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3/23/2026 In a World Marked by Wars, Turmoil, and Uncertainty, Christians Still Seek to Make Disciples
March 24, 2026 · 54 min
Today, we look at the new DHS Secretary, the SAVE America Act, reducing abortions in West Virginia, the Iran conflict, and obstacles for younger generations in pursuing a biblical worldview.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
March 24, 2026 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Today, we look at the new DHS Secretary, the SAVE America Act, reducing abortions in West Virginia, the Iran conflict, and obstacles for younger generations in pursuing a biblical worldview. ...more Show the full description Show less Today, we look at the new DHS Secretary, the SAVE America Act, reducing abortions in West Virginia, the Iran conflict, and obstacles for younger generations in pursuing a biblical worldview.
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In this video 0:00 New DHS Secretary and Funding Battle17:02 Iran Conflict: Ceasefire Hopes and Risks27:02 West Virginia's Pro-Life Push38:13 Crisis in Biblical Worldview Among Christians
New DHS Secretary and Funding Battle 0:00 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 and0:12 newsmakers, all from a biblical world view, sitting in for Tony as today's host, Jody Heiss.0:18 I've made this very clear that I don't care what color your state is. I don't care if you're red or you're blue. At the end of the day, my job is to be secretary of homeland and to protect everybody the same, and we will0:29 do that. I'll fight every single day. The president has entrusted me with this, and failure is not an option.0:38 That was newly sworn in homeland security secretary Mark Wayne Mullen during his ceremony earlier today at the White House. Welcome to this March 20 fourth edition of Washington0:49 Watch. I'm your guest host, Jody Heiss, filling in today for Tony. Thank you so much for joining us. Alright. Coming up today, there appears there appears to be some optimism1:02 for the deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. We'll get the latest when we're joined here in just a little bit by Indiana congresswoman Erin Houchin. She's the secretary for the House Republican1:14 Conference. Plus, president Trump has indicated that progress is being made in negotiations with Iran that would put an end to the conflict, but Iran's parliament1:26
1:38 much more coming your way straight ahead. Alright. Earlier today, president Trump swore in former US senator
1:49 Markwayne Mullen as the Department of Homeland Security's new secretary. This follows a rapid 18 day confirmation process that was capped by a vote yesterday by the full senate.
2:02 And joining us now to give us the latest details is Washington Watch reporter Casey Harper. Casey, thanks for joining us. Give us the latest as what's happening with the new secretary.
2:12 Sure thing, Jody. The embattled agency, Department of Homeland Security, finally has new leadership after, predecessor, Kristi Noem, was ousted by the president amid a lot of turmoil. They really began, with what
2:24 happened in Minneapolis and culminated more recently. But the senate confirmed Mullen as the ninth secretary of the department in a 54 to 45 vote that did not fall strictly along party lines. In fact, we had 2
2:35 Democrats, Democratic senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico who voted in favor of the nominee, while 1 Republican, senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against him. Now during
2:47 secretary Mullen's swearing in ceremony today, which he played a clip of, president Trump expressed confidence in Mullins saying that there's no only 1 man for the job. Here's what the president had to say.
2:58 I have no doubt that as he takes the helm of DHS, Mark Wayne will fight for homeland security, the United States, and securing the country and making it really strong and the
3:10 way it should be. Everybody wanted this job. He said there's 1 man for this job, but I have no doubt he's gonna be fantastic.
3:18 Now during his confirmation, Mullen said that there would be some changes as to how ICE is deployed around the country, would be which would be music to the ears of many Democrats who have been very critical of ICE.
3:28 Mullen told senators he'd like to see ICE become more transparent than they've been on the front line, and he require he pledged and this has been a sticking point in the negotiations. He pledged to require ICE officers
3:38 to obtain judicial warrants before entering private property with a few exceptions. Now as for the senate seat that Mullen is leaving, earlier today, Republican Republican Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt
3:50 announced that energy executive Alan Armstrong is gonna replace that temporarily until a new, senator is elected in November, Jody.
4:00 Well, thanks for that update, Casey. If I can just continue a little bit more on the DHS, front, of course, the department can, continues to be negotiating a lot of
4:13 issues as it relates to funding, the DHS. But it while all that is happening, well, I, I know the airport situation is still pretty desperate situation. What's going on there?
4:24 Yeah, Joe. I think you were recently in an airport. You might have a horror story, but what we're seeing is it depends on which airport you're at. The security lines vary widely from airports. So some airports like
4:34 Houston, Atlanta, and New York have 3 to 4 hour wait times. If you're flying out of those airports and you're listening or watching, you definitely wanna get there 3 to 4 hours early. It's not a pretty picture. We've had
4:46 more than 450 TSA agents reportedly quit since the DHS shutdown began. That's up from the 3 60 number that we saw last week. But here here's a pretty amazing figure, Jody. DHS said that
4:57 3200 TSA employees called out of work yesterday. That's 11 percent of their national staff who decided to just not show up. If that continues and gets worse as it will, if the government shuts down, we're gonna
5:09 see even longer waits, which is probably why president Trump agreed to send TSA, or to send, ICE officers to help TSA at these airports and has even said that he would consider using the
5:21 National Guard. And we have a clip, here for you.
5:24 I wanna thank ICE because they stepped in so so strongly. They'll they'll do great. And, if that's not enough, I'll bring in the National Guard. We're not gonna have the Democrats destroy our country.
5:37 Relief could be on the way, Jody. You expressed some cautious optimism, and I share your caution in optimism after reports that key Republicans and and, Democrats are negotiating. And senate appropriations chair
5:49 Susan Collins even said that she's optimistic we could have a deal by the end of the week, Jody.
5:55 Wow. That is, music to the ears of a lot of people. We certainly do hope DHS gets funded by the end of the week. Thank you so much for all these updates, Casey. As always, we appreciated a great deal. I wanna
6:07 go now to Capitol Hill to discuss the latest, that's happening there. And joining me now is congresswoman Erin Houchin. She serves on the, House Budget and Rules Committee. She's also the
6:19 secretary for the House Republican Conference. She represents the ninth congressional district of Indiana. Congresswoman Houghton, welcome welcome back to Washington Watch. It's an honor as always to have you.
6:31 Great to be with you, Jody. Thanks for having me.
6:33 Okay. Well, you know, we were just talking about some potential optimism and perhaps cautious, but a little bit of optimism that a potential deal to fund DHS could be, coming
6:45 forth by the end of the week, which, of course, is before congress heads out for a a couple of weeks of recess and time back in the districts and so forth. But what are you hearing? Is it gonna happen, do you think?
6:57 Well, I continue to have optimism that the Democrats will come to their senses and that they will fund the Department of Homeland Security. I hope that there will be a negotiated agreement by the end of the
7:09 week, but let's not forget what got us here in the first place, which is the house passed funding for the Department of Homeland Security under House Republicans, in February. Here we are. I think
7:21 it's 39 days later, and, Senate Democrats have been obstructing the process of passing funding in the Senate. This is a classic example of Democrats putting illegal
7:32 aliens over the, the bet the, American citizens, their, interest above American citizens. And I hope we'll get a funding package, but there's not much
7:44 more to agree or to negotiate if all they're asking for is for us to defund ICE, which we're not going to do. So I'm I'm hopeful that these negotiations are
7:56 are a sign that Democrats will then go ahead and and vote for the Department of Homeland Security, funding, but we're not going to defund, ICE in process.
8:06 Well, good for you. That is, as I said a moment ago, music to the ears of a lot of people. It's just been absolutely unbelievable, what all is taking place. And as you just laid it out there, it's it's good
8:18 news that this could finally be coming to an end. Does this have any impact on the, Save America Act? What do you think it could potentially mean for that?
8:28 Well, I hope it does have an impact on the Save America Act. We we really must safeguard our American elections so that only American citizens can vote in our elections. This is a voter ID,
8:40 pretty standard. Indiana was 1 of the first, if not the first in the nation to do voter ID many years ago. It's not too much to ask to prove citizenship to vote. I think that should be pretty
8:52 standard. But I'm I do hope that the democrats will come off of of their opposition because it is wildly popular among all of the electorate, including Democrats and Independents, that we
9:04 should have voter ID and that we should have a requirement that you must be a citizen to vote in our elections.
9:10 Yeah. Wildly popular is is exactly the way it is. I'm I'm hearing also if you can tell us a little bit about this that the, possible funding of DHS could potentially fuel
9:22 another reconciliation package. What can you tell us about that pot possibility?
9:27 I would say that Republicans, in congress are going to take whatever mechanism is necessary to protect the American people and to safeguard our elections. And if we have to go through reconciliation to do
9:39 that, which essentially means Republicans, if we can do it through the reconciliation process, will, not it won't require 60 votes in the senate, so we won't have to do the filibuster. It's a simple majority in the
9:51 senate. Now there are rules in the senate which may prohibit us from doing some of those things, but we should have the conversation about what Republicans can do to get the country back on track to get DH
10:03 DHS open to safeguard our elections. And the reconciliation process very mil very well may be part of that, including and not limited to those things, but potentially a
10:15 supplemental for the war in Iran.
10:17 Wow. Well, that's gonna be, something we're certainly gonna be, keeping a pulse on as well. Transition a little bit with you, but it is big news. Earlier today, former Senator
10:29 Markwayne Mullen was sworn in as the new Secretary of Department of Homeland Security. Your thoughts on that, what's your hope now that, this secretary Mullen is at the helm?
10:41 Well, I'm very excited to see secretary Markwayne Mullen, former senator from Oklahoma, my friend, in arms. I think he is going to be terrific as the secretary of
10:53 homeland security. I think he has a good temperament for that and working hand in hand with Tom Homan. We've already seen under just bringing Tom Homan in, how that has made changed the dynamic in states
11:05 like Minnesota. But I wanna reiterate when we've seen these blue cities cooperate with the federal authorities, these, issues do not crop up. But I have full
11:17 confidence in Markwayne Maugham's ability to run the Department of Homeland Security, and we stand ready to support him in that effort.
11:24 Yeah. And it's it's been really encouraging to me as well. I served with him in congress. I spent a lot of time with him. I've known him for quite a while, and I'm I'm really pleased to see him at the helm. I I agree
11:36 with you. I think this is a good opportunity for DHS going forward. From that perspective, Congresswoman, as the American public is watching all of this unfold,
11:49 what are you hoping that they come away with? What do you what do you hope they see that's happening with, Markwayne Mullen and DHS right now?
12:00 Well, I hope they see that, that this is going to continue to be an organization that will put the the interest of American citizens first, and that Markwayne Mullen is the right
12:12 leader to do that. I think they're gonna see that very quickly in the way that he runs the department. But if there's a there is a choice in this election and it is going to be, between,
12:24 Republicans who put America first and Democrats who've been putting the interests of illegal immigrants, before the interests of American citizens again and again with voting against bills like the Lake and Riley
12:36 Act, vote voting against Delilah's law, voting against DHS funding, and, wanting to strip ICE of any funding as well as their open border policies. All of these things have made the
12:48 country, it's made rents go up, it's made wages go down, it's made health care more expensive, and that's all because of their open border illegal immigrant first policies. We have
13:00 to get back to putting our citizens before, the people who are here illegally. House and Senate Republicans and our president are doing that. Democrats continue to fight us on, that effort.
13:12 Well, I wanna thank you so much, Indiana congresswoman Erin Houchin, for joining us on Washington Watch and for all the great work that you and your colleagues are doing. Keep the torch ablaze. Again, thank you
13:24 for joining us.
13:25 Thank you so much. Great to be with you.
13:27 Alright, friends. I just wanna reiterate right now the importance right now that, DHS get funded, and you have an opportunity to join us in urging Democrat leaders
13:39 to restore funding to DHS. Simply text DHS to 6 7 7 4 2 and make your voice heard. Alright. Coming up, Texas congressman Keith Self will join us to
13:50 discuss Iran and the debate over FISA. A very important discussion. We'll get into it right after this break, so stay with us.
14:03 When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 1 people To dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another.
14:10 And to assume among the powers of the earth
14:13 The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature
14:16 And of nature's god entitle them.
14:18 A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
14:24 which impel them to the separation.
14:26 We hold these truths to be self evident.
14:29 That all men are created equal.
14:31 That they're endowed by their creator.
14:33 With certain unalienable rights.
14:35 That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
14:43 Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
14:47 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
14:49 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
14:50 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
14:52 Happy 200 and fiftieth birthday, America.
14:55 May God bless America.
15:01 I think all people really need to have this type of education.
15:04 Well, I can tell you that it's been an amazing course period.
15:07 I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we're doing with our families and
15:18 with our work.
15:20 God and government is a video driven bible based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between biblical principles and American government. In this
15:31 6 session video series, FRC president Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding government from a biblical world view.
15:42 I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would've took it earlier that I could've taught my kids this.
15:48 I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
15:55 So I'm an attorney and for me it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community to make better legislation, to try
16:07 to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
16:13 Any pastor would benefit from taking this course because we are dual citizens. Right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we're also seated citizens of this great land and that that comes with responsibility. Even
16:23 as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for
16:26 a while, you're learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it's also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school, college students, they can really glean something from this. So
16:38 I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it's the videos, whether it's doing it in person, bring your bible study group through it, bring your homeschool group through it, and equip yourself for these
16:48 challenging days ahead. View the course at f r c dot o r g slash god and government or
16:55 on the Stand Firm app.
Iran Conflict: Ceasefire Hopes and Risks
17:02 Thank you so much for joining us today on Washington Watch. I'm your guest host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony. Alright. Today marks the 20 fifth day of
17:14 the US military strikes in Iran. And, of course, we're joined by Israel and all of this. And president Trump has said that negotiations between the US and Iran are
17:26 productive. Currently, as a result, the US has paused strikes on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure while, see, these productive talks are taking place.
17:38 Some officials in Iran, on the other hand, have denied that talks are taking place. However, no doubt President Trump appears determined to reach a deal with Iran and to put an end to the
17:49 conflict in the Middle East. So where are we now in all of this conflict and where is it all headed? Well, joining us to discuss this is Congressman Keith Self. He served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He
18:01 represents the third congressional district of Texas. By the way, he also served our country faithfully for 25 years in the army and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Congressman
18:13 Self, welcome back to Washington Watts, my friend. Always great to see you.
18:17 Always great to see you, Jody. Thanks for having me.
18:20 Well, listen. President Trump has indicated that progress is being made in the negotiations with Iran. He's hoping to put an end to this conflict, and we have a a US official saying that they have
18:32 indeed exchanged messages and so forth back and forth. All that while Iran's parliament speaker is saying that, it's all fake news. What do you make of all this?
18:43 Well, I tell you, we need to end this, and I applaud president Trump for knowing that there needs to be an end to this. But, look, Iran has already rejected the ceasefire. So we've got to be prepared to defend ourselves
18:55 now from these kinda little random, 10 percent of their, capability left. So you gotta be able to defend yourself during this period. But what I make of this is they've set up their IRGC,
19:07 their military commands to be semiautonomous. So they may decide. They don't care what the politicians are agreeing to. They're gonna continue the attacks. That's what concerns me because we might say there's
19:19 a ceasefire, and their military apparatus may say, we don't think so. Yeah.
19:24 So what happens in that scenario? If there is not some sort of deal that's reached, what should the next steps be for the US? I mean, how do we deal with that scenario?
19:37 Well, frankly, you do not defeat a nation with air power alone. It takes ground forces. I am not advocating for ground forces, except perhaps on the islands in the strait. But you do not defeat a
19:49 nation with air power alone. So we've got to decide when we have degraded their leadership, when we have taken out their offensive capability, to some level we can accept, when we think we have set the
20:01 stage, the environment for, regime change inside Iran, that's when we need to decide when we have done enough to protect America from Iranian
20:12 offensive capability. Now I will hasten to say Israel may not agree with this because Israel has its own objectives, its own goals, and they may decide to continue to prosecute their
20:24 war effort independently.
20:26 Yeah. And that's a that's a good thought too. But from the perspective of the US, I mean, there's there's no question there's been massive damage done to weaken Iran's military, their navy. I mean,
20:38 everything that they have has been weakened. Does that give us, greater leverage, with the pressure that they are experiencing from the their weakened military?
20:49 Well, it all depends on their regime because regime survival is their number 1 goal. The clerics, the mullahs, the ayatollahs. And that's what the Iranian people themselves do not want.
21:01 They do not want the clerics, the mullahs, the ayatollahs to continue to rule Iran. So I don't know at what point we say we have done enough because we can't demand the Iranian people
21:13 rise up again. They lost 30000 people just a couple of months ago. So I don't know that they're prepared to do that. And I ask, people all the time, who is the George Washington of Iran? Who is gonna step up
21:25 and lead the people, be charismatic enough to lead them to freedom? I think that's what's missing, and we'll see if that can happen. So but from our perspective, when have we done enough to
21:36 protect America? And then you've got the uranium. They've got 900 or so pounds of 60 percent, uranium. How in the world are we gonna ensure that they don't simply take that uranium,
21:48 which is a very short step to 90 percent weapons grade uranium?
21:53 Yep. Great questions there. All of which need to be answered. If I can, congressman, let me shift gears with you a little bit, on domestic news. In coming weeks, all of you, congress,
22:05 because you're gonna be dealing with the, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known known as FISA. And, of course, the the this law is intended to, provide surveillance
22:17 of foreign agents who are acting here in the US and, hopefully, catch any spies or terrorists and so forth who may be here. But, of course, we saw under the Biden administration how FISA was abused.
22:29 The president and his family were targeted. Many of us were. I was just informed to date. I was a part of of some of that. So does FISA give the government
22:41 too much power to spy on US citizens? This is gonna be an important battle that faces Congress in the coming days.
22:48 Well, the section 7 0 2 that you're referring to targets foreign agents in foreign lands. Now occasionally, someone will mention or or an American will be swept up kinda tertiarily, but
23:00 that requires a warrant once you then target a US citizen. It doesn't include it today. 3000000, warrantless targets of Americans under Biden in 20 21, almost
23:12 10 percent of which were illegal, which were improperly done. 10 percent. Yes. We need a warrant. There is a significant number of members of congress that say we need to protect the
23:24 privacy of American citizens. In fact, 70 percent of Americans agree. We want privacy over that. Yes. It's an important tool. Yes. We need 7 0 2 under FISA, but we
23:36 also need to protect Americans' privacy while we're doing it.
23:39 Yeah. And that's the issue. That's the issue, to protect American citizens. So without, the the battle to reform FISA, we've only got about 30 seconds or so. But is there going to be a battle to reform
23:51 FISA? Is that, issue that you brought up going to be corrected?
23:55 There will be a battle. I don't know if we'll manage to get it corrected, but there will be a battle. I assure you of that. Look. There's bipartisan, bill out of the senate to protect Americans' privacy. Bipartisan.
24:07 Let's get it done. Let's protect Americans' privacy that they are entitled under the US constitution.
24:13 Yeah. I mean, bingo. That's it. This is a constitutional issue. And, look, we we all know we've gotta deal with the terrorists. We've gotta deal with those who are improperly here in the country. But there is a way
24:25 to do that while protecting, guarding the United States constitution and the citizens of this country. Congressman Keith Self, always an honor to have you on Washington Watch. Thank
24:37 you for joining us.
24:38 Thank you so much, Jody.
24:40 Alright. Coming up, abortions in the US are rising. There's a new bill in West Virginia that would put a stop to mail in order abortions. You don't wanna miss this upcoming discussion, and we'll
24:51 get to it on the other side of this break. So stay with us here on Washington Watch.
25:01 For over 4000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank.
25:13 To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It's the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80 percent of the Bible's events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in
25:25 Shechem. Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before God. On Mount Gerizim overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount
25:37 Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel's current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a
25:49 vital and strategic part of the nation's identity. The October seventh massacre launched from Gaza shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once
26:01 seen as the cornerstone of a 2 state solution, became a launchpad for terror. Today, only 21 percent of Israelis support a Palestinian state. Trust in a 2 state solution has
26:13 all but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran's grip is weakening. New alliances are forming, but western countries and some US officials still chase the mirage of a 2 state solution.
26:25 History speaks clearly. The 2005 Gaza withdrawal backed by the US led not to peace, but to a terrorist regime. Judea and Samaria are 24 times larger than Gaza,
26:36 deeply woven into Israel's geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council with
26:48 Israel's rightful claim to sovereignty. It's time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting security in the Middle East.Show more
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