $200 billion to Ukraine. And we sent over a billion down Central America for somebody to protect some lake or stream down there. And all that money is just getting stolen. And we are compromised. to the highest levels in this country.
SPEAKER 10 :
As you have validated and verified this information regarding the money going to the Taliban, you’ve inquired about that. The State Department is aware of this, are they not?
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, yeah, 100%. either ignore me or tell me that it really isn’t working that way. But if they’re able to take this money that we send them to buy food and they slide it, once it gets into their hands, they can go anywhere. And we’re finding out it is going to the worst possible places. And these people are going to be coming after us with our own money and our own guns because of it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, we left them behind. Yes, sir. And one of the ways this works, and we’re almost out of time here, but these NGOs that are doing this humanitarian work there are being taxed by the Taliban. And so it’s that money from the United States funding these NGOs that’s going into the coffers of the Taliban.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, sir. It’s not just the United Nations that’s funding our enemies with our own money. It’s our own money. funding our enemies. So we’re going directly to them. So yes, sir. And we know what’s happening, and they allow it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in testimony and talked about it. And they’ll say, well, it’s just 1%, or it’s just 2%. But they’re admitting, I don’t care if it’s one penny. As it turns out, we’re sending a few billion dollars. A few percentage points of that is a lot of money in East Tennessee.
SPEAKER 10 :
ED HARRISON That is crazy. Congressman Tim Burchett, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, brother, I pray for you. Please ask your folks to pray for our country. We we need to take our country back.
SPEAKER 10 :
We absolutely will. And we are. Thanks so much. And folks, that’s a great reminder. Join us with Prayer Shield, our Operation Prayer Shield. Text SHIELD to 67742. And we’re going to be praying for this country. We’re praying now. We will be praying. We’ll continue to pray. So join us. Don’t go away. We’re back after this.
SPEAKER 04 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I’ve absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 03 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC’s internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 03 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they’re responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that, but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 05 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it’s never going to be on the ballot. He’s the King of Kings, and He’s the Lord of Lords, and nothing’s going to change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we’re to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
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America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10-week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, and prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You’ll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls, text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation. Welcome back. If you’ve not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, I encourage you to do that. You can have Washington Watch with you no matter where you go. Go to the App Store, download the Stand Firm app. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will be ending supposedly, according to Mark Zuckerberg, their fact-checking program and lifting speech restrictions as a part of an effort to restore free expression on their platforms. Now, in a video message today announcing the changes, the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, called the recent election, quote, a cultural tipping point toward once again prioritizing speech, end quote. So what could this mean over the next four years and beyond? Joining me to discuss this, Stephan Padfield, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research, which presses corporations to stay out of the political and social engineering fields. Stephan, thanks so much for joining us. Welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thanks so much for having me. It’s great to be here.
SPEAKER 10 :
So can you unpack a little further for us what Zuckerberg and Meta announced, starting with their fact-checking program? What does that mean?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, it seems to mean that while they have previously relied on third parties and algorithms to essentially take down posts and comments, that they’re basically shifting to the system that we see many of us that use X, formerly Twitter, where the post will stay up absent some really glaring, egregious, you know, Could be child sex trafficking, something like that, that might take it down. But anything other than that, I think Zuckerberg was quoted as saying, if you could say it on the House of Congress, then you can say it on our sites now, would just get community notes that would clarify that. provide various perspectives. And so certainly seems like a step in the right direction. We have certainly complained, those of us on the right, for a long time about how these fact checkers, quote unquote, unbiased fact checkers, were really just partisan, left-leaning censorship shops. And so it does seem to be a step in the right direction. But as always, we do have reason to be cautious in our enthusiasm for these changes as well.
SPEAKER 10 :
Agreed. Very much agreed. Trust but verify. Stephan, let me ask you this question. Would we be having this conversation if we were looking at Kamala Harris as president?
SPEAKER 09 :
I don’t think we would at all, and I actually give Mark Zuckerberg credit for being somewhat transparent about the fact that he is simply responding to, among other things, but certainly it seems like it’s primarily the election results, right? He saw what happened. And he took that in, and this is something where I think we can give him credit for acting like a good capitalist and taking the feedback, seeing the direction of the country, what his customers want, which is free speech, certainly, and then providing it. And again, this doesn’t mean that his own political views have necessarily changed dramatically or that the makeup of the internal employees at Facebook, that their overall political leanings have changed. But it clearly would not happen. I think that’s I think that’s fair to say. And I think that’s what he’s telling us without the election. But still, there is something to feel good about that. He is actually being responsive to that rather than doubling down and trying to create. You know, I think one of the alternative platforms is blue ski, I believe, is the name of it, where they sort of try to create elections. The new the old leftist censorship utopia. And I think that’s not faring very well. So he could have done that. But instead, he’s actually trying to provide some free speech and give the users what they want. And we should reward that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. agree when people are moving in the right direction. But as you said at the beginning, I think we’ve got to verify that this is, in fact, true. But I would also underscore, Stefan, that This is today. But what happens four years from now if we get another leftist that emerges because, you know, public opinion is somewhat fickle. I mean, I think the First Amendment is ironclad in the Constitution. It’s a principle that Americans have fought and died for. We shouldn’t need an election to remind us that it’s important. But I do believe that this is a window of opportunity in which we need to fully exercise this freedom and kind of cement it back into the public mindset so that the next election won’t affect it.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s absolutely right. I mean, there’s a couple of things going on here that we can look at positively. So one is with the leftist radicalism, including their war on free speech and their enthusiasm for censorship, it eventually falls apart. It eventually eats its own tail, so to speak. Now, the only question is how long does it last? How much damage does it do along the way? But really part of what we’re seeing here is the inevitable on some level culmination of the radicalism with the censorship, with the war on free speech. And so that’s reason for optimism. And as you say, we need to now keep building upon that. And we need to use the speech that we’re given on those platforms to really engage positively, to drive home the need for free speech. But to some extent, I think we can take comfort in, this is a saying I hear a lot, the common sense of the common man. Right. These censorship efforts have failed ultimately because of the common sense of the common man and the integral belief in free speech. It has made its way through ultimately after some tumultuous times. And as you say, now we get a chance to prove that it works and continue to defend it. We’ve just got about a minute left.
SPEAKER 10 :
Do you think this is going to impact other tech giants that are in the social media field?
SPEAKER 09 :
I think it has to. Now, some will try to differentiate themselves, right? So again, I think Blue Sky is the other network that’s trying to sort of position itself as the old Twitter. But at the same time, it’s hard to ignore when a force like Meta, when a person like Zuckerberg sort of just tips his hat to the cultural shift and makes this dramatic change. So I would expect to see more rather than less. It’s similar to what we’re seeing with a lot of corporations walking back DEI right now. We’re seeing more of it rather than less once the truth breaks out as to how problematic the left’s agenda is.
SPEAKER 10 :
Stefan, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate your insights on this. Thank you. All right, folks, we’re going to continue this conversation on the other side of the break. Don’t go away. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn’t be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 13 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you’re the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 10 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Good to have you with us on this Tuesday. The website is TonyPerkins.com. I want to invite you to join us in Operation Prayer Shield as we’ve been praying for our country leading up to January the 20th. But because of events as we felt led to do this prayer, we’re seeing the validation of that call with what’s been happening both here domestically and internationally. And so we’re going to continue to pray and I invite you to join us. So text the word SHIELD to 67742. That’s SHIELD, S-H-I-L-D. I-E-L-D to 67742. And you can join with thousands of others across this country praying. You get daily prayer points. We’ll have periodic prayer calls. So text the word SHIELD to 67742. Our word for today comes from Isaiah 52. The Lord has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God. Through the Jews’ return to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity and through the gospel today, the Lord is revealing his power. He is bearing his arm as a warrior would do. It continues in verse 11 of that chapter, “…depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean thing, go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go out with haste nor by flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Similar to the Great Commission commanding us to go, the captives were told to go. But the unknown is often intimidating. Living for the Lord and stepping out in faith to stand on His promises is not easy. But the Lord says He will go before you and lead you and behind you to protect you. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. That’s BIBLE to 67742. Yesterday, fast food giant McDonald’s announced that it would be ending a number of woke DEI policies, making it the latest company on a growing list to do so. McDonald’s listed a number of reasons for making the changes, including the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-based college admission policies. But is it simply that they saw the writing on the wall, as more and more companies have been doing? And what do these and other developments tell us about the moment in which we are living right now? Joining me to talk about this is Suzanne Bowdy, editorial director and senior writer for The Washington Stand. Suzanne, thanks so much for joining me.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 10 :
So, Suzanne, you’ve been tracking the whole DEI woke stuff before it was even popular. Kind of give us a sense of how the momentum is building. It’s really kind of snowballing right now as we see more and more companies moving away from this.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. I think a lot of this we saw really kicking off in 2023 with the advertisement done by Dylan Mulvaney for Bud Light. And after that uproar over Dylan Mulvaney, I think we saw companies and especially Americans just sort of shocked by the outlandish transgender agenda that was right in front of their faces. And so it’s In 2023, I think we started to see the groundwork being laid for this. After the Dylan Mulvaney, consumers decided, hey, I’m ditching Bud Light. And then when groups like Target and Kohl’s and Nike and others decided to either display transgender merchandise or really lean into this transgender agenda, you saw consumers really back away from them and With a force that I don’t think we’d seen before. And while I believe that Robbie Starbuck, who’s the activist that’s behind some of these latest decisions, does deserve a lot of credit for what he’s doing, especially this year. I think this really kicked off in 2023. You saw the sports leagues decide. sort of unanimously to no longer force players to wear pride jerseys, which was a major development that sort of kicked off this avalanche. And then I think heading into this year, we had a lot of companies sort of apologizing in 2023 saying, oh, we’re sorry, like Rip Curl Doritos both had controversies with transgender spokespeople. But then I think really this all started to happen in July and June with Tractor Supply when Robbie Starbuck said he was going to threaten to expose the DEI policies that they had. And instead of exposing them, what happened was Tractor Supply proactively came out with a huge list, sort of a mea culpa list. of things that they were rolling back, DEI, they were no longer going to be participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Index, which was a major blow to the LGBT movement. And from Tractor Supply and from their proactivity, from them coming out and not being exposed, but rather taking the bull by the horns and coming out and agreeing to all these changes, you started to see John Deere, you started to see huge companies like Lowe’s and Ford and Coors and Harley Davidson and just on and on and on until what we’re seeing now is what happened in 2024 with Walmart, one of the biggest employers in America, has carried over into 2025 with McDonald’s, which has also agreed to not only end its hiring quotas, which was an easy thing to do with their Supreme Court out. But also they’re saying that they’re no longer requiring suppliers to hold fast to those quotas. And they’re also not participating in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, which was a major thing because they had 100 percent score.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. That’s pretty big. You know, that’s That’s pretty significant. You see these companies backing away. And I go back to my conversation I had in the previous segment with Stefan, that this is the result of an election. I think had the election gone the other way, I don’t think we would see corporate America doing this. So I think this is reflective of their read of the culture. It has been trending, but I think it manifests itself in a greater way in the election. And they know there are consequences for going down this path. But I think and you’ve been tracking this for quite some time. We’ve been at the Family Research Council. You know, we were at the tip of the spear when it came to the council culture. We’ve been walking through this for a long time. It would be a mistake to think that this problem is solved and that this election will resolve this once and for all and that these changes corporate America is making is the end of it. I mean, I think if four years from now, if as we’ve been seeing this back and forth of elections from one extreme to the other, if it goes the other way in the next election, I would not be surprised to see these corporations once again move to the left.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. I think the biggest mistake we can make is to be satisfied with what we’re seeing. Because while, yes, Walmart and McDonald’s and some other major brands that Americans recognize have come out and said they’re no longer participating, just this week, HRC released a corporate equality index showing that they had an increase in companies who are participating. So we can’t let our foot off the gas pedal here. We can’t be complacent. We can’t be satisfied. And I think this is a unique moment in history. You’ve talked about this where where, yes, we have an election. And I would tend to agree with you, but also say that I think the election results were part of this movement. I think that people felt we can make a difference. They’re seeing it in all of these anti-woke policies coming out. And they decided to turn out en masse for Donald Trump and for the MAGA movement that supports these types of policies. But yes, the worst thing we can do is be complacent. And I think that’s something that you’ve talked about quite a bit.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, to borrow from our Sunday night prayer cast that we did for the nation and my conversation with Pastor Jack Hibbs that we heard a little bit of last night in the program, I do believe, and he agreed in our conversation, that there is an open door. Right now, these issues, we could have lost the country. I said this going into the election. The election was not going to save the country, but it could have destroyed it. Fortunately, it’s not been destroyed because Americans woke up and did not vote for a leftist. But the work is not done. This just gives us the opportunity to do the work. And I think when we see things like Facebook, and I’ve not gone into great detail on this program, the number of social media outlets and big tech firms that have censored us, going all the way back to the beginning, So we know what that’s all about, but here is an opening, and I think we have to rush through this when I say we, as Christians in this country, exercising our free speech as these doors open so that we can solidify this freedom in the minds of Americans, talking truth, speaking the truth, talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ, confessing the Lord Jesus Christ, Putting these things out there in the public domain and having that discussion, this is not a time to hold back. It’s not a time to be timid. It’s time to be compassionate, kind, civil in our conversation. But we need to exercise these freedoms so that we can strengthen them and keep them.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think one important part of this whole development, this massive shift that we’re seeing across politics and across sports, even across entertainment, as we’ve seen Disney sort of back away from the transgender agenda, is that this is a grassroots movement. People are making a difference. And I think that sort of feeds into what you’re saying about this open door, that we actually do have the momentum right now. I think there’s a clip that Robbie Starbuck had earlier on his webpage where he said, you know, we are the mainstream now, not the anti-woke. And I think Christians really need to lean into that and say, we do have the momentum and we need to use it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. And not, you know, we’ve kind of, we, I mean, I can’t put myself in that category. I haven’t really censored myself. But as Christians, we’ve kind of, we don’t want to offend anybody. So we’ve kind of self-censored ourselves. We’ve, you know, we’re told religion and politics are things you don’t talk about in polite company. Well, you know, when I hear that, I say, well, you don’t want to hear from me. I’ve got nothing else to say. I’m not going to talk sports. I’m not going to talk weather. I know you’d like to talk sports, but I don’t go there. The reality is this is a moment to begin to educate people. When I say, you know, we need to exercise these freedoms, it’s for the benefit of sharing truth with others so that they might experience the freedom that comes from the truth. This is a time to use these platforms to change local communities. I mean, school board elections, and that’s one of the things Zuckerberg said, is that they’re going to allow more political discussion on their platforms. We need to take this moment, not thinking it’s going to be forever. It could be a very short window, but we need to take it, utilize it, and make the most of it so that we can, again, I’m being redundant, but I think it’s important to hear, solidifying these freedoms in the minds of a generation that has lost the importance of the First Amendment. and those freedoms, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the freedom to gather together peacefully, to have our concerns addressed by government. This is a unique moment, and we cannot take it for granted.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right, absolutely. And I think one of the things Christians have been so afraid of in the past and the church has been afraid of is that they’re alone. And I think what we see in these movements and with this election is that we’re not alone. There are a lot of people who hold the values that we do, who believe in truth and transcendent truth like we do. I mean, you’ve been in the political world for 30 years. Did you ever think that we would see such a shift in corporate America? I did not. And I have… This has been, as we call it, an issue of passion of mine for more than 15 years. I never thought we would see the progress that we’re seeing today. So what do you think is possible? If we can accomplish this in the corporate sphere, what else could we accomplish?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I was – last week I had the privilege of praying at the inaugural ceremony for the mayor in my home city of Baton Rouge. And I had been involved in the kind of the political – atmosphere, structure in my home city of Baton Rouge for a long time, going back 30 plus years. And I came out of the inaugural ceremony and I told my wife, I said, this was like a church service. I never would have thought. I mean, there were amazing, I think it was amazing grace, How Great Thou Art. I mean, there were just a number of songs, all of them spiritual in sense or patriotic. There were so many prayers, I lost track of them. And everyone was giving glory to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And I said, you know, I would have never envisioned that. Now, here’s the contrast. We’re living in the worst of times, but it’s the best of times. We have one of the highest murder rates in the country, violence in Baton Rouge, unfortunately. That’s a part of what fed into this election. People have had enough of it, same thing we saw on the national level. There’s a moment here that people are so desperate that they’re open to moving away from the woke ideology, the leftist ideas of silencing. And this is a moment to bring truth to the table, have frank conversations, because we know the truth can bring us to a place of consensus, but also resolution of some of these issues that are facing our local community. Again, I can’t encourage people enough to take this moment to respectfully, redemptively, as Ephesians 6 says, speaking the truth in love. We’re not trying to win a debate here. We’re trying to win hearts and minds, and we’re trying to set people free with the truth. But this is the time to have those conversations. This is that door of opportunity that I believe has been open to our country, and to the church in particular, in the wake of the events that have occurred.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. And I think that it would be a huge mistake to just think that this is always going to be this way. It’s up to us, as you say, to seize this moment, to have those conversations, to live boldly, to stand firm, and not just where we’re spending our dollar, but with education. If you have kids in school, speak up if you see bad curriculums. It’s a political debate. It’s an education debate. It’s everywhere that we live out our faith, which, as you always say, is not within the four walls of the church, but everywhere we go.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and to reemphasize what you said, the wind is to our back because we’re seeing success and nothing breeds success like success. We’ve got momentum and we need to be thankful for it. Thank the Lord for this momentum. Thank the Lord for this opportunity, for what he did in the election. But it’s going to be up to us to define what the outcome. outcome is of all of these things that are unfolding. Suzanne Bowdy, thank you for joining us and appreciate your work on The Washington Stand.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
And by the way, folks, The Washington Stand, if you’ve not yet seen it, is news and commentary from a biblical perspective from the Family Research Council. You can go to The Washington Stand or better yet, You can get the Stand Firm app, and you’ll have the news feed right there in your pocket. You’ll have the Washington stand. You’ll have Stand on the Word, and you’ll have Washington Watch right there on your smartphone. All right, folks, thanks so much for joining us today. I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6. where he says, when you’ve done everything that you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and when you have taken your stand, by all means, no matter what comes your way, just keep standing.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
