Skip to content 7/7/2025 Tony and Guests Discuss the Texas Flood Disaster and Recovery Efforts, and PM Netanyahu’s DC Visit. Jul 8 · 54 min ...more
7/7/2025 Tony and Guests Discuss the Texas Flood Disaster and Recovery Efforts, and PM Netanyahu’s DC Visit.
July 8, 2025 · 54 min
Today on WW: Recovery efforts from deadly Texas floods; Elon Musk to launch a 3rd political party; Prime Minister Netanyahu’s DC visit and calls for Israel’s Sovereignty to include Judea and Samaria.
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.
July 8, 2025 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Today on WW: Recovery efforts from deadly Texas floods; Elon Musk to launch a 3rd political party; Prime Minister Netanyahu’s DC visit and calls for Israel’s Sovereignty to include Judea and Samaria. ...more Show the full description Show less Today on WW: Recovery efforts from deadly Texas floods; Elon Musk to launch a 3rd political party; Prime Minister Netanyahu’s DC visit and calls for Israel’s Sovereignty to include Judea and Samaria.
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In this video 0:00 A Call for Prayer and Unity0:57 Middle East Peace Talks7:05 Texas Flooding Tragedy17:02 Biblical Worldview and Family Values27:30 Political and Cultural Insights
A Call for Prayer and Unity 0:01 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. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.0:19 I need to tell my community and those families who are waiting, this will be a rough week. Primary search continues, and we remain hopeful0:32 every foot, every mile, every bend of the river. I've said this a hundred times, and I will say it again. We need your prayers. We need your prayers.0:44 That was Joe Herring, mayor of Kerrville, Texas. Welcome to this July seventh edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks for tuning in. Search and rescue efforts continue today in the aftermath0:56 of devastating flash floods that swept through the Texas Hill Country. We'll bring you more on the tragedy and the ongoing response a little later when we're joined by congressman Chip Roy who represents the areaMiddle East Peace Talks 1:08 impacted. Meanwhile, here in Washington DC, president Trump is preparing to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this evening to discuss a permanent ceasefire in Gaza1:20 and possibly a long term agreement with Iran.1:23
1:33 about Operation Midnight Hammer, which was incredibly successful to talk about peace in Gaza and ending that conflict, as well as many other, topics of discussion in relation to Israel and the United States.
1:45 That was White House press secretary Caroline Caroline Levitt earlier today. Ahead of the meeting, evangelical leaders are reminding the administration that dividing the land of Israel must not be a part of any peace
1:57 deal. Joining me later to discuss that concern is former congresswoman Michelle Bachman, now dean of the school of government at Regent University. And what's next on Capitol Hill now that the reconciliation
2:09 bill is done? Texas congressman Keith South will join us with insights on the final bill and what congress will turn to next. All of that and more on this Monday edition of Washington
2:21 Watch. Alright. As I mentioned, president Trump will be meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening in the White House, and the war in Gaza is expected to be the main subject of their discussion.
2:33 On Friday, president Trump told reporters he was very optimistic that a ceasefire hostage deal between Israel and Hamas could be struck this week, but he acknowledged that the situation changes from day
2:45 to day. The 2 sides still seem to have irreconcilable differences on how to bring the conflict to an end. Joining me now to discuss this and more, congressman Keith South, who serves on 3
2:57 house committees including the foreign affairs committee. He represents the third congressional district of Texas. Congressman, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for, joining us today.
3:08 Thank you so much, Tony.
3:09 Before we, begin our discussion, I I wanna know how we are are praying for the situation in Central Texas, which, we just we're gonna be discussing, with 1 of your colleagues, Chip Roy, coming up
3:21 next. Your district is in the northeast region of Texas, but I'm sure all of Texas has been touched by this tragedy.
3:28 And we are praying that they find the survivors. There must be more survivors out there. They will find them. We're also praying for the families. This is a tragic loss. 82 people,
3:40 dozens of children. This is almost incomprehensible, Tony, what happened down there. We've checked, and they are getting supplies that they need, most of what they need. So that's good. Continue to donate money,
3:52 and pray for the survivors that they will find.
3:55 You know, the it it's it it it's events like this that makes us realize how fragile life really is. We go about our activities day after day after day. But when something like this occurs, obviously,
4:07 these families are changed forever. But it it also leaves a mark on those who are paying attention that we they realize how how fragile life is.
4:17 Horrific to lose girls that age. You're just not supposed to you lose young children. It's devastating.
4:26 Congressman, last, week you were on the program, before the reconciliation bill passed. You were against the bill then, but the House Freedom Caucus secured some agreements from the Trump administration
4:38 that didn't change the bill, but did some things outside the bill that advanced some of the elements that were changed in the senate. You ended up supporting the bill. Tell us why.
4:51 Well, I supported the bill because we went through the permutations of the senate, the individual senators, and there was no way that we were gonna get anything back from the senate that would have been an improvement.
5:01 It just was not going to happen. So, therefore, we went outside the bill, to make some requests of things that might offset, the damage that the senate did to the bill, because
5:13 we they inserted 1 simple paragraph that basically gutted the house provisions on the Green New scam, for instance. So we got some things that I can't yet talk about, agreement,
5:25 and and we will see how they work going forward, that there are more cost cutting across the federal government. Tony, there are lots of places to cut costs across the federal government as you know. We
5:36 simply tried to find those areas and get agreement that we will work on those going forward.
5:42 You know, I I I just wanted to bring that up because it was a lot of the, the Capitol Hill media saying that the Freedom Caucus folded, did not get anything, and in the end, they just rolled over. I know that
5:54 is not the case because I had many conversations, and I think the bill, the I shouldn't say the bill. The outcome was much better because the Freedom Caucus, began to negotiate on
6:06 the the issue.
6:08 Oh, absolutely. They started out with 300000000000, perhaps, in saving. 300000000000. What we got was a trillion and a half, well above that. So that's
6:19 the progress that the Freedom Caucus with other conservatives and I don't wanna say only the Freedom Caucus. We had a group of conservatives that worked with us to make this happen. I will tell you, Jody Arrington, the
6:30 the chairman of the budget committee, is a warrior. My Texas colleague is a warrior.
6:36 Yeah. And I, I know that as you said, there's some things you can't talk about, but some of the social issues that were of concern that were taken out in the senate, were also going to be addressed. We look forward to
6:48 that that coming out, in in in the public here in the very near future to see what the administration has agreed to. Alright. I I wanna switch gears now. I wanna talk about the president and meeting with prime minister
7:00 Benjamin Netanyahu this evening. You know, Hamas has been the 1 turning down proposals, these peace proposals, that have come to the table. But given what we saw happen
Texas Flooding Tragedy
7:12 with Iran and how Israel has crippled the Hamas military infrastructure, is is is the message getting through to Hamas that it's it's time for them to bring this war to an
7:24 end?
7:25 I doubt it, Tony. I doubt it. I understand they're hoping to get, 10 hostages released in the early part of any ceasefire. I doubt that. If there are live hostages,
7:37 maybe 1, maybe 2, but very few. Dead hostages, hopefully, a few more. But look. This war could be over tomorrow if Hamas would do 2 things, release the hostages and agree
7:49 that they will not, they cannot govern Gaza. But look, Iran, basically, none of their proxies stepped up for them. So I think Hamas is out on a limb now. But,
8:01 frankly, Hamas can survive through a ceasefire as long as they don't give up all of their leverage, which is the hostages. So let's, look. Trump and Netanyahu have a very good relationship, and
8:13 they will come to some sort of agreement, I have no doubt. But there is a third party to this, Hamas. And if Hamas simply goes underground and survives, that could be a problem in the in
8:25 the months going forward.
8:26 And and I did mention in your introduction, you're a retired army colonel. The the situation in Iran, which was a air campaign, taking out nuclear sites, much different than
8:38 on the ground in Gaza. And and and so Israel has had a difficult time where you have Hamas basically integrated within the the
8:50 rest of the community. It's hard to ferret them out. So there there is a there's only so much that the Israeli people will endure in this conflict. I think Israel's having a hard time bringing
9:02 Hamas and, and getting them out of Gaza.
9:06 Well, they are. But I think the turning point may be the people of Gaza, the Palestinians are turning against Hamas. I think that's where the United States ought to make their best effort,
9:18 to turn the people against Hamas. So Hamas is in the hundreds of miles of tunnel tunnels underneath Gaza. Let's get the Palestinians to help us with with Hamas.
9:30 What role does the humanitarian aid play in that? I know that Israel has wanted to control that because Hamas has been using it and selling it. What role does that play of
9:42 making I mean, because I think when people get hungry and they don't have the means of getting what they need to survive for their families, they'll they'll face Hamas.
9:52 They should. Believe it or not, Hamas has taken most of the humanitarian aid over the years to build tunnels, to pour concrete, to build fortresses underground. So, we need
10:04 to make sure that the any humanitarian aid going in gets to actual citizens on the ground and is not stolen by Hamas, to rebuild their infrastructure.
10:16 What what does the Middle East look like, after this is brought to a conclusion there with Hamas? Because we know now that there is the potential of the expansion of the Abraham
10:27 Accords. This is not something we were looking at 18 months ago. The the Middle East is a whole new, it's a whole new situation.
10:39 I believe that if Iran is truly brought to bear to to heal, the Middle East would be even drastically different from what we see today. Abraham Accords would grow
10:51 with numbers of Sunni, Muslim nations. Iran would be down. We'd we have, Shia Iran, governing 2 less countries. And if we can defeat
11:02 the the Houthis in Yemen, 3 less countries. I think this could be a totally different Middle East. If Iran agrees to forego their their, Hamas, Hezbollah,
11:14 their support for them, this could be an entirely Middle ea a different Middle East from what we're even seeing today, Tony. And this could, this could be a monumental change.
11:25 Where do you see Turkey factoring into the Middle East going forward?
11:30 Well, as you know, I'm the chairman of the Europe Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs. So Turkey is a major issue for us today. Turkey has 1 of the largest armies in NATO. They participate in
11:42 NATO operations, but they also keep an eye on Syria. They want to play a major role in the Middle East. I'm not sure which way Turkey is going to go toward
11:53 NATO to be a solid NATO partner or turn to the Middle East to try to be 1 of the major Muslim nations in the Middle East. I I encourage Turkey to to stick with NATO. They're
12:05 an important ally with a large army. But Syria, the power vacuum in Syria is an issue with Turkey. And if they go and try to be, 1 of the big, players in the Middle East, I
12:17 think it will hurt their participation in NATO. I encourage Turkey to stay with NATO, and let's, let's get Turkey and Israel back on good terms, particularly vis a
12:29 vis, Syria because the Russians still want to play in the Middle East. Now they've moved some of their bases from Syria over to Libya, but, we need to keep Russia out of the Middle East as
12:41 much as we can.
12:43 And America's way forward is through diplomatic relations, economic development in the Middle East. Would you agree?
12:52 Well, economic development can be handled by the oil rich states in the Middle East. I'm not for a lot of American taxpayer dollars going into the Middle East. We need to make sure that the Sunni Muslim
13:03 nations that are so rich over there with oil and gas money, They lead the reconstruction efforts, in the various areas, and, they're the ones that can return economic stability to the
13:15 area.
13:16 Congressman Keith Self, always great to see you. Thank you so much for, for joining us today.
13:22 Thank you, Tony.
13:23 And, folks, I would I would encourage you to be, a lot to pray about, as we talk about in this program a lot. But I would be praying, obviously, for the folks in Texas, and we're gonna be talking with, Chip Roy. Just got
13:33 noticed. He's gonna be a little delayed, so we're gonna talk to him a little bit later. Coming up next, we're gonna be talking with congresswoman Michelle Bachman. But be praying for the folks in Texas, the families
13:44 impacted, but also be praying as the president about to start his, meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We're gonna talk about that a little bit more next with former congresswoman Michelle Bachman, so
13:56 don't go away.
14:06 The family is the oldest, most tested, and most reliable unit of society. It is divinely created and sustained. And yet, there are those who are always tampering with its values and structure.
14:18 That's why we need organizations like the Family Research Council that can effectively defend and strengthen the family.
14:26 Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation's capital, FRC continues to to
14:37 champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
14:44 FRC is 1 of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north, and I shudder to think had they not been here that it could have been worse, worse, worse.
14:54 The Family Research Council is key. It's 1 of a handful of groups that I think will determine whether our children live in a country that
15:06 enjoyed all of the freedom and all the opportunity that we enjoyed in this great land.
15:12 It's just a wonderful para church organization that doesn't seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward successfully,
15:25 not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the holy scriptures.
15:32 FRC, is not gonna be whooped. You know, we're we're gonna fight. We're gonna take a stand. And, again, we don't retreat.
15:41 You will never see in front of this building here in Washington, DC, a white flag fly. We will never step back. We will never surrender, and we will never
15:53 be silent. Hello, friends. This is Tony Perkins. You know what? We just finished our 21 day family bible challenge through the
16:05 book of Matthew. And if you joined us, I pray that it has already borne fruit in your life and in your home as you place the Lord and his word at the center of your home. Now our journey through the
16:16 Bible doesn't end here, though. The challenge was a part of our stand on the word Bible reading plan. And from here, we're gonna cover the rest of the New Testament. And now that we finished the book of Matthew, let me
16:28 ask you, would you consider joining us for the rest of the journey through the word of God? In 10 to 15 minutes a day, you'll see how the good news of Jesus transformed the lives of common people, people just like you
16:39 and me, and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to continue the journey with me and discover the life enriching power of the word of God.
16:51 Visit f r c dot o r g slash bible for a reading plan. That's f r c dot o r g slash bible to learn more.
Biblical Worldview and Family Values
17:02 Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for, tuning in on this Monday. Be sure and download the Stand Firm app. That way you can have access to the Washington stand. That is our news
17:14 and commentary from the biblical perspective as well as Washington Watch and my daily devotional, Stand on the Word. All that can be found on the Stand Firm app. Go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app.
17:26 Well, after hundreds of faith leaders across all 50 states signed on to an open letter last month calling president Trump to support Israel's sovereignty. Another was released ahead of the president's meeting today with
17:37 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Joining me now to discuss this is 1 of the leaders behind the 2 letters, former congresswoman Michelle Bachman, who serves on the board of the International Fellowship of
17:48 Christians and Jews. She is also the dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University and the chair of the FRC board of directors. Michelle, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining
18:00 me.
18:01 Thank you, Tony. Thank you for the great job that you and the FRC team are doing. It's fantastic.
18:07 Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Let me, let me start with this. Have you received any response to the first open letter that you wrote?
18:16 We have received response from within the in within the administration. I won't say the name of the individual, but we were told it was a great letter, and we hope that it will make it, in
18:28 in front of the president of the United States. That would be the goal and in front of the decision makers regarding the US Israeli relationship and the decisions that will be very important today and tomorrow
18:40 that will that may be made.
18:42 So let's let's talk about that because we're talking about the president and the prime minister discussing peace in Gaza, a permanent peace situation there, talking about
18:53 expanding the Abraham Accords. And and some have suggested in the past, we've seen this over and over from both administrations, Republican and Democrat, that that often that often includes
19:05 Israel giving up some land.
19:08 That's right. And that would be in violation of the Bible because, Tony, as you know and as your viewers know, as they're following with you on the Bible plan, the Bible's very clear on God's peace plan
19:20 for the nations regarding Israel and for individuals regarding Israel. And it's very simple. It's this. It's we agree that God's Jewish people have the right to live
19:32 in the land that God gave them forever. That's it. And so we are told to bless both individuals and nations. We are to bless Israel, and God's plan is that the Jewish people
19:44 live in fully all of the land that he gave them. So as we as nations publicly affirm that the Jewish people have the right to live in their land, and then we bless them. We
19:56 might bless them with what they need to defend themselves, whether it's munitions or whether it's weaponry, but we bless them and we back them. That's what the bible calls us to do. No
20:08 more. And so when nations, agree with the temptation to meddle in Israel's affairs and then pressure Israel to divide their land or to remove the
20:20 Jewish people from the land? The god the god the god of the bible says that there will be swift judgment on nations that do that, and too many American presidents from both political parties have
20:32 put pressure on Israel. So the crux of our letter, Tony, was to call on president Trump, who's a very unique president and really 1 of the most pro Israel presidents America's ever had. We call on him to
20:44 be the first president to follow the Bible's plan for peace, which is to publicly state that America will stand with Israel and with the Jewish people's right to their land and that
20:56 we will choose to bless and not curse them. That's it. That's the plan. And so I hope that that's what president Trump will do because we saw something less than 2 weeks ago. There were articles written that
21:07 president Trump may pressure Israel to divide the land when it comes to Judea, Samaria, or regarding Gaza. That would not be what the Bible, agrees with, and I would
21:19 hope that the Trump administration would make decisions that are in alignment with the word of God.
21:25 And you're very clear in in the letter pointing out all of the, the unique things that president Trump has done
21:33 Mhmm.
21:33 Supporting Israel, moving the embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the nation's sovereignty over the nation's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and also in the previous administration
21:45 where the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, they recognize those as not being illegal under international law. So you you you clearly recognize the good things the president has done. You're just simply warning
21:56 him of of where other administrations have gone astray. And in particular, this appears to be in the expansion of the Abraham Accords, I think, in part because you have countries like
22:08 Qatar and Saudi Arabia, I think, leaning in in wanting to exchange recognition of Israel for the creation of a Palestinian state.
22:18 Well, that's right. The Abraham Accords also were predicated. In other words, a premise was made that Israel there'll be an ongoing discussion about Israel's boundaries. That's
22:29 that's in violation of the Bible. There is no discussion about Israel's boundaries. Israel won Judea, Samaria under international law. Israel won Gaza under international law.
22:42 This land belongs to Israel. This is not up for grabs. East Jerusalem isn't up for grabs. There is no reason for Israel to have to divide their land or give up their land. 1 thing that was
22:54 being proposed, Tony, as the president Trump was saying that 4 Arab countries would, quote, manage Gaza. That would be a disaster. 2 of the countries that he mentioned would be Egypt and the United Arab
23:05 Emirates. Just yesterday, an article came out that weapons were being smuggled through Egypt into Gaza. Well, that's like the fox running the henhouse if
23:17 Egypt is allowing or a lot letting slip through weapons to go into Gaza. So we don't want to see Egypt or the United Arab Emirates manage Gaza and 2 other Arab
23:29 nations. Presumably, 1 of those nations would be Qatar, which is the chief financer of terrorism in the world today. So this is very problematic, what we've been hearing. Also, another suggestion is that Israel
23:41 would essentially be forced or pressured to recognize that someday down the road, there would be a 2 state proposal. In other words, Israel's land would have to be divided. That that is that would be
23:53 wrong. That would be against the word of God. And so really, again, Tony, the bottom line is the biblical peace plan that God has laid out, and that's that the Jewish people live in their
24:04 land and that nations bless the Jewish people as they choose to live in their land. President Trump did that recently when he helped Israel and Iran drop the most
24:16 powerful bombs in the world short of a nuclear weapon, and we helped to bring peace to that region by that action. It was a very wise decision. I commend president Trump for that decision. And so
24:28 president Trump is at the apex in so many ways in this administration with all the blessings that he's brought to America and to Israel. So while America's at the apex of blessing,
24:40 I wouldn't wanna see a decision made that would put the United States in a position of judgment, biblical judgment.
24:47 And and we will pray to that end. Michelle, we're out of time. Thanks for joining us. As always, folks, be praying for this meeting that's, coming up any moment. Alright. Stick with us. We're back with more after this.
25:02 The Center for Biblical Worldviews all day workshops delves into the formation of a worldview, what it is, how it's formed, when it's formed, what that means to them personally and their
25:14 churches and communities.
25:16 My hope for people when they come to these worldview workshops is that they will come away better equipped to engage the people and the ideas that they're living with and around. And our
25:28 goal is to give people more confidence in the gospel, in the fact that what God said to us actually is true, actually is the path to happiness and human flourishing for all of us, but also
25:39 more confidence in their ability to have these conversations and help lead other people to the truth.
25:45 For bible believing Christians to know what God's word says on these issues and to learn how they can apply it to their lives. And we believe that the more Christians that we equip, that's how we'll change the
25:57 nation.
25:58 Hey, fam. Listen. Pastor Sammy here here at Lighthouse Church, and I cannot tell you how equipping, how empowering, how incredibly educating this conference has been. And so I
26:10 just wanna encourage anybody that either has not been part of or is thinking about hosting this event, certainly to pastors, leaders, even CEOs for that matter. This conference is lights
26:22 out. I stand behind it myself. I can't commend it enough. We're gonna be talking about this for some time
26:27 to come. The culture is kind of squeezing in on us as God's people, forcing those of us with biblical views, to change those views or to suppress those views. It's forcing us
26:39 to engage with issues that we've never had to engage with. And so what this teaches us is what those issues are, what the Bible says about those issues, and then how we can critically engage our culture
26:51 on these things in a way that is committed to biblical principle.
26:54 Visit f r c dot org slash worldview for more information.
27:02 Go back to Washington, which, by the way, if you'd like to sign that letter, we're gonna have you give you 1 more opportunity to sign that letter to president Trump regarding, Israel and encourage him not to divide the
27:13 land to any form or fashion. Just text the word letter to 6 7 7 4 2. That's letter to 6 7 7 4 2, and we'll add your name to that. Alright. The death toll in Texas continues to rise following
27:25 the devastating flooding that swept through the Texas Hill Country region over the weekend. At least 94 bodies have been recovered across 6 counties with Kerr County accounting for most of theShow more
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