Skip to content 3/16/2026 Unpacking the Effects of the DHS Shutdown, Foreign Terrorists on U.S. Soil, and Legalized Gambling Mar 16 · 54 min ...more
3/16/2026 Unpacking the Effects of the DHS Shutdown, Foreign Terrorists on U.S. Soil, and Legalized Gambling
March 16, 2026 · 54 min
Airline CEO’s joint letter as TSA agents quit citing DHS shutdown, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, the relationship between Hezbollah and the MI Synagogue attacker, and prediction market betting.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio March 16, 2026 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Airline CEO’s joint letter as TSA agents quit citing DHS shutdown, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, the relationship between Hezbollah and the MI Synagogue attacker, and prediction market betting. ...more Show the full description Show less Airline CEO’s joint letter as TSA agents quit citing DHS shutdown, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, the relationship between Hezbollah and the MI Synagogue attacker, and prediction market betting.
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DHS Shutdown Chaos at Airports 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 worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.0:19 I can tell you that when this is over, oil prices are gonna go down very, very rapidly. So is inflation, so is everything else. But, frankly, much0:31 more important than short term or even long term oil prices. You can't let the most violent, vicious country in0:39 the0:39 last 50 years have a nuclear weapon.0:46 That, of course, was president Trump earlier today discussing the war in Iran as the conflict now enters day 17. Welcome to this March sixteenth edition of Washington Watch.0:58 I am your guest host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony, and I'll share a little bit more about that in a moment. But thank you so much for joining us today. Coming up, energy security has1:10 become a major concern amid the US military operations in Iran. So what can we expect with possibly 2 to 3 more weeks of conflict remaining? Well,1:22 we'll discuss this when we're joined in just a little while by doctor Brigham McCown, who's a former energy company CEO, and he also has held some senior leadership roles across the Department1:34 of Defense and Transportation. Plus, the partial DHS shutdown has caused staffing shortages at airport security. As many of you probably have experienced, it's1:46 led to thousands of flight cancellations as well as delays. So how long will Democrats continue to hold Americans hostage2:03 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. All that and more straight ahead.2:14 Okay. Before we begin today, I want to share some heart moving family news with our Washington Watch audience. Earlier today, Tony's father, Richard2:26 Perkins, was called to be with the Lord. He was 87 years old. And so many of us here at FRC knew him, loved him deeply. And I2:38 just want to call on you to join me and all of us here at FRC in praying for Tony, praying for his family as they mourn the loss of someone that2:49 they loved dearly. And certainly, they, at the same time are rejoicing in the reality that He is now with His Savior. In fact, Tony shared on social3:01 media earlier today that because of Christ, death does not have the final word. What a great comfort. What a great promise that is.3:13 So we all here love Tony. We're praying for him, and we ask you to join us in doing that as he's spending some time, obviously, with his family right now. Thank you so much.3:27 Alright. Let's transition to some important news items that we wanna cover as well. We're now, about a month into this partial government shutdown, and TSA3:39 checkpoints at airports all across the country are being impacted. The shut down has resulted in much longer security lines and delays as many TSA agents3:51 are not coming to work anymore. And some hundreds of them have quit, and, hundreds of them also are not showing up for work for4:02 various reasons. Joining us now to discuss this and more is Washington State reporter, Casey Harper. Alright, Casey. Walk us through some of the challenges that, travelers are facing right4:14 now at airports all across the country.4:17 Sure. Thanks, Jody. And thanks for saying that about Tony. A really powerful message that he posted. And I think we all hope that we have that level of, faith and clarity when the time when the time comes. But4:28 Absolutely. On the news yeah. Yeah. And on the news question, do you ask? We are seeing that many travelers are experiencing 3 to 4 hour waits at the airport. These lines are4:40 getting longer and longer, and I have to tell you, Jody, it's probably only gonna get worse. We're only 1 month into the shutdown, but 1 of the reasons it got worse suddenly is last Friday, 50000 TSA employees missed4:51 their first full paycheck in this 1 month long, partial government shutdown. And so as they miss more and more paychecks, it's only natural and human to expect more people to quit as hundreds have as you mentioned, but5:03 they're not just quitting. Some aren't fully quitting. They're just only showing up for some of their shifts, which is almost creating more chaos because you don't know if you're gonna have a full team of staff, if5:11 people just gonna not show up. You kinda lose your leverage when you're not paying people, and you have to wonder if they're working other jobs to make ends meet while all this5:19 is going on. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy has been5:19 hammering Democrats to reopen the secretary Sean Duffy has been hammering Democrats to reopen VHS to fully open the government. In fact, we have a clip of him, saying just that.5:29 I think Democrats are gonna come to the senses. Look at senator Slotkin, from Michigan where where there was a synagogue attack. She voted every time against funding DHS. And once the threat to her5:41 community was real from radicals, now she says let's open up DHS.5:47 So, Jody, as you can see, it doesn't seem like things are getting any better, and I would say, you might wanna get to the airport a little earlier next time.5:56 Yeah. Absolutely. I've heard, 1 1 friend of mine said 5 and a half hours it took him to get through an airport.6:02 It was6:03 just absolutely insanity. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So thank you for that, Casey. Let's let's transition to overseas. We're now day 17 of the6:15 United States and Israel's military operation in Iran. And, of course, as the strikes continue, across the Middle East, the global energy market is under6:26 tremendous pressure as the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, is a key oil route, is closed, at least in most traffic. So what what's the latest developments that, that you're hearing in this conflict?6:39 Yeah. Sure, Jody. So, 2 main focal points have emerged in the Iran war. 1 is the Ayatollah, who's gonna lead Iran. You know, we we they took out 1 Ayatollah, and now we have another seemingly missing, and6:51 it's unclear what happened to him. But the the second focal point is exactly what you mentioned, the Strait of Hormuz, which is a narrow passageway off the coast of Iran that carries 20 percent, 1 fifth of the world's7:02 oil. Now, obviously, shutting that down as it has been shut down, almost entirely since the world began, is affecting gas prices around the world, but that includes the US where prices have risen pretty significantly.7:14 So president Trump's trying to address this problem. And right now, he's trying to recruit European allies to do it. He sent out a a clarion call asking them to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to to try to secure7:25 it so that the oil can start flowing again. And you might say, I thought we were winning this war against Iran. How could they shut down the entire Strait? And they don't have to fully occupy the Strait, Jody, to shut it7:36 down. They've just put enough mines and shot enough missiles to hit ships to spook the commercial, ships that they don't wanna go through. Even if, you know, I mean, even if there's a a 95 percent chance you won't hit an7:47 Iranian mine for the insurers and for these companies, that's not good enough. And so president Trump is working on that. He was talking about it at a White House event earlier today, and we have a clip. Let's listen to7:57 that.7:57 We strongly encourage the other nations to get involved with us and get involved quickly and with great enthusiasm. I have that from a number of them, and I'd like8:09 to say their names. But frankly, I don't know if they would want me to or not because, maybe they don't wanna be targeted. But I say, wouldn't matter if you target it or not8:21 because this is a paper tiger that we're dealing with now. It wasn't a paper tiger 2 weeks ago. It's a paper tiger now.8:28 There's a clear message from the president. So far, France has agreed to help. We'll see if others join, Jody.8:34 Alright, Casey. Thank you so much. Always good to get the bird's eye view from you. We appreciate it. Alright. Let's turn back now our attention and discuss the delays that we're seeing at airports all across the8:46 country. Thousands, as we've discussed, US flights are canceled or delayed as this partial DHS shutdown causes staffing shortages at airports all across the country. And meanwhile,8:57 Democrats continue to block the funding measure as the standoff in Washington drags on. And joining us now to discuss this and more is congressman doctor Bob Onder. He's a member of the9:09 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He represents the third congressional district of Missouri. Congressman Onder, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to have you.9:20 Thank you, Jody. Great to be back.9:23 Well, I know, I don't know if anyone has any better information and can help us through all of this than you right now and the committees you serve on. But I do know that some CEOs of several major airlines sent a9:35 letter to congress yesterday urging them to end the standoff so that TSA officers can be paid. What do you make of all of this, and, do you think that this is gonna be enough pressure on the Democrats9:47 to try to, move forward and reopen DHS?9:54 Yeah. I couldn't agree more, Jody. The 270000 employees of DHS need to be paid. The great majority of those, including the TSA10:06 workers are working without pay. On Friday, they missed their first full paycheck. And this is following the 43 day Schumer shutdown last last fall.10:18 And it's a common theme. Once again, the Democrats are standing up for the interests of illegal aliens. The Schumer shutdown, remember, in the fall began with the10:30 Democrats wanting to make sure that illegal aliens got government subsidized health care. This Schumer shutdown is about the Democrats wanting to rewrite immigration law. It's not about funding levels. We've10:42 already negotiated a bipartisan appropriation bill for appropriation bill for DHS, but the Democrats decided to move the goalposts, take a second bite of the10:53 apple, and they want to, basically use, this this the pain they're inflicting on the American people to give essential amnesty to millions of11:05 illegal aliens. We're not going to do that. We're going to put the American people first. Unfortunately, the Democrats are putting an illegal aliens first.11:14 Are you seeing any kind of, movement seeing or hearing for that matter? Any any signs of progress, as, you know, the Democrats are blocking11:26 this. But is there any negotiation any negotiating that's taking place at all?11:31 Yeah. So, you know, yes. The that's our blocking. We in the house, mostly Republicans, I think the last time we got a couple of Democrat votes. The house has11:43 twice passed Department of Homeland Security funding, but 3 times, the, Senate Democrats have blocked DHS, funding. You know, I think we11:55 will see movement as, you know, as as these delays in air travel, accumulate. Yeah. In Houston Hobby, they're recommending that travelers arrive12:07 4 hours before their flight. And we've seen enormous lines in Houston, in Atlanta, in, of course, in, in New Orleans, horrible lines over the weekend.12:19 I think that is what finally got the the Democrats back to the table and back to opening up the government, at the end of the Schumer shutdown in December. I think that's what will happen. I would like12:31 to think my Democrat colleagues would also care about national security. Here, we had 2 terrorist episodes just last week, and that following the, the bar shooting12:43 in Austin, Texas where 3 lost their live and lives and 13, were injured. All of which appeared to be inspired by Islamic radicalism12:54 precipitated by the conflict in Iran. So I hope Democrats, at some point, will put the safety of the American people ahead of their own narrow political interests.13:07 Yep. I hope you're right. And there's a lot of other things going on. We've only got about 60 seconds, but I know the senate scheduled to vote on the Save America Act that would mandate ID, a polling before elections. Do13:18 you anticipate any chance of that passing?13:22 Well, I sure hope so. I I would hope we get in most every, Republican, 1 of our 2 Republicans have expressed concerns. You know, and I'm excited too that,13:33 the, the, the Chloe Cole Act protecting children from transgender relations, something I've been working on very hard, will be included in that vote. I know13:43 you have.13:44 Whether it'll all be 1 vote or a separate separate amendment, but at least it get it gets that issue front and center.13:51 Congressman Bob Onder, we've gotta end it right there. Thank you for joining us. Alright. We're gonna go to Iran after this break. Stay with us.14:02 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 earth14:12 The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature14:15 And of nature's god entitle them.14:18 A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.14:25 We hold these truths to be self evident.14:28 That all men are created equal.14:30 That they're endowed by their creator.14:32 With certain unalienable rights.14:35 That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.14:38 That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.14:42 Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 200 and fiftieth.14:48 Happy 200 and fiftieth.14:50 Happy 200 and fiftieth.14:52 Happy 200 and fiftieth birthday, America. May God bless America. You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question15:03 is, are we living by that purpose today? See, the founders understood we as a nation would be accountable to God for what he had granted to us. They15:15 sought freedom for a purpose, and that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose, to serve God, to honor him, and to live as a people under15:27 his authority.15:29 At the 20 26 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance in Washington, DC, members of Congress, state leaders, evangelical leaders, and intercessors from across the nation15:42 united as 1 voice in prayer.15:44 Heavenly father, thank you so much for this gathering. We do repent, and we ask for your continued favor and blessing over our nation even when we don't deserve it.15:53 I thank you that because of the shed blood and the glorious righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ, a sinner such as myself can boldly approach your16:04 throne. You said that you helped the humble, and we're asking just now that you would help us, Lord.16:12 For our accord is a marching16:26 We pray16:26 that you humble us, help us to follow after you with all our hearts so that we can see righteousness exalted16:32 in this nation and this nation restored to you.16:35 We know this not by our power, it's not by our might, but it's by your spirit.16:39 Freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. We pray that we would return to that purpose. Amen.Foreign Terrorists Strike U.S. Soil 17:03 Welcome Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am Jody Heise filling in today for Tony. Thank you for joining us. Alright. We want to move our conversation now to discuss Iran, the conflict there, and how it17:14 is having an impact on our own security right here in the United States. And, an example of that is, of course, we have authorities that are still investigating last Thursday's attack at the17:26 synagogue in Michigan, as well as a university classroom in Virginia. And there are law enforcement veterans who believe the 2 attacks are linked to the war in the Middle East.17:38 And 1 such connection, in fact, has already been established so far. According to the Israel Defense Forces, The man who attacked the temple, Israel in Michigan, was the17:50 brother of a Hezbollah commander. And that individual, the commander, was killed during an Israeli strike in Lebanon last week. So, consider the ongoing shutdown of the Department of18:01 Homeland Security and at the same time the escalation in the war against Iran and its proxy network, how vulnerable is the United States right now? Well,18:14 joining me now to discuss this is former FBI special agent and former Navy SEAL, Jonathan Gilliam. Jonathan previously operated as a security specialist for18:26 the US Department of Homeland Security where he was responsible for performing threat assessments. Jonathan, welcome back to Washington Watch. It's an honor to have you with us. Good to be with you, Jody.18:39 Alright. So, publicly, authorities seem to be somewhat hesitant to link the latest attacks to the Iran war. But is it, in your opinion, a stretch at all to18:51 consider the possibility, at least, that the alleged attackers were retaliating for the US and Israeli military strikes in Iran?19:02 Well, I to to say that they're directly linked as though they they got a phone call from, you know, the regime or the intelligence apparatus, may maybe not. I don't I don't know. That that is, still yet to come out in19:13 investigation. But but let me show you how this is all tied together, and I don't think it's a great mystery to anyone. You know, in 19 78, Jim Jones convinced almost 1000 people to go down to French19:25 Guyana. And when the pressure was put on him, a congressman that that we all remember went down to, meet with him, Jim Jones, convinced19:37 everybody to majority of the people to kill themselves and, as well as the, the congressman. And, so that is a term that's been, coined as a19:49 revolutionary suicide. And that is exactly what's happening. When you see these individuals, we call them lone wolves. I I I don't really like that definition, but20:01 these people are, committing revolutionary suicide. They believe in Iran. They believe in in, Hamas or Hezbollah. But overall, they believe in the caliphate. And that's see,20:13 this is where the media and government get it wrong. And when I say the government, even the FBI and the federal agencies, is that they do not educate the people, and sometimes I wonder if they even know20:26 on the complete background of what you're actually seeing. This isn't just about Iran and, and us finally taking it to them and and, and eliminating that regime.20:38 It's about the caliphate and what they these religious zealots believe. And it is a belief that their messiah will come through. And, unfortunately, that20:49 Israel is where their messiah is going to end up and rule the world from that location. So they they believe that this caliph is, will will come through, and they have21:01 to clear the world. And that's what this is all about. That's what Iran is all about. It's not just about a regime that's that is hates Israel. It's about a caliphate. They have a mission. And until we realize that and21:12 research that, you're not going to you're gonna hear things like, we don't know if these attackers are connected directly. They may not it may not just be about Iran and21:24 us attacking them. This has been happening since 19 79, and they believe that they are pushing the caliph forward.21:32 Yep. Good point. And and that has to be brought into the discussion. No doubt. And whether whether we're talking lone wolves or, cell groups that are, terrorist cell21:43 groups that are here, many are are worried that, individuals with ties to these extreme extremist groups are in the US. Do you share those concerns?21:57 Well, absolutely. I I mean, I'm I'm almost positive that there are cells here. I mean, there there's definitely people here who are part of, groups outside of the22:08 country that were a part of groups outside of the country that made their way into this country. Some of it has to do with the the the fact that there wasn't a wall, and the Biden administration created this mess that we22:19 all know about. But others other parts of it have to do with the fact that DHS and the then Department of Defense were not communicating and sharing data. So there were people coming in that the Department of22:31 Defense knew were a part of terror groups over in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they were able to come here because, DHS allowed them in. Because when they did a search, they didn't pop because they didn't have access to the22:42 DOD, information. So most likely, there are people here. But some of the most important people for Iran and for this caliphate to come over22:53 here are not the people who are gonna carry out the attack. It's the force multipliers, the imams, the radical speakers, the people that work with, leftists, you know, the red green alliance, and they go23:05 out and and, create this propaganda and this narrative that divides the country and then23:10 motivates individuals to carry out attacks that may not be a part23:10 of a cell. Carry out attacks that may not be a part of a cell. Those are the real danger. That's the 1 that keeps me awake.23:20 Yeah. I get it. So without, going crossing a line to of alarm for the public, we do wanna help at the same time prepare the American people.23:32 So, in our last minute or so, what kind of encouragement or advice, do you have for our viewers and listeners?23:40 First of all, be aware. Be aware of what's normal in your surroundings and, and and what is not normal. Look at yourself in your life, in your school, in your job, and everything you do from the attacker's point of23:52 view and ask, if I was going to attack, when would I do it? Where would I carry out the attack? What kind of attack, and what would my avenue of approach be? And then you just avoid those areas or mitigate24:04 that by having, a plan to, escape, evade, or fight. And that's what we can do. Now the the other thing is, Jody, is that the the24:16 Islamic community can police their own. Unfortunately, that's a difficult task to ask them to do because they're not willing to do it. They could they know all of24:25 these people.24:25 They're in their mosques. They should be turning them in if they believe they're gonna carry out an attack or if that chatter happens.24:31 Absolutely.24:32 And that's not happening.24:34 Thank you so much, former FBI special agent and former Navy SEAL Jonathan Gilliam. Always great to have your input on the program. Thank you so much for joining us. And You got it. We encourage you,24:46 urge our democratic leaders to restore funding to DHS. Text DHS to 6 7 7 4 2. Alright. Next, we'll discuss how the war is impacting the economy.24:58 Stay with us.25:01 I think all people really need to have this type of education.25:04 Well, I can tell you that it's been an amazing course period.25:07 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 and25:18 with our work.25:19 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. In25:31 this 6 session video series, FRC president Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of civil government from a biblical world view.25:42 I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.25:48 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.25:55 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 try26:07 to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.26:13 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.26:23 Even as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you're learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it's also approachable enough enough that newer people, younger people,26:33 high school, college students, they can really glean something from this. So 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 through26:44 it, bring your homeschool group through it, and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead. View the course at f26:50 r c dot o r g slash god and government or on the stand firm app.Show more In this video 0:00 DHS Shutdown Chaos at Airports17:03 Foreign Terrorists Strike U.S. Soil27:02 Energy Security Amid Iran Conflict37:02 The Rise of Prediction Markets Gambling54:03
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