[00:00:00] From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC 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. We're talking about the great big beautiful bill You know that we're trying to get past it'll be the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country
[00:00:26] I think we're going to have it done. I think the Republicans are going to vote for it and it'll be the most consequential bill I think in the history of our country That was President Donald Trump speaking in an interview with Meet the Press over the weekend Welcome to this May 5th edition of Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, joins us with the latest developments On the one big beautiful bill from Capitol Hill in just a little bit
[00:00:53] A quick word of thanks to Jody Heiss for stepping in last week while I was in Israel As we were preparing to depart, the Israeli military was preparing for another offensive in Gaza This week Israel is issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders to reservists In order to strengthen and expand our operations in Gaza Not to occupy, but to expand the military operation Why? To increase the pressure on Hamas to release our hostages
[00:01:22] That was Israeli spokesman David Mincer earlier today We'll get the latest on the IDF call-ups and Israel's forceful response just hours ago To the Houthi attack on the Ben-Gurion airport that took place over the weekend CBN Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell will join us from Jerusalem And before leaving Israel last Friday night I sat down at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee President Trump will have to know he's not kidding
[00:01:52] They're not going to get nuclear weapons So the question is, do they realize that? Do they risk the control of their regime Just for the pride of saying they're going to push forward With something that they've been told by everyone in the region They're never going to have That was a discussion regarding Iran We discussed other issues I'll share part of that conversation with you Later, here on Washington Watch And finally, FRC's Vice President for Policy, Travis Weber
[00:02:20] And Washington Stand Editorial Director and Senior Writer, Suzanne Bowdy Will join me for an analysis of some of the claims made on the Sunday news show Like this one from NPR CEO, Catherine Marr Our people report straight down the line And I think that not only do they do that They do so with a mission that very few other broadcast organizations have Which is a requirement to serve the entire public That is the point of public broadcasting
[00:02:48] As we bring people together in those conversations NPR, no bias Well, we'll talk about that later on this edition of Washington Watch All of that and more coming up on this Monday edition But before we go to our first guest A quick reminder This is Monday And so this week's episode of God and Government is now available Session 12 How to Make a Godly Appeal to Leaders Now in this session I walk through how to make effective biblically grounded appeals to those in authority
[00:03:17] You can find it exclusively on the Stand Firm app If you don't have the Stand Firm app Well, text COURSE That's COURSE to 67742 And I'll send you a link That's text That's the text word COURSE To 67742 Well, during an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press President Donald Trump expressed his confidence in the Republican Party's ability to pass the big, beautiful bill Which he called the most consequential bill in the history of our country
[00:03:47] The president's optimism precedes what will likely be a week of negotiation On that budget reconciliation measure A version of which currently sits in the U.S. Senate How might Republicans come to terms and pass the budget? Well, here to discuss this and much more is U.S. Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas Who serves on four Senate committees, including finance and budget committees Senator Marshall, welcome back to Washington Watch Thanks so much for joining us Yeah, Tony, it's great to be with you
[00:04:14] And I can't wait to get this big, beautiful bill across the finish line for the president Well, let's talk about it How's it looking? Yeah, well, it's an uphill battle There's no doubt about it I want to emphasize, look, President Trump did what he said he was going to do He secured the border, he's rolling back regulations, our families are safer But now it's time for Congress to deliver I have a lot of confidence in Speaker Mike Johnson, Jody Arrington over there in the Budget Committee Those folks, I think they're doing great work
[00:04:44] I think we'll get it done But there'll be a little bit of hair pulling yet to get it all the way across the finish line All right, Senator Marshall, I also want to recognize you are a medical doctor You have delivered over 5,000 babies So health care is something that's very near and dear to your heart I want to play a clip that comes from Fox News over the weekend DNC Chair Ken Martin making the claims that Republicans are going after Medicaid
[00:05:13] And cutting Medicaid and medical funding Play clip number four, please Donald Trump made a lot of promises to Americans last year And this budget that he's bringing forward Is actually going to increase prices for most hardworking Americans That's where we're focused on right now This budget he's bringing forward Which is going to cut Medicaid All to give a tax break to the richest people in this country and corporations Okay And not helping hardworking Americans again All right, you're not sitting there on the Sunday shows commenting
[00:05:43] You're actually in the trenches doing the work How do you respond? Well, first of all, what's going to happen if we don't get this bill done Is your listeners are going to have an increased tax amount to $2,000 to $3,000 per family That's what's going to happen if we don't make the Trump tax cuts permanent Let's talk about Medicaid just for a second Look, I came to Washington, D.C. to save Medicaid To save Medicare I want to make sure that we're strengthening Medicaid for those that need it the most
[00:06:11] You know, it's only in Washington, D.C. can you increase spending $50 to $100 billion a year on a project On a program like Medicaid And people are still going to call that a cut So we're going to do everything possible To make sure that we preserve Medicaid for those who need it the most You know, Tony, that's what the Bible says that we should do That we should be taking care of those that are the least amongst us And I want to make sure that Medicaid dollars are going to those who really need the help Let's talk about that for just a moment, Dr. Marshall
[00:06:39] Because the Biden administration in the last four years expanded Medicaid significantly To those who are younger, able-bodied men who have the ability to work and to acquire insurance And so I want to underscore something you said there is to save Medicaid If you expand it to include everything, you'll end up having coverage for no one Yeah, yeah, Tony, you nailed it
[00:07:08] We have over 90 million people on Medicaid now Over 90 million people It was meant to be on those who need that help, that need that hand up It was meant for people, for folks in a nursing home maybe That can't afford nursing home care Or folks with a disability The poorest amongst it was who it was meant for But we've increased spending on Medicaid 50% in five years It's on a rocket ship launch right now as far as the amount of money we're spending on it
[00:07:36] And to your point, there's probably 7 million healthy men out there of working age that are not working So that's disappointing I think that giving people a hand up is important Rather than just a handout, I think a job brings dignity It brings purpose as well But to be giving young healthy men Medicaid Or, you know, or food stamps for that matter Just doesn't make sense to us And I think it'd be really the best thing for their mental health Is to help them get a job If they don't have the education for that job
[00:08:06] Then let's help them figure that out as well And it protects those who truly need help from Medicaid Because it will be there for them If you do it responsibly And I think that is what the Trump administration is pursuing Speaking of using government money wisely when it comes to health care issues Tell us about the No Subsidies for Gender Transition Procedures Act
[00:08:31] Which you have proposed along with House Member Claudia Tenney Right, so again, this is Congress doing its job President Trump's already made an executive order That we won't be spending your taxpayer money On this transgender surgeries or transgender hormones Believe it or not, Tony, the federal government is spending about $200 million a year On these transgender procedures And I don't have to tell you
[00:08:57] That there's typically an underlying mental health issue going on with this person And that mental health issue is still going to be there after these surgeries But the big problem to me is that these surgeries are irreversible One of the things we were taught in medical school Sometimes we have to save patients from themselves And this would be one of those procedures I think we should be scared of That they are irreversible They're going to cause infertility They're going to cause chronic scarring and pain as well Typically, one surgery leads to more and more and more
[00:09:27] So I just don't know how a physician can look a patient in the eye And say this is a good idea And then, you know, spiritually I think it's a slap in the face of our creator And again, when you look at the fact that we have $36 trillion in debt And we want to be able to provide As you said earlier, we want to help those who truly need help We're going to be in a position where we can help no one Because our economy implodes because of the debt that our government's carrying
[00:09:56] Yeah, we do have a finite amount of resources This country is the wealthiest country in the history of the world We've been so blessed But we need to be good stewards as well I think that we have all the money we need to do the right things But when you're spending a trillion dollars on interest One trillion dollars a year on interest A trillion dollars on Medicaid A trillion on Medicare All of a sudden, those start adding up to some serious numbers, Tony But we're a trillion dollars of interest every year
[00:10:25] And we're spending two trillion more than we make each year as well Just adding to that national debt This is the biggest long-term problem that our country faces Is this national debt issue On your bill, no subsidies for gender transition procedures act Which would protect minors from these irreversible surgeries And experimental use of drugs As you pointed out, the president by executive order has taken steps on this
[00:10:52] But so much of what the president has done by executive order can be undone And that's why it is important to codify this into law, into the statute Do you believe you'll be able to get a vote on this in the U.S. Senate? I do And the great thing with the way we're writing this Is we can get it in the reconciliation bill I know this is deep, deep, deep stuff here But the reconciliation bill is one of the few things It only takes 50 votes on the Senate to pass something
[00:11:21] And we can't get policy in there But if it has to do with saving money or spending more money We can typically get this into the bill So hopefully the parliamentarian will agree with this It survives that famous birdbath I'm sure you've talked to your listeners about as well So we're hopeful we'll get a vote on it in the reconciliation bill So what's the time frame in which you'll find out Whether or not you'll be able to have this A vote on this in the reconciliation? Well, I think we're probably a month away
[00:11:48] There's probably some other things ahead of this right now For the parliamentarian to decide But I'm sitting here thinking If the House can get their work done by Memorial Day Get us this bill over here shortly thereafter That maybe the first week or two in June We're going through the birdbath with all the different issues Get the parliamentarian's agreement And maybe we'll get the president's one big, beautiful bill done By July the 4th Another great president Another great president for President Trump A final question for you, Senator Roger Marshall
[00:12:18] I've been talking to the House Speaker He's been on the program discussing the issue of the fiscal cliff Where the debt ceiling We're very close to that He's concerned that we will get there before July Probably sometime in June Is there a sense in the Senate That we've got to move quicker on this reconciliation bill Which will include the debt ceiling increase? Well, Tony, I would tell you that Congress typically functions better When there is a gun at our head, so to speak
[00:12:46] And this is certainly the proverbial gun at our head I think it will be a big motivator to help us get something done sooner And to be honest, I don't know what's going to look different in July That's going to look in June So I think we'll use this to our advantage To get something done sooner than later All right, Senator Roger Marshall Always great to see you Thanks so much for joining us today on Washington Watch Thank you, Tony Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas And by the way, he was talking about the birdbath That is named after Robert Byrd
[00:13:16] Former senator from West Virginia It was a procedure It's a procedural method That in this reconciliation Which he described Only takes 50 votes 51 votes In the Senate to pass something As opposed to It bypasses the 60-vote threshold There's a parliamentarian process That has to go through It has to be germane And it has to be To the funding aspect So it has to either reduce spending
[00:13:45] Or have some connection to spending Can't be purely policy-related So that's a layman's explanation of the birdbath All right, don't go away More Washington Watch We go to Jerusalem after this At Family Research Council We believe religious freedom Is a fundamental human right That all governments must protect That's why FRC President Tony Perkins Went to Capitol Hill To testify on behalf of persecuted Christians
[00:14:15] In Nigeria Islamist terror groups Target Christians and other religious minorities In Nigeria With brutal violence Representative Chris Smith Who chaired the hearing Said 55,000 people have been killed And 21,000 abducted In the last five years alone The congressman also stressed That 89% of Christians in the world Who are martyred Are from Nigeria Yet the government of Nigeria Has failed to make progress
[00:14:43] Against religiously motivated persecution Of Christians Despite religious freedom Being enshrined as an essential human right In their constitution Tony Perkins called for the United States To send an unmistakable message This is systematic religious violence Nigeria must be redesignated A country of particular concern The Biden administration's removal Of this designation Was a reckless mistake That emboldened the very terrorists Who are slaughtering Christians
[00:15:13] Redesignating Nigeria Will enable the U.S. government To pressure Nigerian leaders To protect vulnerable Christians These are not just numbers These are fathers They're mothers They're children They're families Bishop Wilfred Anagabe Risked his life to speak out Sharing first-hand accounts Of the danger faced In his church district In central Nigeria We live in fear Because at any point It can be our turn to be killed But to remain silent
[00:15:42] Is to die twice So I have chosen to speak FRC is calling on President Trump To act now To promote religious freedom Around the globe And speak up On behalf of Christians In Nigeria Download the new StandFirm app For Apple and Android phones today And join a wonderful community Of fellow believers We've created a special place For you to access news From a biblical perspective
[00:16:12] Read and listen To daily devotionals Pray for current events And more Share the StandFirm app With your friends Family And church members And StandFirm Everywhere you go Looking for a trusted source of news That shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington Stand Your ultimate destination For informed Faith-centered reporting Our dedicated team Goes beyond the headlines Delivering stories
[00:16:42] That matter most to believers From breaking events To cultural insights We provide clear Compassionate coverage Through a biblical lens Discover news you can trust At the Washington Stand Where faith and facts Meet every day Welcome back to Washington Watch Good to have you with us On this Monday Just hours ago Israel responded To an attack By the Houthis On the airport In Tel Aviv
[00:17:12] With about 12 airstrikes On Yemen Now the Israeli government Also announced today A new plan to expand Its ground forces Its ground offensive In Gaza With the ultimate goal Of eradicating Hamas Here with the latest From Jerusalem Is Chris Mitchell The Middle East Bureau Chief At CBN News Chris thanks for staying up late And joining us today You're welcome Tony Good to be with you And we were just together Just a couple of days ago Here in Jerusalem
[00:17:41] Right I was there on Friday So my body's still On the same time clock As yours But so I feel The lateness of the hour In fact Just after we flew Out of the Ben-Gurion airport A day later Yeah This missile Ballistic missile From Yemen Hits the airport Quite significant Yeah it was Tony And I went down there Just a few hours After it hit It was about Three or four Football fields
[00:18:10] Away from the main terminal So a very significant Missile attack But it could have been Far worse If it went just A little further What happened apparently Was that one of the Interceptors By the Iron Dome Failed So it was able To get through In the past Several weeks Israel has shot down 26 of the 27 Ballistic missiles That Yemen has fired But this one Did get through And then You see the response Earlier tonight By the
[00:18:40] IDF And hitting Hodeidah Which is their main Port down there In Yemen And also As you mentioned A huge Significant Change in strategy By the IDF They're no longer Going to have Sort of these Special operations Where they take Over land But then they In Gaza But then they Leave it They've called up Maybe 60,000 Maybe I've heard As many as 100,000 Reservists To go back Into Gaza And take over
[00:19:10] Territory And keep it Yeah I was talking With an IDF officer Earlier today That was headed North Into Syria To relieve Some of the Full-time forces That are I think Going back down More the seasoned Troops going To Gaza So there is It appears to be A very strong Action afoot On behalf of Israel To create Maximum Pressure To force The release Of the Remaining hostages Yeah that's right The two main goals
[00:19:40] First of all To destroy Hamas As a military force And also put the Pressure on Hamas To release those Hostages It does carry Risks The IDF Chief of staff Did as he Presented this Proposal to the Security Cabinet And said it could Mean the loss Of some of the Lives of the Hostages But right now That's where they Believe they need To go And to really Bring an end To this war Eventually By taking Hamas's Advantages away And trying to
[00:20:09] Take the territory That Hamas Has been Trying to keep And also They have a plan Tony To make sure That the Humanitarian aid That goes into Gaza Will not be Stolen anymore By Hamas But also a plan So they could Secure a security Perimeter Around the Distribution Of the Humanitarian aid But make sure That it gets Directly to the People in need Yeah I do Want to quote Hamas on that Hamas decried Israel's effort To control
[00:20:39] Distribution of Humanitarian aid According to the AP in Gaza As a quote Unquote Violation of International law Of course Hamas being an Expert on International law I'm sure I want to go Back to the Houthis for just A moment Because we've Seen several Airstrikes on The Houthis And they've Been very Aggressive In their Missile strikes On Israel So first All First question Is how Is it That after These multiple Retaliatory Strikes by
[00:21:09] Israel Are the Houthis Still operating Even the United States Has hit Them How is it They're still Doing this And number Two We must Remember They're a Proxy For Iran This is Only going To be Eliminated I believe When the Threat From Iran Is eliminated Yeah First of all The reason Why they Seem to be Able to Continue To fire Ballistic Missiles It's a Great Question A lot Of people Are wondering How can After Several
[00:21:39] Weeks Of a U.S. Bombing Campaign And The Israeli Campaign That Has been Going on Even Before The U.S. Campaign How can They do That Well The Explanation That I've Heard Is that For years They've Been Hiding These Mobile Launchers Throughout The desert And so They've Been Able To Pull These Out When They Can And Fire Them And Also I've Been Told That They're Doing It In Daytime They Had Been Doing It Night Which Gives
[00:22:14] At Night They Do It At The Day Which Gives The U.S. And Israel Their Surveillance Systems A Little Harder To Track Them But The Other Point Is Exactly What Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu And A few Weeks Ago President Trump Said It's Really Iran Which Is The Mastermind And Supplying These ICBMs To The Houthis They're The Ones That
[00:22:44] So The Other Thing The Prime Minister Netanyahu Said Yesterday They're Going To Make Sure That They Hit Iran As Well Because Of These Strikes Against Israel And Particularly The One At The Airport What Do You Think Is The Time Frame Of This New Plan In Gaza In Terms Of It Sounds Like This Is Much More Aggressive Than We Seed In The Past It's Almost As
[00:23:15] It May Begin In Earnest After President Trump Comes Here Next Week When He Visits Qatar The UAE And Saudi Arabia But It Will Go In Stages But I I've Been Told It's Going To Be Vast It's Going To Be Decisive It Will Take Time To Get Up To Its Maximum Effect Against Against The Ma By The Way They Already Control About 30 Per The Strip And They Have Done A Lot Of Infrastructure To Make Sure That This
[00:23:45] Plan Goes Into Effect So It Seems Like They Do Want To Bring Into This And Try Through This Campaign To Bring The Hostages Home As Well Are We People Have To Freedom They Can Try To Escape
[00:24:14] But Right Now Since October 7th And The War Began Most Of Human Shields And Leverage As Well By Hamas Against The IDF And Their Campaign Tomas Is Pawns They Don't Want To Lose Them And So They're Working I Think In Concert With The Surrounding Nations To Keep Them From Leaving Chris Mitchell Always Great To
[00:25:00] Everything We Do Begins As An Idea Before There Can Be Acts Of Courage There Must Be The Belief That Some Things Are Worth Sacrificing For Before There Can Be Marriage There Is The Idea That Man Should Not Be Alone Before There There Was A
[00:25:30] Holocaust There Was The Belief By Some People That Other People Are Undesirable Our Beliefs Determine Our Behavior And Our Beliefs About Life's Biggest Questions Determine Our World View Where Did I Come From Who Decides What Is Right And Wrong What Happens When I Die Our Answers To These Questions Explain Why People See The
[00:25:59] Sexuality And Gender And Marriage Are Really Disagreements About Whether The Rules Are Made By Us Or For Us What We Think Of As Political Debates Are Often Much More Than That They're Disagreements About The Purpose Of Our Lives And The Source Of Truth As Christians Our Goal Must Be To Think Biblically About Everything Our Goal Is To Help You See Beyond Red And Blue Left And Right To See The Battle Of Ideas At The Root Of It All Our Goal Is To Equip Christians With A Biblical
[00:26:29] Worldview And Help Them Advance And Defend The Faith In Their Families Communities And The Public Square Cultural Renewal Doesn't Begin With Campaigns And Elections It The Truth Claims Behind The Press Release In The Forest From The Trees Welcome
[00:27:04] back to Washington Watch Thanks For Being With Us By The Way If You Are In Our Journey Through The Bible We're In The Book Of Daniel And We Have A Study Guide Available The Book Of Daniel And You Can Get A Copy Simply Text The Daniel To 677 4 2 That's Daniel To 677 4 2 Earlier I Was In Israel Last Week I Appreciate Jody Filling In For Me We Were There Big Week
[00:27:34] For Israel It Was Their Memorial Day Followed By Their 77th Anniversary Of Their Independence We Were Able To Partake In Those Celebrations And Remembrance Ceremonies And While I Was There I Was Able To Visit With The Delegation I Was Leading We Visited With The New Ambassador To The Embassy On Friday And We Did An Interview That Aired This Past
[00:28:04] Week On This Week On Capitol Hill It My Weekend Program That I Do With House Speaker Mike Johnson We Talked About Israel From A Historical And Spiritual Viewpoint And How Things Have Turned Around In The Past Year And I Want To Share Part Of That Interview With You And Here Is Part Of That Interview With Ambassador Mike Huckabee So We Were Talking About Iran We Were Talking About Syria Big Change There Although That's
[00:28:33] We See Turkey's Hand In There And I'm Not So Sure They're Extremely Friendly Toward Israel Let's Talk Iran The President His Administration Involved In Negotiations There Is There Going To Be An Agreement That We Reach With Iran Are They Reasonable People No They're Not To Be Blunt They Never Have Been 46 Years They've Been Under The Rule Of The Ayatollahs And They've Been Very Adamant That Their Goal Is To
[00:29:03] Destroy Israel And Then Destroy The United States When They Said Something Like That For 46 Years They Put Two Different Plots Trying To Assassinate President Trump We're Looking At The Israel Strikes That We Don't Know So The Honest Answer When People Say Do You Have Any Hope That This Will Result In
[00:29:33] Some Type Of Negotiated Peace Settlement With The Iranian Government All I Can Do Is Say I Hope So Because I Would Rather See That Than War But If I'm Looking At 46 Years Of Their Rule I'm Not Overly Optimistic That They're Just Eager To Sit Down And That They Would Make A Deal And If They Made It Would Keep It But Let's Hope And Pray That They Do There Is A Lot At Stake If Something Doesn't Happen The President Has Been Adamant That They're Not Going To Get Nuclear
[00:30:03] Weapons They're Adamant They Are That's A Stalemate At Some Point And I Think I Know President Trump Will Know He's Not Kidding They're Not Going To Get Nuclear Weapons So The Question Is Do They Realize That Do They Risk The Control Of Their Regime Just Even Their Muslim
[00:30:33] Neighbors Don't Want Them To Have A Nuclear Weapon Any More Than You Would Want A 16 Year Old Boy To Have Keys To A Lamborghini And A Bottle Of Whiskey You Just Don't Give Irresponsible People Things That They Can't Be Responsible With In Part That Was Some Of We're Dealing With Hamas Is That
[00:31:02] The Regime Does Not Fully Represent The People No They Don't In 2009 There Was Almost A Change Of Government People Were Rising Up It Was The Green Movement President Obama In His Memoir Admitted That One Of The Biggest Mistakes Of His Presidency Was Not Providing At Least Not Military Support Nobody Suggested That Was Appropriate But If He Could Have Just Said We Support The People Who Are Seeking To Be Free And To
[00:31:32] Unshackle Themselves From This Totalitarian Government It Might Have Been A Tipping Point Instead He Was Totally Silent Even As The Young Lady Was Murdered In The Blood Running Out Of Her Head That Picture Kind Of Showed The End Of The Green Movement Is Is That The Best Way Forward For Iran To Be Free Free Culture Is A Magnificent One The
[00:32:02] Iran Before The Ayatollahs Was One Of The Most Educated Places On Earth Some Of The Aligned With The United States Incredibly Aligned With The United States But Even If We Weren't What They Represented Was A Very Modern Delightful Culture They Were Focused On Education And Advancement And Science And Innovation It Was One Of The Really Center Pieces Of The Earth And Certainly
[00:32:32] In The Middle East To See It Tragically Taken By The Ayatollahs And Virtually Destroyed The Antiquities The Culture It It's One Of The Great Tragedies Of The Last 200 Years Ambassador We're Just About Out Of Time We're Up Against A Break I Want to Circle Back To Our Earlier Conversation In Last Evangelicals Who Are The Primary Audience Of This Program Back In The United States
[00:33:01] How Should They Be Praying Right Now Well The Bible Says Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem So Even More So You're Here In Jerusalem Especially Now Especially Now But I Think What They Need To Do Is Become In Formed I I I I I I I I I I I
[00:33:39] I I I I I I right. And that's why I worked with it this week. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, thank you for joining us. Thank you, Tony. Always great to see you. Are you ready to transform your trials into triumphs? Dive into the book of Daniel with FRC's
[00:34:07] new study guide, Daniel, Visions and Valor. Perfect for those seeking courage and wisdom from one of the Bible's most faithful figures. This 13-day journey is ideal for small groups or individual study as part of our ongoing Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. It's a timeless resource ready to deepen your engagement with scripture. Explore how Daniel's life and God-given
[00:34:31] visions offer a blueprint for navigating challenges. Each day includes scriptures, reflection questions, and space for notes to enhance your understanding and application. Available in digital and physical formats, order your copy of Daniel, Visions and Valor today and start your journey of transformation. To order, text the word Daniel to 67742. That's Daniel to 67742.
[00:35:01] What is God's role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? How does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful 13-part series that equips you with
[00:35:28] biblical truth to engage in today's most pressing debates. From the Ten Commandments in classrooms to the immigration crisis of America, we'll uncover the foundations of our nation's history and why it's relevant for today. Defend God's plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. New episodes available each Monday. To view the series on the Stand Firm app, text COURSE to
[00:35:56] 67742. 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
[00:36:19] 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
[00:36:47] 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. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for being with us on this Monday. All right, you can, by the way, you can watch the rest of the interview with Ambassador Huckabee on my YouTube channel. It's Tony Perkins on YouTube if you want to
[00:37:14] check out the rest of that interview as we sit down with Ambassador Huckabee. And I would encourage you to be praying for him as well. Very key role there in Israel as that deals with a lot of the issues in the Middle East. All right, our word for today comes from Daniel chapter 6 verse 3. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Well, and that didn't set well with the
[00:37:43] others. David stood out not because of his position but because of his spirit. He served with integrity, humility, and excellence. That kind of character still gets noticed not only by kings but by the king of kings. The apostle Paul echoed this in his letter to the Ephesians. He said, Obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, rendering service with a goodwill as to the Lord and not to man. Our goal should never be to impress
[00:38:09] people but to honor God with wholehearted service. He is the one we ultimately serve and the one who ultimately rewards. So wherever you work and whoever you work for, remember this, God sees, God rewards. And his benefits package, well, it's truly out of this world. To find out more about our journey through
[00:38:30] the Bible, text Bible to 67742. Well, as we wrap up today's program, I want to try something a little bit different. We're going to bring in two of our own experts here at the Family Research Council to discuss some of the topics that came up yesterday on the Sunday shows. Joining me now for this expert panel discussion is Travis Weber, Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs here at the Family
[00:38:55] Research Council, and Suzanne Bounty, Editorial Director and Senior Writer at the Washington Stand. Travis and Suzanne, thanks for joining me. Thank you, Tony. Thanks, Tony. All right, so we're going to take a look at some of these clips, and I'm going to get your response to them because a lot of issues discussed over the weekend. And I think it's important that we dissect some of these statements
[00:39:21] and analyze them both on both sides, because there's a lot of political spin put on the issue. So let's first take a look at CNN's State of the Union program from Sunday. Democrat Senator Mark Warner suggested a plan for standing up to Iran. Let's play that clip. The best thing we could do to stand up against Iran would be for Israel to end the conflict in Gaza,
[00:39:46] get the hostages back, because, you know, starting to rebuild and giving the Palestinians some hope for life would allow Saudi Arabia and other nations in the region to, frankly, recognize Israel and then put an even more united front against Iran. You know, Travis, that sounds like more of the same. You were with me in Israel last week. We spoke to members of the IDF. We were at Memorial Day
[00:40:13] services. How would pacifying Hamas, walking away from Gaza, affect Iran in terms of its hostility toward Israel? Yeah, I mean, Tony, when I hear that clip, my question for him is how exactly is he proposing we stand up against Iran by appeasing and rolling over and giving Hamas, who is aligned with Iran in its ultimate goal of eliminating the Jewish people in the state of Israel. So what
[00:40:43] the senator is saying there is let's sort of ease up the gas on Hamas here so that we can direct our attention to Iran. It's kind of like saying I'm fighting one army, but let's just like ignore this one part over here so we can just all turn our attention to the other part as if Hamas is going to join in that effort. Hamas is not interested in helping Israel against Iran. They're aligned with Iran against Israel. So we need some clarity on the reality of what's happening in the region,
[00:41:11] of the alignments in the region. And I would say provide a different prescription, Tony. I think a better prescription is to first step back and ascertain the proper perspective of the region, get clarity on what's actually happening, which is Hamas, Iran, Turkey, and others in the region really are all aligned in their anti-Israel, anti-Jewish animus. Then proceed to describe the
[00:41:39] prescription for how to help Israel best stand in the midst of a hostile sea of neighbors. Suzanne, I want to go to you on that issue of the Middle East. The Middle East understands power. I think we saw very clearly during the four years of the Biden administration what appeasement gets us. It gets us a world on fire. That seems to be what Senator Warner is proposing.
[00:42:07] Absolutely. And I have to believe that Iran and the Houthis, Gaza, Hamas are all very concerned about a Trump administration that's not going to sit back and just take these bombings, just take this hostage situation. They're going to take it very seriously. And so in this instance, I think Warner's very misled on what he's proposing here, as Travis says. Let's change channels. Let's go to CBS's Face the Nation. Senator Tammy Duckworth was laser focused
[00:42:36] on the Trump administration's nominee for U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz. Play the clip of Duckworth. Senator Duckworth, please. He's not qualified for the job just by nature of the fact that he participated in this signal chain. In fact, I think everybody on that signal chain needs to be fired because not a single one of them spoke up and said, hey, this is inappropriate. We should be in a secure channel. All right. I'll throw this out to you first, Suzanne, because you've been writing on
[00:43:04] this. I think Mike Waltz, who is a friend, who I think is actually one of the best equipped in the White House to handle the issues in the Middle East. I think he was maybe too aggressive for some. And I think there was a lot of backbiting, what I hear in the White House. I think appointing him or nominating him for ambassador to the U.N., given the issues surrounding
[00:43:31] his departure, is going to make confirmation very difficult. Am I right? I think you are right. I think the Democrats are salivating at this opportunity to take down a member of the Trump team who, in my estimation, we don't know all the details about SignalGate, but Mike Waltz is so qualified for any position he holds that deals with national security. He has four Bronze Stars. He's served in the Special Forces. He's been on the House Armed Services Committee. He's worked in the Bush administration. So this is a very convenient
[00:44:00] controversy for the left. I think that they're just looking for a way to describe the administration as sloppy or amateur or just unprepared for the tasks at hand. And this is a great opportunity for them to shift the messaging, discredit the Trump administration. But Mike Waltz, as a person in the administration, has been solid. And he will continue to be solid if he is able to be confirmed, which will be a tall order for him in the Senate as it's constructed now.
[00:44:27] Travis, what do we know about the internal jockeying, so to speak? We have those who are, you know, isolationist that are a part of this kind of new conservative wing of the party. Mike Waltz, not fitting into that category. I wouldn't call him a, you know, a war, a hulk necessarily.
[00:44:52] He's one that's been on this program many, many times because he is well versed in foreign policy and military issues, security issues. But is this a sign, a troubling sign of things to come of the power and influence of the isolationist wing that has the ear of the president? Tony, I do think we need to ask, you know, where this is coming from. And as you're noting,
[00:45:18] you know, those who just do not like Mike Waltz's views on these, on how to conduct our foreign policy regionally and otherwise, they would be looking for an opportunity like this, right? And as Suzanne said, convenient. It's very convenient for the Democrats. So my, you know, appeal to the administration would be, where does this set, what does this set you up for? Do not think it's a good situation right now because they're, you know, kind of, so to speak, you know, putting out to the
[00:45:46] Democrats for them to try to take down Waltz here. And meanwhile, you know, what are they left with in terms of advice to conduct foreign policy? You need a multitude of counselors. You need counselors who prepared to face our enemies, take them on as Trump did when he ordered the strike against the Iranian general during the first administration, right? And that was an appropriate response to aggression. That is the language that we're speaking in, speaking with, with some of these
[00:46:15] adversaries. And so in light of all that, you know, looking at what's happening, Tony, as you say, the jockeying, the current state of jockeying is not really good to set the president up to lead with force in a hostile world. When you need clarity on what's happening, you need moral clarity and the, and, and the ability to speak that consistently to your adversaries in a way that they can
[00:46:42] understand. So, you know, Tony, as you said, we need advisors around the president. We as Americans should want advisors around the president that he can trust and hear from knowing he cannot personally keep up with every situation that's happening globally. That's why you need experts. And so Mike Waltz is certainly one of those on the Middle East, on our military activities globally. And so from that perspective, we should ask, well, who's going to fill that gap now?
[00:47:08] Where are we going to get that advice in the foreign policy apparatus for the president and what he needs to do globally? And if I could just step in there, one of the names that's been floated today is Stephen Miller, who is currently serving as a white house chief of domestic policy. So what you're really seeing in the Trump administration is a shrinking of the circle of trust. So you have fewer voices speaking into the president, some of whom I don't know what Stephen Miller's background is that equips him to be national security advisor. But it really is a
[00:47:35] troubling sign for the administration, I think, to just so closely shrink who has access to the president on these important issues. And Suzanne, you know, Suzanne's, you're talking about someone who's been focused on the border a lot. The border is a national security issue, but there are other national security issues. Tony, part of what we've seen at our border is people flooding in from not just Mexico and South America, but around the world. So we need to be ascertaining
[00:47:59] this with a global perspective. And you need to understand what's happening globally, not just in the immigration system or other select matters closer to home. And I would say it's a little disingenuous, too, for the Trump administration to say this is a promotion, when in fact, we don't know what's going on behind closed doors. And it could very well be something else entirely. Well, you don't remove somebody from a position to promote them to another one. They would stay in that position until confirmed for the other one. All right, let me move on. Fox News. We saw
[00:48:29] Fox News Sunday, we actually saw DNC Chair Ken Martin venture across the aisle talking about Medicaid cuts. Play the clip of Martin, please. Donald Trump made a lot of promises to Americans last year. And this budget that he's bringing forward is actually going to increase prices for most hard-working Americans. That's where we're focused on right now. This budget he's bringing forward, which is going to cut Medicaid, all to give a tax break to the richest people in this country and corporations. And not helping hard-working
[00:48:58] Americans again. All right, here we go again. Same line that Republicans are going to be cutting Medicaid. No discussion about the fact that the Biden administration expanded it by about 50% to able-bodied men that could easily work and have their own health care coverage. This, what the Republicans are looking at, waste, fraud, and abuse to salvage and save the program.
[00:49:27] Right. And I think one of the things that should debunk that claim right off the bat are the lawsuits taking place in swing states where Democrats have tried to put up billboards saying, you know, the Republicans are going to cut grandma's health care. They're going to eliminate Medicaid. There aren't going to be any entitlement programs. You won't have benefits. And in fact, when Republicans even threatened the Democrats with defamation lawsuits, they backed off. They are clearly lying.
[00:49:53] They have no answer for the Trump agenda or for the Republicans who want to cut waste, fraud, and abuse. We've seen illegal immigrants on the rolls for Medicaid. We've seen, as you said, able-bodied people. You were talking with Dr. Marshall earlier. There are some estimates that in blue states, as many as 40% of households are on Medicaid, which is astronomical. We cannot continue to fund something or it will be extinct. We just can't afford this anymore.
[00:50:19] OK, I want to move one more weekend interview with NPR's president and CEO Catherine Moore. She joined Paula Kerger for this conversation. Let's play the clip of Catherine Moore. Our people report straight down the line. And I think that not only do they do that, they do so with a mission that very few other broadcast organizations have, which is a requirement to serve the entire public. That is the point of public broadcasting, is we bring people
[00:50:49] together in those conversations? Straight down the line. What line is that? Well, you don't have to take it from us that NPR is biased. You can take it from NPR's own staff. Since Yuri Berliner, a whistleblower, published a very lengthy expose in the Free Press last year, talking about how absolutely convoluted and biased their agenda was, not just in reporting since COVID, but just in the last several years. They only serve a niche audience, and yet they're getting
[00:51:19] millions and millions of taxpayer dollars. So it's a wild suggestion that they are right down the middle. President Trump, though, taking action to eliminate the funding for public broadcasting. Right. And I think that they should be very concerned because this is something he can do through the rescission process, which only requires a simple majority in the Senate. So she has a good reason to be concerned because Trump and the Senate Republicans will take action on this,
[00:51:47] and very likely the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will take a huge hit. What happens? I mean, how much of their funding comes from government sources? I mean, will they be able to survive? They could if they had, I assume, private influx of dollars, but good luck getting enough to fund it when you're only serving 11 percent of the American population, which is roughly the niche that they're getting right now in terms of listenership. We saw this with Planned Parenthood when the federal
[00:52:16] government began to withdraw funds for them. They raised the money. They had plenty of money, a billion-dollar operation. I mean, look, if NPR provides a service to those 11 percent and they happen to be, you know, the liberal left, the wealthy, hey, let them fund it. But I think it makes our government more fiscally responsible. I personally don't think that they'll find the
[00:52:41] funding they need to continue operating as they do. And that wouldn't be a tragedy. I don't think we ever need for the government to provide us with entertainment or news. It comes across as state-funded propaganda. So leave that to the people who are reporting for a living, who can be unbiased, and take the taxpayers out of it. But what about Big Bird? We might miss Big Bird, right? All right. Suzanne Bounty, Travis Weber, thanks so much for joining us. I got to go catch those
[00:53:10] reruns of Sesame Street. All right, folks, thank you for joining us as well. You can find out more about the broadcast. Go to TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app and you'll have Washington Watch at your fingertips along with the Washington Stand, our news feed, which is brought to you not by taxpayer dollars, but by folks like you. Until next time, I leave you once again with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you've done
[00:53:38] everything you can do, when you've prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, by all means, keep standing. 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.