Skip to content 10/20/2025 A Challenging Look at the Israel-Hamas Peace Deal and Reviewing Top Headline News Stories Oct 20 · 54 min ...more
10/20/2025 A Challenging Look at the Israel-Hamas Peace Deal and Reviewing Top Headline News Stories
October 20, 2025 · 54 min
The ongoing government shutdown, public protests, an update on Pastor Luke Ash who refused to lie about someone’s gender, controversy surrounding IVF, and concerns over the Israel-Hamas peace deal.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
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October 20, 2025 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
The ongoing government shutdown, public protests, an update on Pastor Luke Ash who refused to lie about someone’s gender, controversy surrounding IVF, and concerns over the Israel-Hamas peace deal. ...more Show the full description Show less The ongoing government shutdown, public protests, an update on Pastor Luke Ash who refused to lie about someone’s gender, controversy surrounding IVF, and concerns over the Israel-Hamas peace deal.
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In this video 0:00 Introduction and Current Events1:26 Middle East Updates and Government Shutdown6:00 Faith and Protests: The No Kings Movement7:57 Pastor Luke Ash's Stand for Faith24:47 Biblical Perspective on IVF and Israel
Introduction and Current Events 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 and news0:13 makers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.0:19 And the senate Democrats have 0 shame about this. They they don't have any shame at all about the pain that they're inflicting upon hardworking families, upon soldiers and law enforcement officers and veterans and the0:30 elderly and the disabled and women, infants, and children. Services to all those categories and paychecks to those folks are being stalled because Democrats are playing games.0:43 That was house speaker Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill earlier today criticizing Democrats for refusing to pass a clean continuing resolution as the government shutdown is0:54 now in day 20. Welcome to this October twentieth edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host for today, Jody Heise, filling in for Tony Perkins. Thank you so much for tuning in.1:06 Coming up on today's broadcast over the weekend, the so called no kings protest challenged president Trump's leadership. The Republicans dismissed them as nothing1:18 other than political stunts, not any serious solutions at all. The shutdown is now the third longest in US history. Congressman Chuck Edwards will be joining me shortly
Middle East Updates and Government Shutdown
1:30 to break the latest down for us. And a fragile US brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is now itself under heavy fire, but at least for the
1:42 time being, it's still holding on. And later in the program, we'll share insights from pastor Jack Hibbs and former Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, both of whom were in last week's pray
1:54 vote stand summit in Southern California. We begin this afternoon with news coming out of
2:06 the Middle East in Gaza. Israel marked a new pullback line under the US brokered ceasefire, but still violence flared up again over the weekend. Hamas militants
2:18 killed 2 Israeli soldiers. And in response, Israel put forth strikes of their own, literally killing dozens. And joining me now is Washington stand reporter,
2:30 Casey Harper. Casey, a lot's happening in the Middle East. What are what are you hearing as far as the latest?
2:38 Yeah. That's right, Jody. So here's the update. Despite the violence committed by the terrorist group Hamas this weekend and their efforts to maintain control of Gaza, which is a violation of the peace deal, both sides
2:49 do say that that ceasefire is holding. Now president Trump, while speaking today at the White House, he said the US will give the ceasefire a chance, but he warned Hamas, behave or you're gonna face some swift violent
3:00 action from allied forces.
3:03 We made a deal with Hamas that, you know, they're gonna be very good. They're gonna behave. They're gonna be nice. And if they're not, we're gonna go and we're gonna eradicate them if we have to. They'll be eradicated.
3:13 And they know that. So they they went in. They went in. And, I don't believe it was a leadership, but they had some, rebellion in there among themselves. And they killed
3:26 some people, you know, pretty a lot of people. But this is a violent group. You know, you probably noticed over the last hundred years. This is a very violent group of people.
3:36 Now president Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, they met with Israeli prime minister Netanyahu today to try to keep this peace deal on track. Israel says Hamas is breaking the agreement by attacking troops
3:48 and withholding those bodies of deceased hostages. But despite those setbacks, the Trump led plan is pushing forward. Vice president JD Vance actually just left for Israel today as the administration is pushing forward
4:00 this 20 step peace strategy, which is part of what president Trump calls this historic new Middle East, Jody.
4:07 Wow. A lot going on, Casey. Let's turn, if we can, our attention to Washington, DC. Of course, the government shutdown is still the big news. I have been hearing for several days,
4:19 Casey, that there is a possibility, a possibility that maybe Democrats will be open to reopening the government after the no kings rallies. What are you hearing?
4:31 Yeah. Well, they do have president Trump is leaving the country soon, so they might have be motivated by that deadline, Jody. But today marks the day 20 of the government shutdown, which is actually the third longest in
4:41 US history. So the senate, they're scheduled to vote on another clean CR, but as you may expect, it's not expected to pass. These no kings protests, they have become a major focus in today's political discussion.
4:53 As you mentioned, protesters gathered across the US over the weekend to speak out against president Trump, and they say, you know, his actions are too extreme and even threaten democracy. But many Republicans argue he's
5:05 just doing what he promised, cracking down on illegal immigration, standing up to biased media, and putting America first. Most of these protests were peaceful, but some, like in Portland, showed signs of
5:17 glorifying violence, which did raise concerns. Now in a Fox News interview this weekend, president Trump responded to those protests saying, I am no king. He defended his leadership as firm but
5:29 fair. And many Democratic lawmakers, including senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and house minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, they actually joined the no kings protest. And Republicans say this is proof positive that
5:41 Democrats are prioritizing political theater over reopening the government. In fact, Republican congressman Chip Roy, he slammed Democrats for this, calling it a distraction from just doing their jobs.
5:52 Target, the Southern Poverty Law Center, who are, you know, going after people like our friends at the Family Research Council or ultimately Charlie Kirk, securing the border, passing the Lake and Riley Act. These are
Faith and Protests: The No Kings Movement
6:04 the things the American people want us to do, not shutting down the government for political rallies. And the truth is the marches, the radicals, and the Islamist, the Democratic Party promoted this weekend.
6:16 They cannot handle the truth. The truth is that there is a king, and that king is Jesus.
6:22 With president Trump heading to Asia later this month, Jody, we'll see if these negotiations can move forward before then.
6:30 Well, let's certainly hope that they do. And just hearing, congressman Chip Roy there, I was honored to be at the Prevost Stand Summit this weekend in Chino Hills, California. And
6:42 certainly, we had some protesters there as well. And as you can imagine, they were chanting no king, no king, no king. But, while they were out there, we were all inside, Calvary Chapel,
6:54 Jack Hibbs Church, praising the 1 and only king, the lord Jesus Christ. And it was just a really, really special, time. In fact, those of you who are viewing right
7:06 now, you're able to see Tony Perkins and Jack Hibbs. They've got a picture of themselves with some of the protesters there in the background, really quite a quite a, an experience
7:18 it was. Alright, Casey. Anything else that you're tracking? Is there any good news out there?
7:24 Yeah, Jody. We do have, some positive news. Sorry to be a downer on the show so often, but here here's some good news. Bible sales across America are up. In fact, they soared 36 percent in September of
7:36 this year compared to the same time last year. Now, of course, this comes after the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. But according to the publishing tracker, Circana BookScan, sales jumped from 1500000.0 to
7:48 2400000.0 copies. This shows Americans may be turning back to faith in some pretty uncertain times, Jody.
7:56 Wow. Thank you so much, Casey. We appreciate always you giving us these updates. We are are grateful for it. Alright. I wanna go back now to the latest on the government shutdown. And
Pastor Luke Ash's Stand for Faith
8:08 in particular, I'd like to get a congressional perspective of it all. And joining me now to discuss this and more is congressman Chuck Edwards. He's a member of the House Appropriations Committee as well as the Budget
8:19 Committee, and he represents the eleventh congressional district of the great state of North Carolina. Congressman Edwards, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you.
8:28 Good to
8:28 have you.
8:29 It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
8:32 Alright. Well, look. Look. Before we get to the shutdown, which I certainly wanna get to, I I would love to get your thoughts on the no kings protests over the the weekend. While certainly most of them, as
8:44 already has been noted, were free of violence, there there was some pretty violent rhetoric that was on display at it all. What, what was your thoughts with it?
8:53 Well, you you know, I wasn't there. I didn't see actually what, what took place. I find it extremely interesting that, we see this level of theatrics from folks that really
9:05 are distracting from the issues at hand right now, which are getting our government funded and operational again. I think it's interesting that, so
9:17 many folks want to protest, what president Trump is doing, what he has accomplished, what he says he wants to help us accomplish. They're they're they're just still
9:29 angry that, he won the election, remaining focused on trying to get the government open.
9:37 That's what it that's what it seems to really come down to. And, you know, many have noted the irony of the of of these demonstrations. In fact, speaker Johnson, we had a clip of him moments ago about it.
9:48 But if president Trump was a king, the government would be open right now, wouldn't it?
9:55 That would certainly be the case. And, president Trump would be the first to admit that he's not a king. He's part of a, a a republic of this great nation. And,
10:08 again, they're just frustrated that he was elected, and this is their opportunity to get out in the public eye and remind folks they wish the election of the
10:21 opening the government, the senate is scheduled yet again to vote, I believe, now for the eleventh time on advancing the the clean. House passed continuing
10:33 resolution to fund the government. Are you hearing any indication, that we might see some movement on the votes? What are you hearing?
10:43 What I'm hearing right now is that the constituents in the districts of those senators that are continuing to say no to funding the government are getting more and more restless.
10:55 They're beginning to recognize recognize that the military will not be receiving checks here in just a short time. They're beginning to realize that they will not be receiving SNAP payments and WIC payments
11:07 and that other government, services, disruption will be beginning to show through, and the constituents in those districts are getting noisier
11:19 and noisier. And I believe we're gonna see a number of, senate Democrats switch over and decide to reopen the government.
11:29 Well, I sure hope you're right. You know, we we hear a lot, and we've been hearing for the last few weeks a lot about how the government shut shutdown hurts, certain individual service members, for
11:40 example, federal workers. But it also impacts everyday people. And you represent a district where I I suppose that is as real as anyone else, in
11:52 congress. This time or so last year, of course, that the huge hurricane came through your district and did catastrophic damage, all throughout the southeast, but your district in particular was hit. And
12:04 you still have people right now suffering, and they need some help, some assistance. Tell us the impact that the shutdown is having on them.
12:13 Well, certainly with, FEMA, USDA, HUD, and others being, having their operations disrupted so much, we're
12:25 having a tough time. In fact, my office has been in contact with several folks today and, not been able to get through. And it is certainly slowed our recovery.
12:38 I find it appalling that folks, the the house Democrats in North Carolina, said that they wanted to see North Carolina rebuild, and yet they voted to shut the government down. Here's the
12:50 other interesting thing. In the in the clean resolution, we had 21500000000.0 dollars additional disaster relief funding that Democrats are saying no to for North Carolina.
13:02 It most certainly has disrupted the momentum that we've built over the last few months, and I'd rather see us get back to, full functionality.
13:13 Well, we certainly hope that that will take place, speedily. Thank you so much, congressman Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. It's great to have you on the program. We appreciate you coming on. Appreciate you coming on.
13:25 Good to be here. Thanks for having me.
13:28 Alright. Coming up next, we'll share the latest on a case involving pastor Luke Ash. He is a bi vocational pastor who was fired from his job at the local, public library
13:40 because he refused to use biologically correct pronouns. Well, Liberty Council's Matt Staver will be joining me for that that discussion in just a moment.
13:52 They're representing the pastor, so stick around. We'll be back right after this brief break.
14:01 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
14:13 Bank. 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,
14:24 Jacob in 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
14:36 neither on Mount 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,
14:48 but a 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
15:00 was once 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
15:12 solution has 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.
15:24 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,
15:36 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 stands with Israel's
15:48 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.
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16:12 delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at the Washington stand
16:24 where faith and facts meet every day.
16:30 Download the new Stand Firm app for Apple and Android phones today. You can join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We've created a special place for you to
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17:02 Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Hice. I'm honored to be filling in today for Tony, and thank you so much for joining us. Alright. Earlier this summer, our team here at,
17:14 Family Research Council was among the first, if not the first, to report on an incident regarding a bivocational pastor in Baton Rouge who was fired from his
17:26 job at a local public library after he refused to use the preferred pronouns of a gender identifying coworker. Well, that pastor is fighting back,
17:37 thank God, and he's doing so with the help of our great friends over at Liberty Council. And joining me now to discuss this is Matt Staver, who is the founder and chairman of Liberty Council. He's
17:49 also pastored several churches and produces a bible study podcast among a host of other things that he does. Matt, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you, my friend.
18:00 Thank you, Jody. Always a good opportunity to be with you and the great people at FRC. In fact, it was Family Research Council that broke this story, and that's how Liberty Council
18:12 learned about this story with pastor Luke Ash in, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. So thank you for doing so, and thank you for keeping all of us informed.
18:24 It's great. Well, he, pastor Ash actually was with us this past weekend in our pray pray vote stand summit in Southern California. And, Matt, I'd like to get started by showing you just a little clip of what he
18:36 shared, and then we'll go from there. Play the clip for me.
18:39 I was working there for a few months, and I was in a conversation with a colleague, about somebody that she was training. And in the course of that conversation, I, I used biologically accurate
18:51 pronouns. And, my coworker, corrected me and said that they prefer he. And, I said I don't do that. And, she
19:03 said, you don't use preferred pronouns? And I said, I don't do that. And she said, that's very respectful. And I said, yes, that's very respectful. Thinking about the image of God, how the Lord has created
19:15 each 1 of us in his image. And so, to tarnish that would be to vandalize the good creation that God has made each and every 1 of us, with the sex
19:26 that he has given to us. So, the next day I was brought into the office, shown the inclusivity policy. I was given the option to change course,
19:39 and I said I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to lie. And 2 days later I was I was fired from the library.
19:48 Alright. Matt Staver. You know, hearing that, I think most of us instinctively feel what the library did was wrong. But can you tell us, a little bit more precisely how
20:00 the library acted unlawfully here? What did they do?
20:04 Well, they certainly violated title 7, which is the law that governs employment. But they also since they are a public library here, they also violated the federal
20:17 first amendment and also the state constitution right to religious freedom. So there's 3 different different categories of of law here that they violated under title 7 or under the first amendment where you
20:28 have religious free exercise rights, for example. In this particular case, they knew that he had a religiously based objection. He's not gonna lie. He's not gonna give false pronouns to someone.
20:40 So they should have asked about how or they should have perceived, in determining how they could accommodate this. Well, this is pronouns. Right? So how often do you
20:52 refer to your colleagues by pronouns? You refer to them by first or last name, for example. They could have simply said, whenever talking to this particular employee, can you just use their name? Which I'm
21:04 sure pastor Lukasz would be happy to do so. He just didn't wanna lie. He could use the person's name, whatever that name would be, but he's not going female employee that they
21:16 are something other than how God created them as female, in this case, male. That's an absolute lie. So the library should have a con it's a very easy accommodation, but in fact, what
21:28 the library did is they have the so called inclusivity policy that each employee has a so called right to choose their own pronouns. But they don't have a right to force other
21:40 people like pastor Luke Asch or anyone else to go along with that delusion or that lie. And that's really, I think, the problem with the library. So we sent a demand letter to the East Baton Rouge
21:51 Parish Library on behalf of pastor Luke Asch. We are asking them to reverse course. They need to actually reinstate him. They need to pay him back pay as well. And if not, this will
22:03 result in, unfortunately, litigation against this library because they've clearly violated his rights and not only to get against pastor Luke Asch, if they did it against him, they're gonna do it against
22:15 everybody. So this has to end and I'm glad pastor Luke Ash is standing up for his freedom.
22:23 Yeah. We are too. So what are the possible different outcomes here? What could happen as this moves forward?
22:31 Well, what the preferred option would be is that the library just understands that it made a mistake, and they need to apologize. They need to reverse course. They need to bring pastor Luke Ash back, and they need to pay
22:42 him for back pay. That's really what needs to be done. And then going forward, he doesn't have to refer to someone based upon a false pronoun. He can refer to that person or this was,
22:54 you know, someone who was new, he could refer to that person by their first or last name. That's an easy fix. That's what really needs to do. But if they don't do that, if they dig their heels in, then I
23:05 believe this will result in a lawsuit, a federal lawsuit. And I know Family Research Council, you all have been so good at getting this information out. So frankly, the people of Louisiana and the people of
23:17 Baton Rouge, they ought to be outraged at this and they ought to make their voice known. This is a publicly supported library, and it's their tax dollars that are supporting this library that people have
23:29 an interest in correcting.
23:33 Matt, less than a minute before we've got a hard break here. But what advice would you give to people, who may encounter this type of situation? It's not happening just in Baton Rouge. We're seeing more and more of this.
23:45 Well, I think, pastor Ash has done the right thing. Number 1, he said that he's not gonna participate in that, false, pronoun, and it's based upon his religious beliefs. And stand
23:57 firm. Don't, compromise on this particular issue. You're not helping anybody. You're hurting somebody by by giving them a false delusion. And then if you have issues, contact Family Research Council. You can get the word
24:08 out. Liberty Council will stand beside you to make sure that the legal issues are protected and your rights are protected.
24:17 Thank you so much. Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Council. Always great to have you with us. Thank you for joining us.
24:24 Thank you. My pleasure.
24:26 Alright. By the way, for those of you who are listening and watching right now, we do have a petition, through which you can stand with pastor Luke and push back against the left's deceptive and destructive
24:39 ideology that punishes faith. You can simply text the word pastor to 6 7 7 4 2 to sign that petition. Alright. Coming up, we've got some,Show more
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