Skip to content 9/19/2025 As America and the World Seeks Stable Footing, Our Great Call Remains Disciple Making Sep 21 · 54 min ...more
9/19/2025 As America and the World Seeks Stable Footing, Our Great Call Remains Disciple Making
September 21, 2025 · 54 min
Congress’s next steps, standing with Israel, the CCP and Venezuelan drug cartels, boys punished for objecting to a girl in their locker room, and making disciples who embrace a biblical worldview.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio September 21, 2025 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Congress’s next steps, standing with Israel, the CCP and Venezuelan drug cartels, boys punished for objecting to a girl in their locker room, and making disciples who embrace a biblical worldview. ...more Show the full description Show less Congress’s next steps, standing with Israel, the CCP and Venezuelan drug cartels, boys punished for objecting to a girl in their locker room, and making disciples who embrace a biblical worldview.
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Navigating Political and Social Challenges Through a Biblical Lens 0:00 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and0:12 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.0:19 As speaker of the house, it is my responsibility to lead the house of representatives and to do what is right by the American people, and that's what we did today in 2 very important votes. The first was a a common0:29 sense, very reasonable, nonpartisan, effort to keep the government open. This is a a very short 7 week, holdover of of of government funding. We are gonna allow more0:41 time for the appropriations process to continue.0:45 That was house speaker Mike Johnson after the house passed a temporary measure to keep the government open past September the thirtieth, and then the Senate rejected the bill.0:57 Welcome to this September nineteenth edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host, Jody Heise. So glad to have you joining us today. Coming up, we'll have more on that story. Congress Morgan Griffith from1:09 Virginia will, join me to discuss what efforts are being made to keep the government open. And president Trump, he says that, he and China, they, the president1:21 of china, she they talked today about TikTok. And what does all this mean for the apps future here in the United States? We're here in just a few moments. Asian expert Gordon Chang will join me to discuss1:33 this. And in other news today, 2 male Virginia students who were suspended for speaking out about a biological female who was in their locker room. They just want an emergency relief in1:44 federal court. I'll be talking more about this with Virginia state delegate Jerry Higgins a little bit later in the program. And then to close out today, as we always like to do on Fridays, I'll be joined by David1:56 Clawson for our weekly Biblical Worldviews segment. Alright. A governmentGovernment Shutdowns and International Relations 2:07 shutdown is looking more and more likely every day, especially now that Senate Democrats have blocked a stop cap spending measure earlier today. The GOP backed bill had passed the2:19 house and aimed to keep the government open running through or at least past October first. Joining me now is Washington stand reporter Casey Harper who's been following this story.2:31 Casey, what more can you tell us about this whole budget discussion that's taking place on Capitol Hill?2:37 Well, thanks, Jody. As you said, a bill to keep the government open past October first just failed in the senate. It needed 60 votes but only got 44. Of course, most Democrats voted no. They say the bill didn't include2:48 enough funding for health care programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Now the bill had already passed the house and would have kept things running through November 20 first. It also included 88000000 dollars3:00 for security, which, of course, comes after the recent assassination of Christian conservative Charlie Kirk.3:06 If Chuck Schumer's negotiation has said he wants to add 1400000000000.0 dollars in new spending, the answer is heck no. We're not doing that, and we're not gonna pay for health care for illegal aliens. That's against the3:16 law. We're not doing that. They're not being reasonable at all. A short term CR is not a partisan exercise. We could have loaded this up with partisan, provisions, but we're not doing that because we're governing in a3:26 responsible manner.3:29 Now that clip was speaker Mike Johnson after the measure passed the house. With Congress going into a break, it's unclear if they'll return next week to try again. If no deal is made by September thirtieth, we're looking3:40 at a government shutdown. But also in big news and a win for president Trump, senate Republicans yesterday used the nuclear option, Jody, to overcome Democrat obstruction and confirm 48 of president3:52 Trump's nominees in just 1 vote. The the move fast tracked keypicks and filled important defense and agency roles cutting through months of gridlock. Jody?4:03 Wow. Thank you, Casey. We're actually gonna be talking a little bit more about that later in the program with, congressman Morgan Griffith. What other things are you tracking right now, Casey?4:14 Well, the the US vetoed a UN resolution yesterday, which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Now the measure ignored key security concerns for Israel and didn't provide enough guarantees to stop4:26 violence from Hamas. 14 nations backed the resolution, but the US stood firm in defense of Israel's right to protect its people. That war, of course, was started, infamously by Hamas, a4:37 terrorist organization whose members brutally attacked Israel on October seventh 20 23, killing 1200 civilians and taking hundreds of hostages. Now other news today came out of the White4:49 House, actually. President Trump had an important phone call with China's leader Xi Jinping earlier today. President Trump said that he and Xi made progress on a TikTok deal and agreed to a face to face meeting5:01 as soon as next month in South Korea. Now president Trump said on Truesocial that, quote, we made progress on many very important issues, including trade, fentanyl, the need to bring the war5:13 between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok deal, unquote. So, you know, president, Trump also said Xi would come to the US at a later date, which is a big development,5:24 Jody.5:26 Wow. Thank you so much, Casey. Appreciate that as always. Alright. I wanna go now to my first guest for a further analysis of president Trump's call with China's, Xi5:38 Jinping today. And joining me to give his assessment now is Gordon Chang. He's a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and also author of Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America. By5:50 the way, you can follow him on x under the handle at Gordon g Chang. Gordon, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always good to have you.5:59 Thank you so much, Jody.6:02 Okay. So we've got the phone call between Trump and, China's president, Xi today, and they say that progress was made in regard to TikTok as well as other6:14 very important issues, including things like trade, fentanyl, and the, Russia Ukraine war and so forth. But I I gotta tell you, Gordon, that kinda makes me scratch my head of what6:25 what would be considered progress, both for America and and maybe progress for China. Seems like we've been at a standstill for a long time. What does progress look like6:37 at this point?6:39 Well, progress, according to president Trump in his truth social posting today, said that Xi jinping actually approved the tiktok deal But we don't know the terms of the deal jodi and that is absolutely6:51 crucial. There are 3 things here There's ownership data security and the curation of the algorithm and it appears on the first 2 that president Trump got a really good deal from the Chinese. The third 1,7:03 we don't know about, and that's the most important by far. That's the curation algorithm. This is the algorithm that determines what you see and what you don't see on the site. And clearly, China's been7:15 using the algorithm to create division in America, to meddle in our elections, to promote things like suicide and illicit drug use. This is really bad7:27 stuff. Now, The Wall Street Journal had some reporting a couple days ago that suggests that this is gonna be okay from the US point of view, but there were no details in the truth social posting. So we're gonna have to7:38 wait to see what it's like.7:40 Yeah. I I you're exactly right. I mean, the devil's in the details. Any idea when those details may be coming out?7:48 Well, president Trump just gave a fourth extension to the federal ban on on TikTok, and that extension expires, December seventeenth. So, apparently, there's supposed to8:00 be a deal. We heard from treasury secretary Bessette a couple days ago that, there will be further, negotiations, but only really on very minor points. The major points have been8:12 agreed according to the treasury secretary. So probably there won't be a fifth extension if all of these reports are true. But, you know, TikTok is really important. We know that the Chinese8:24 have used it to steal data from Americans. That, by the way, is a violation of federal law, which means under federal forfeiture statutes, we could actually just seize TikTok without compensation. So I'm8:36 not exactly sure why we feel we need to negotiate with the Chinese. I think that if we're gonna negotiate with them, quote, unquote, we ought to be just telling them what the terms are and then telling them they're8:47 either gonna take it or leave it. And if they leave it, we're gonna expropriate it.8:52 Yeah. And if a deal is made, what assurances are there that they would not continue using it as an instrument to gather information? I guess that, again, will be in the9:04 details that we'll find out in the weeks to come.9:07 Yeah. The data security provision, apparently, Oracle, which is 1 of the 3 companies that will own a combined 80 percent of the TikTok, will continue to provide cloud services. If that's the9:19 case, then Oracle should be able to provide data security to prevent the Chinese from doing what they've been doing. But then again, you know, as you wisely say, it's the devils in the details. So So I'd like to know9:31 what those data security provisions will be and how much control Oracle will have over the app.9:39 Yeah. Absolutely. Well, I know president Trump said that he and, China's president Xi will be meeting face to face here, I think, in about 6 weeks in in, South Korea. And also said that he, by the way,9:50 will be visiting China. And at some point, president president Xi will be coming here to the US. By the way, this is something that former president Biden didn't do his entire presidency. He never went to China. But what10:02 what do you make of the plans for these 2 leaders to be meeting face to face in the future?10:08 Well, I don't have any problem with Trump and Xi getting together on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in South Korea. But president Trump should not be the first to travel. You know, he said that he was gonna go to10:19 China in the early part of next year and that eventually Xi Jinping would return the visit at an appropriate time. The Chinese are gonna view this as Trump acknowledging the his submission to the10:31 Grand Celestial Chinese Court because this is the way the Chinese have been thinking about things for centuries, 2 millennia, actually. So, although I know president Trump doesn't believe that he10:43 is a subordinate to the Chinese, that's the narrative that they are gonna propagate around the world. And by the way, it makes it much harder for president Trump to actually be effective in diplomacy because people10:55 around the world accept the Chinese narrative, and that means they are gonna be much more resistant to president Trump's initiatives than they otherwise would be because they feel that China has the whip hand. So at this11:06 particular time, I think president Trump should not go to China.11:11 Good point. So, let me let me ask you this. With all the escalation that there's been between the US and China over the the recent Liberation Day tariffs that president Trump instituted, what what's your11:23 feeling on the overall, stand of things right now? How does it look?11:29 I think we're doing a fairly good job, and president Trump deserves kudos for this because as it stands, our tariffs are about 20 percent higher on chinese goods than chinese tariffs on our goods11:41 Normally delay and there's been a lot of delay in the final settlement of a tariff deal normally delay helps the chinese because it means they can continue their predatory trade practices and continue11:53 to steal our intellectual property. This time, Trump has set these things up so delay helps us because Trump is negotiating these trade deals with others, and that means, we're directing12:05 trade away from China. So I think that this is a good thing for us, and and I think the White House has been doing a good job on this, when you consider on balance.12:15 Alright. Last question for you has to do with Taiwan. What's your feelings on where things stand or where things may be going as it relates to china and taiwan?12:25 I've always been much more concerned about chinese aggression against the philippines and the south china Sea, specifically Scarborough Shoal, where there's been some very dangerous incidents in last month and this12:37 month. You know, if a war starts in East Asia, it's almost certainly gonna start against the Philippines, not against Taiwan because Taiwan is too hard to target. And there are a lot of other reasons why I don't think12:48 China would initiate hostilities by launching an invasion of the main island of Taiwan. But in any event, Taiwan will get involved in a crisis if there is a war against the Philippines because the whole13:00 region probably will go to war for various reasons. So we've got to be concerned about Taiwan, but we more important, we gotta be concerned about the Philippines.13:09 Wow. There's so many hot potatoes out there that we're tossing back and forth. Thank you so much, Gordon Chang, senior fellow at the Gates Stone Institute. Always, always an honor to have you. We13:21 deeply appreciate the tremendous insight that you bring.13:25 Well, it's an honor for me to talk to you, Jody. So thank you very much, and God bless.13:29 Alright. God bless you as well. Have a great weekend. Alright, friends. We've got a lot more to cover as we continue unfolding, multiple issues here on Washington Watch. Coming up next, it's been aCultural and Spiritual Challenges in Education and Society 13:41 difficult week, if you will, for school officials at Loudoun County, at least, in Virginia. That is where a couple of, students were suspended, couple of male students who were uncomfortable having a girl in the13:53 locker room. Well, we've got a lot to share about what's happening there, and we'll do so right13:59 after the break. Stay tuned.14:00 3 years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and14:12 bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn't outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now,14:23 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there's a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12 percent since 20 20,14:35 climbing from 930000 to over 1000000 in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple, the abortion drug. Today, over14:47 60 percent of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 20 21, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum long standing safety14:59 protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the15:11 Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11 percent of women who take the15:22 abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden era policies, pro life laws will remain15:34 largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let's stand for15:46 life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at f r c dot org slash stop chemical abortion.16:00 In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.16:11 Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us16:23 and discover the glory of the Word. Read the gospels and witness the life changing story of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of16:35 common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament17:02 Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heise. Always glad to have you joining us as well. Alright. Last month, officials at the Loudoun County Public Schools17:14 in Virginia, you may remember they suspended a couple of male teenage students for expressing discomfort with having a biological female in the boys locker room. Well, in response, a17:26 lawsuit was filed defending the students. And this week, a federal court granted a motion for emergency relief, which temporarily blocks the district's suspension17:38 while that case moves forward. And on top of that, the US Department of Education announced this week that the school district had been in violation of Title 9.17:50 So it's not been a good week for Loudoun County school officials. We'll just put it that way. But the question is, have they learned their lessons? Joining me now to discuss this is Virginia state delegate,18:02 Jerry Higgins. He represents the thirtieth district, which includes parts of Loudoun County. He's also a former Loudoun County supervisor and school board member. Delegate Higgins, welcome to18:14 Washington Watch. It's our honor to have you.18:17 Thank you, Jody. It's an honor to be with you all and, get a chance to speak with you tonight.18:24 Yeah. Let's, let's talk about this. Let's let's begin with what came out of the the court. The school district appears to, quite frankly, be putting indoctrination over education, if we can put it that18:36 way. But it's good to see that the the court is stopping this wrongful punishment so, so that education can go forward. Your thoughts on all of it?18:48 Yeah. It it's really a shame. I'm not a lawyer, so I may not be discussing all the ins and outs of the case. But, basically, they ruled that the school board, in their decision to suspend these young19:00 men, did not consider, the, the young men's case at all, only considered the woman's case and, that they put a they put a19:11 stay on it. They also, I think, questioned the overall policy, generally speaking. So it'll be interesting to see what what comes out. And, they have been consistently, which I19:23 find very distasteful, spending tax money for, these fights against, the court fights in the courts, both against their policy19:35 80 40, which has, you know, brought this situation around with the 2 young men and, and, you know, in defending this case where they've thrown these 2 out of school. 119:47 of the ironies of this is there was 3 young men involved, and, 1 of those young men was, exonerated or not prosecuted under the, the title 919:59 complaint. So it seems very strange. And, actually, in the original situation when it first came down, I had spoken with and talked with all 3 of these families, and, you got to hear from them20:10 directly.20:12 Wow. That's very interesting. I know you've been heavily involved in this in the in the meetings and and different things as you just referenced. Is this an issue, do you think, that the the school district might20:24 actually be in process of turning around on, or are they going to be dead set on hanging on to their radical gender ideology and forcing kids to20:36 do the same?20:39 I I mean, I would hope, and, frankly, I hoped that their response to the, determination from the Department of Education would have gotten them to turn around, but20:51 that's not the case. They had a chance a couple weeks ago to withdraw that policy and to withdraw these actions against these 2 young men, and I just don't see it happening. I've been to the school board to speak on21:02 numerous occasions, and, frankly, I don't think I think and and I think parents should show up and certainly voice their concerns, but I think it's fallen on deaf ears.21:14 Wow. That that is just so hard to to comprehend. I know I mentioned also, happening this week, the US Department of Education weighed in, and their office21:26 of civil rights actually did an investigation and said that they had found that sex based investigation, there was a double standard there where Loudoun County failed to meaningfully21:39 investigate complaints of sexual harassment by the 2 male students concerning the presence of a female in the locker room, that they they did,21:51 go the opposite direction in investigating the female students' complaint about sexual harassment. So are we witnessing here sex based discrimination?22:03 Well, I think that's for the courts to sort out, but it appears that way. If you're gonna look at the whole incident, it would seem to me that you would look at the story of the young men and the young lady that was in,22:14 the boys' locker room. 1 of the things that I don't know has come out in all of this press about this incident was 1 of the families have moved out of the county22:27 and and moved to another state so that their son would not be branded in this, kangaroo court that they have held in in Loudoun County. And and you talk about,22:38 something that I think is absolutely ludicrous, and, they don't have any problem with that and, have proceeded with the the, hearings and whatever to make the decision that they did that these young22:50 men had, in fact, committed a title 9 violation.22:56 Wow. Well, thank thank goodness for what's happened this week. What is your before I let you go, what is your message to, both the school district officials in Loudoun County23:08 as well as let's take it beyond Loudoun County, other parts of the nation. What would your your message be to those who are claiming, quite frankly, that the Trump administration23:20 is breaking the law and demanding people to break the law, and that the Trump administration is actually the ones discriminating against students. You're right in the middle of all this. What's your message in the midst23:31 of that argument?23:33 Well, I think that, this recent decision is telling to that extent that because that if I remember correctly, the recent decision was issued by a district court judge, and23:45 that's not, you know, that's on the way to, the full circuit. And so that judge has determined that they were not operating, properly with their policy. So I think it speaks23:57 volumes, at the, at the excuses, frankly, that the school board has made. I am am trying to remember the case. There was a case in the fourth circuit, and this is what they're hanging their hat24:09 on. I think it was, Meeks. It was I think it was Chesterfield County versus Meeks, but, I can I can verify that24:18 for you? 30 seconds.24:20 They have used that case to justify all of this stuff when all that case did was deal with 1 specific set of circumstances that were very specific and did not cover, you know, all24:32 these things, locker rooms, sports, gyms, showers, and all the rest of that stuff.24:37 Thank you so much. Virginia state delegate Jerry Higgins. Incredible case developing there. Appreciate you joining us.24:44 Thank you for the opportunity to be here.24:47 Alright. Coming up, the US Senate failed to pass a stopgap, funding measure today. So are we headed to a shutdown? Stay tuned. We'll discuss that right after the24:59 break.Show more In this video 0:00 Navigating Political and Social Challenges Through a Biblical Lens2:00 Government Shutdowns and International Relations13:32 Cultural and Spiritual Challenges in Education and Society24:59 Biblical Worldview and the Role of the Church54:03
Ron Johnson, Andrew Clyde, Blaise Misztal, Michele Bachmann, Gary Hamrick Tony Perkins
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