Skip to content 9/9/2026 Today’s Program Looks at a Few State Issues, UK Sanctions on Israel, and a First Midterm Convention Sep 9 · 54 min ...more
9/9/2026 Today’s Program Looks at a Few State Issues, UK Sanctions on Israel, and a First Midterm Convention
September 9, 2026 · 54 min
Redrawing Missouri’s Congressional Map again, Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Health redefines pregnant woman, Louisiana contemplates abortion drugs, and Texas identifies clear acts of radical Islamic terrorism. Additionally, Washington Watch offers updates on Iran, the UK’s sanctions on Judea and Samaria, and America’s first Republican midterm convention.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
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September 9, 2026 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Redrawing Missouri’s Congressional Map again, Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Health redefines pregnant woman, Louisiana contemplates abortion drugs, and Texas identifies clear acts of radical Islamic terrorism. Additionally, Washington Watch offers updates on Iran, the UK’s sanctions on Judea and Samaria, and America’s first Republican midterm convention. ...more Show the full description Show less Redrawing Missouri’s Congressional Map again, Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Health redefines pregnant woman, Louisiana contemplates abortion drugs, and Texas identifies clear acts of radical Islamic terrorism. Additionally, Washington Watch offers updates on Iran, the UK’s sanctions on Judea and Samaria, and America’s first Republican midterm convention.
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In this video 0:00 Election News and the Republican Convention9:00 Middle East Conflict with Iran and UK Policy on Judea and Samaria14:00 Republican Accomplishments Versus the Biden Era22:00 Legal Battle Over Mail-Order Abortion Drug Mifepristone35:00 Pennsylvania Health Regulations Erasing Mothers and Women
Election News and the Republican Convention 0:01 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and0:12 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Casey Harper.0:19 Oh, I think the war is gonna end immediately after the election. Okay. I think the war will end immediately after the election. Because? Because they can't What's that?0:28 I think the0:28 war will end immediately0:28 after the election. Because? Because they can't hold out any longer. They're desperate to try and affect the election so that we can get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their0:39 nuclear weapon. All they want is a nuclear weapon. And if they had a nuclear weapon, the whole world is in deep trouble.0:46 That was president Donald Trump earlier today speaking to reporters about the conflict with Iran before departing for the Texas for Texas for the Republican convention. Welcome to this Wednesday, September 9th0:58 edition of Washington Watch. I'm Casey Harper, your guest host for today. Thanks for joining us. Well, coming up on today's program, tensions between the US and Iran have spiked after both sides hit oil
1:10 tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. This marks the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the conflict began. Florida congressman Randy Fine, who's a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will join us to
1:21 discuss the latest developments out of the Middle East. And a major legal fight over mail order abortion drugs returned to the courtroom today with federal appellate judges in Louisiana hearing arguments over access to
1:33 the drug. Constitutional attorney Christopher Mills, who worked with FRC on the amicus briefs we filed in this case, will join us for analysis of the arguments and to discuss the next steps. Plus,
1:45 Pennsylvania's Department of Health plans to remove the words mother and pregnant woman from state health regulations. Yes. You heard that right. We'll discuss that and other concerns with the department's proposal
1:57 when we're joined by Randall Winger, chief counsel of the Independence Law Center. We'll also look at the growing trend of Muslim American politicians rising within the Democratic Party. We'll discuss
2:09 their influence within the party and more with Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch. All that and more straight ahead.
2:21 Well, today, we'll start with some election news. Conflicting court rulings have left Missouri's congressional map up in the air. Mary, walk us through the latest news here.
2:31 Casey, the US Supreme Court decided yesterday not to reinstate a Republican drawn congressional map, which keeps the map from being used in the November 3rd midterm elections. Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the request.
2:43 That left intact a unanimous ruling from Missouri Supreme Court to block the map from being used until voters weigh in on it through a statewide referendum. The Republican backed map would have broken up the voting
2:54 district of Democratic congressman Emanuel Cleaver, giving Republicans an advantage to maintain a slim majority in the US House of Representatives. Not long after justice Kavanaugh's decision, St. Louis,
3:06 Missouri based judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary order requiring the state to use Republican drawn map for the November midterm elections. Missouri Republican attorney general, Catherine Hanaway, said in a
3:18 post on X that Missouri is prepared to follow and comply with chief judge Clark's order. Opponents of the map vow to fight the federal ruling in court. Casey?
3:28 Thanks, Mary. Let's shift now to the campaign trail increasing attention there. Republicans have gathered today in Dallas for day 1 of a 2 day Republican convention. Mary, what can we expect from this convention?
3:40 Well, Casey, this is the 1st time that Republicans have ever held an event of this kind on a national scale right before the midterm elections, which will, of course, determine whether Republicans or Democrats will
3:51 control Congress. For the Republicans, this will be a chance to rally support ahead of the midterm elections. President Trump will be speaking at that event tonight, and vice president JD Vance will be speaking tomorrow
4:02 night among a list of other speakers on both days. Now throughout the convention, Republicans are expected to focus on affordability, border security, and safety among other issues while highlighting
4:13 Democrats far left at even socialist agendas. Here's a clip from Joe Gruters, Republican National Committee chairman, making opening remarks at the convention.
4:22 If Democrats take even 1 chamber of Congress, the agenda stops. We're sure as not gonna let that happen. Not on our watch,
4:34 not after everything we've accomplished, not when America's best days are still ahead.
4:40 In order to take control of the US Senate, Democrats would need to gain 4 seats. Democrats would need to net 3 seats to take the house. KC.
4:49 Alright. Well, let's shift to some other domestic news. A major legal battle over abortion drugs is back in the spot light judges in Louisiana heard arguments regarding access to the abortion
5:00 drug mifepristone. Mary, break it down for us.
5:03 Earlier today, a federal appeals court in New Orleans heard oral arguments in a case that could determine whether abortion drugs can continue to be ordered by mail. Louisiana is challenging a policy by the Biden
5:15 administration that removed the requirement of an in person visit with a doctor for obtaining the abortion drug mifepristone. This unlawful policy has allowed abortion drugs to be ordered online without any medical
5:27 oversight. It has led to major health risks from others such, as Louisiana general as Louisiana solicitor general argued today in court.
5:36 We'll get doctor Paris's declaration because she doesn't just give you high level data. She gives you real life reports of patients she's treating, including patients like 1 that was at 19 weeks gestation when she took
5:47 mifepristone, which is 9 weeks past FDA's suggested limit of 10 weeks. And as a result, these people are having to go to the emergency room and have suction d and c's to complete the abortion because mifepristone can't
5:59 do that. That's real life on the ground. That is the human element of this case, and that is why we have so vehemently defended our sovereign prerogative to regulate abortion free from federal interference.
6:10 The Biden era policy has also opened the door to abusers and other bad actors ordering the drugs and coercing mothers or secretly giving the drug to them. The court's eventual decision will determine
6:22 whether Louisiana's challenge to the 20 23 mail order policy continues, whether it's thrown out, or if it remains paused pending the FDA's further review of the drug. Casey.
6:33 Hopefully, they do the right thing. Well, thanks, Mary. Appreciate the report. Now let's turn back to the situation with Iran and the big updates there. Joining us now to discuss this and more is congressman Randy Fine.
6:45 He's a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus. He represents Florida's 6th congressional district. Congressman, welcome back to Washington Watch.
6:56 Thanks for having me.
6:57 Sure. So you're you're joining us from the site of the Republican midterm convention. Sure. I do wanna ask you how that's going. Before I do, I wanna get your assessment of how the conflict with Iran has been unfolding.
7:09 The US has been targeting Iranian oil tankers in response to ongoing attacks on American naval ships. Your thoughts on what we're seeing here.
7:18 Look. I think it's going well. Like any conflict, there'll be there'll be ups and downs. But I think the fact of the matter is president Trump has destroyed the Iranian military. He is destroying the Iranian economy, and
7:30 ultimately, that Iranian Muslim terror regime will collapse. And I think we'll see a new Iran rise from the roots in Persia that will be a great friend to America and will transform the
7:42 world. I just think we need to give the president a little bit more time, and I wish Democrats would support him in that as opposed to rooting for Iran to win.
7:50 Yeah. Yeah. Timing is everything on this 1. But in other Middle East news, I'm sure you've I know you're familiar with this. The British government kind of amazingly announced their decision yesterday to ban imports of
8:01 goods from Judea and Samaria. The British prime minister, Andy Burnham, said, quote, Britain has to stand for fairness against injustice where people are being bullied out of their homes. Your thoughts on what the UK is
8:13 doing and what these other 11 nations yesterday said that they intend to do.
8:17 In China, Muslims are held in concentration camps. Yet you don't see the United Kingdom taking any action on that. This is not about so called Palestinian. This
8:29 is about a deep seated hatred of the Jewish people and a desire to appeal to the Muslim voters that they allowed into their country that do not share British values. So yesterday, I
8:41 made an announcement. In 20 18, as a freshman member of the Florida House, I passed a bill that said if you boycott Israel, the state of Florida will boycott you. That bill almost brought
8:53 Airbnb to bankruptcy when they tried something similar in 20 19. That bill will be brought to bear on the British economy as well. So I hope it is worth putting their entire nation at risk in
Middle East Conflict with Iran and UK Policy on Judea and Samaria
9:04 order to feed this fetish for Muslim terror in Judea and Samaria.
9:09 You know, we're gonna talk about this a little bit more in the program. We touched on it yesterday, but what I hear you saying is that mass, immigration from Muslim countries is influencing the domestic politics in
9:21 these Western European countries. Is that right? And you think we could see that in the US?
9:26 British diplomats are telling people off the record, they don't intend to do any of this. This is just for political posturing. Once you allow Muslims to become a meaningful percentage of your
9:37 electorate, Muslims that aren't from your country, that don't share your values, that may have come in illegal ways and just came in on boats and just stormed the beaches, They aren't coming to be part of your country.
9:49 They're coming to take over your country. And what is clear is this is an effort to politically appeal to those voters who are obsessed with Israel, and they don't seek a 2 state solution. They seek a 1 state solution,
10:01 the elimination of the state of Israel.
10:04 Wow. Well, I do wanna turn to the Republican midterm convention. We can hear a little bit of it in the background. It's just now getting underway. What can you tell us about the convention and your hopes for it as you're
10:15 there right now?
10:16 Well, if you can hear the excitement as as 1 of my leaders in congress, Steve Scalise of Louisiana is firing up the crowd, Republicans are so excited to tell people what we've accomplished the past
10:28 2 years and to make people understand the threats to American prosperity if Democrats take over. Remember, this isn't about conservative versus liberal. This is about common sense versus communism,
10:40 and we're gonna make that pitch over and over and over again for the next 2 days so people understand that if you vote for the Democrats, you're voting for the destruction of America.
10:50 So when you when we talk about that that resume that Republicans have that you're talking about, you know, promoting, what is that that resume of accomplishments, and how does it compare to really the Biden era that we
11:01 just, escaped from?
11:03 Well, the Biden era had historic inflation. It had an open border that allowed 10000000 people to just stream across and and and come in. A president that couldn't even walk off the stage without
11:14 help, and we were seen as a laughing stock around the world. America is booming right now. Businesses coming to America. Factories being built in America. We've sealed the border. We're throwing out illegal immigrants.
11:26 The 1st net migration out of the country in decades, crime going down, fentanyl deaths going down. We have an extraordinary story to tell. Does that mean there's not still work to do? There absolutely is, but
11:38 Democrats will seek to destroy all of these games and bring us back to the insanity. And the fact of the matter is the Democrats are crazier now than they were even 2 years ago. So the threat to America of
11:50 Democrats taking control is extreme, and we're gonna continue to tell that story over the next 2 days.
11:56 But but, congressman, I was reliably informed that it was simply impossible just a few years ago to shut down the border. I guess we've done it. I do are we just taking that for granted now?
12:05 2 years ago
12:06 Well, we did shut it down. You were also told that illegals didn't vote in our elections. It's amazing how many things the left told us never happened do happen. It's part of the gaslighting that the left does, which is
12:17 why a convention like this is so important because it's our chance to talk to the American people directly. And as Steve Scalise is showing, very enthusiastically.
12:27 Alright. So so looking ahead, congress will be returning to Washington next week. What do you expect is gonna be at the top of the agenda? Years.
12:35 Well, we're only there for 1 more week. And so I they haven't told us next week what we're gonna do yet, but I think it'll probably be just trying to get some key bills over the finish line and then getting back to our
12:46 districts for 7 weeks to make sure we keep that majority. Because right now, to some degree, the most important work can be done at home. The senate's never gonna pass anything that needs 60 votes. The democrats aren't
12:57 interested in working with us. So if it can't get if it can't be reconciliation, it's really just posturing. We need to get home. We need to campaign. We need to increase our majority in the house. We need to increase
13:07 our majority in the senate.
13:09 You mentioned the senate, about 30 seconds left. How important is it for Republicans in your agenda to not have just the house but also the senate?
13:16 We have to have both. I mean, it's hard enough to get anything passed right now. We need to have more senators. We need to try to get to 60 so that we can pass bills. The senate has this crazy rule that you
13:28 don't even need a majority to to to pass a law. You've gotta have 60 votes. So we've gotta get more senators passed so we can so we've gotta get more senators elected so we can get that done.
13:40 Alright. Well, thank you for joining us today, Florida congressman Randy Fine. Enjoy the convention. Alright, folks. Coming up, we'll discuss today's oral arguments in Louisiana's abortion drug case
13:52 against the FDA. This is very, very critical. You'll wanna hear about it. Stick around.
Republican Accomplishments Versus the Biden Era
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17:02 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your guest host, Casey Harper, filling in for Tony today. Thanks for tuning in. Just a reminder, our pray, vote, stand summit is less than 2 weeks away. It'll take place
17:14 September 24th to the 26th at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. That's just outside DC. So be sure to join us. We'd love to have you. For details and to register, text summit to
17:26 6 7 7 4 2. That's summit to 6 7 7 4 2. Alright. Back to business. Earlier today, a 3 judge panel of the 5th circuit court of appeals heard oral arguments in
17:37 Louisiana's abortion drug case against the US Food and Drug Administration, the FDA. Now Louisiana is asking the court to require the FDA to restore the in person dispensing requirement for the
17:49 abortion drug mifepristone. You have to go to a doctor to get the drug. That was removed by the previous administration. As a result of the Biden era policy, out of state abortionists have been mailing mifepristone
18:01 to residents of states, even states with pro life laws. Louisiana alone, there are reportedly about 1000 abortions taking place a month due to mifepristone being mailed into the
18:13 state. So how did today's arguments go? Well, joining us now to fill us in is constitutional lawyer Christopher Mills who worked with FRC on the amicus brief we filed in support of Louisiana. He's the founder
18:25 of Sparrow Law LLC, and he was a former law clerk to Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. Chris, welcome back to Washington Watch.
18:33 Thanks. Good to be here.
18:34 It's good to have you. I wanna get you're the expert here. What were your takeaways and your reaction to this morning's oral arguments?
18:42 Sure. So what was happening this morning was, an argument before the 5th circuit court of appeals in, New Orleans. That's a court that's 1 level below the supreme court.
18:53 Initially, the district court in Louisiana had said, hey. I agree with Louisiana that the FDA rushed this decision and and didn't, you know, cross all their t's and dot
19:05 all their i's when under the Biden administration, they relaxed the in person requirement. That what was but but the district court said, I'm not gonna do something about it because the FDA says they are rereviewing
19:18 that decision. So that was what was up at the 5th circuit. The 5th Circuit's consideration was shaded by the fact that the 5th Circuit earlier had said actually because the FDA
19:30 didn't do what it was supposed to, we're going to go ahead and enjoin that 20 23 rule, and the Supreme Court had stayed that action. So a lot of the argument today at the 5th circuit focused on what
19:42 the Fisher circuit should do with the fact that the Supreme Court stated. And it was a rocky morning, I would say, for for the state in terms of the questions that, Louisiana was getting asked by the judges.
19:54 2 of the judges were appointed by president Obama, 1 by, president George w Bush, and, overwhelmingly, they focused on, the technical issue of whether the state had standing
20:06 rather than on whether the FDA was right to remove the in person dispensing requirement.
20:12 So so that's the technical side and and, very well explained. But what is the kind of the big picture argument here? FRC has filed amicus briefs in support of Louisiana's legal fight. You had a a huge hand in that. Can
20:24 you share what we argued in those briefs?
20:28 Sure. So I I would say we we had 2 main points. The 1st is, on this sort of question about standing. As Louisiana said, it's facing an extra, you know, thousand
20:40 abortions every month because of the abortion pill. You know, that was the whole point of the Biden administration's rollback of the in person dispensing requirement. That's the whole reason the drug manufacturers
20:52 were there today arguing in court because they are benefited when their product gets to go out through the mail, in the hundreds of thousands really across the nation for
21:04 women to be put at risk by having these abortions via pill happen at home without medical supervision. So we said our 1st argument was, hey, the the state has to have a standing
21:16 to, to sue the FDA here because they're on the hook for all these medical expenses that happened through Medicaid and other programs when these women who are taking dangerous drugs show
21:28 up in the emergency room or in hospitals because they've been harmed by, this pill arriving through the mail. So that was our 1st point. Our 2nd point is that this is dangerous. And and the fact that that
21:40 women are are, you know, having these these negative repercussions shows that the pill is dangerous. It shouldn't be dispensed without an in person requirement. It opens the door when you when you can mail it
21:52 to in, partner violence and partner coercion because you don't even have to really necessarily be the woman who would be using the pill to be able to get it online. So there have been horrendousShow more
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