Skip to content 12/16/2025 Islamic State Inspires Deadly Attacks, Pursuing Affordable Health Insurance, and the Discredited SPLC Dec 16 · 54 min ...more
12/16/2025 Islamic State Inspires Deadly Attacks, Pursuing Affordable Health Insurance, and the Discredited SPLC
December 16, 2025 · 54 min
Today: Congressional Hearings on the SPLC; Making Health Insurance Affordable; California church seeks COVID fine relief; Islamic State inspires antisemitic attack and an attack on U.S. Soldiers.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio December 16, 2025 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Today: Congressional Hearings on the SPLC; Making Health Insurance Affordable; California church seeks COVID fine relief; Islamic State inspires antisemitic attack and an attack on U.S. Soldiers. ...more Show the full description Show less Today: Congressional Hearings on the SPLC; Making Health Insurance Affordable; California church seeks COVID fine relief; Islamic State inspires antisemitic attack and an attack on U.S. Soldiers.
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In this video 0:00 Exposing the SPLC's Assault on Christian Voices24:45 Defending Religious Freedom in the Courts37:01 Global Threats to Faith and Security
Exposing the SPLC's Assault on Christian Voices 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 newsmakers,0:13 all from a biblical world view, sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Hice.0:19 Decade later, when on September ninth 20 25, 1 day before Charlie Kirk was assassinated, the SPLC's hate watch newsletter singled out Charlie and Turning Point USA by0:30 name, labeling them dangerous extremists. And as with FRC, in the aftermath of Charlie's assassination, there have been no retractions, no accountability, and no acknowledgment of the risks0:42 inherent in branding mainstream political figures as existential threats.0:47 That was congressman Chip Roy literally moments ago at a hearing on the Southern Poverty Law Center's efforts to silence conservatives and Christian Americans for their beliefs.0:59 Welcome to this December sixteenth edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony Perkins. Thank you so much for joining us today. Alright. The House Rules Committee1:11 takes up a bill to extend COVID era Obamacare subsidies. Joining me here momentarily will be North Carolina congressman Mark Harris with insight on the health1:23 insurance issues that are now facing congress. Plus a little bit later, Bob Tyler will be joining us to break down the Calvary Chapel San Jose case before the US Supreme Court.
1:35 This case is challenging over 1200000.0 dollars in COVID lockdown fines that the church faced.
1:48 And here's a quote. If the SPLC is truly concerned about stopping hate and violence, then it should drop the gun. Well, that quote came from Tony Perkins
2:01 moments ago at a Capitol Hill hearing. The House Judiciary Subcommittee held a hearing on the Southern Poverty Law Center's influence on federal civil rights policy,
2:12 including claims that the group has targeted Christian and conservative Americans and literally tried to suppress their free speech and association rights. And joining me now is Washington state reporter,
2:24 Casey Harper, who has been following today's stories. Casey, let's, start with this 1. What are some of the key takeaways from today's, congressional hearing regarding the Southern
2:36 Poverty Law Center?
2:38 Thanks, Jody. Well, lawmakers and witnesses examined the SPLC's influence on government, media, and schools, questioning whether its hate group lists unfairly target conservative and Christian
2:50 organizations, which has long been an accusation. Now Tony Perkins, a family research council, told the committee that the SBLC's listings have fueled threats and even real world violence. He pointed
3:01 to the 20 12 terrorist attack on FRC headquarters. Here's what he had to say during his testimony.
3:08 If we want a freer, safer, and more just society, we must reject the SBLC's practice of ideological blacklisting and ensure the government agencies, media
3:20 outlets, corporations, and schools stop outsourcing moral judgment to an organization that's long abandoned neutrality Thank you.
3:30 Now witnesses also highlighted the SPLC's large funding, national reach, and its materials even being used in classrooms, which raises concerns that such labeling chills free speech and political
3:42 participation. And now alongside Tony Perkins, Andrew Seifer of Turning Point USA, Tyler O'Neil of The Daily Signal, and Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty voiced strong concern
3:54 over the SPLC's anti Christian and anti conservative rhetoric. The hearing concluded with calls for congress, corporations, and educational institutions to stop relying on SPLC designations
4:06 and to protect Americans' rights to freely express their beliefs without intimidation or marginalization, Jody.
4:14 Extremely important hearing there, Casey. Thank you very much. In fact, Tony Perkins, even this moment, is, trying to head this way from that hearing,
4:26 there in the capital, and, hopefully, he will be able to join us with some additional insights here in a little while. But, Casey, moving on to some other important, topics that I know you've been following. We've got a
4:37 a California church is taking its fight over the COVID era worship restrictions that they experienced. They're taking it to the Supreme Court. We're talking in Calvary Chapel San Jose.
4:50 Why is this such an important, case and 1 that could have some national impact?
4:57 Yeah, Jody. I think there's real opportunity for precedent on this case. So what are the details? Well, Calvary Chapel San Jose and its pastor, Mike McClure, are asking the US Supreme Court to take a look at more than
5:08 1200000.0 dollars in fines imposed on them for holding those in person worship services during California's strict COVID lockdowns. Now the church argues it was unfairly
5:20 punished, while many secular activities were freely allowed to continue under much less restrictive rules. Now this case raises key constitutional questions about religious freedom, government authority during
5:32 public health emergencies, and whether imposing massive fines for worship violates the first amendment. A Supreme Court decision like this could shape how states regulate religious services in future
5:44 crises, Jody.
5:45 Wow. Well, thank you for that as well, Casey. Alright. Listen. By the way, we we are gonna have, Bob Tyler, who's the president of the Advocates for Faith and Freedom. He'll he'll be
5:57 joining us to go a little bit deeper into that topic as well. But if I can, Casey, switch to some international news. Police are revealing new evidence right now, including some terrorist
6:09 related material as it, refers to and relates to the anti Semitic attack that took place near Bondi Beach. As we all know, 15 people were killed in that brutal attack there in Sydney, Australia. But
6:21 what's the latest that you're hearing? And is this, message of antisemitism, the dangers of it, is that resonating globally, particularly now during Hanukkah?
6:32 Well well, Jody, police say the suspects had had traveled to the Philippines last month, a trip now under investigation, and new evidence suggests that this attack was inspired by the Islamic State.
6:44 I also confirmed that the vehicle, which is registered to the younger male, contained IEDs, but I also confirmed that it contained 2 homemade ISIS flags.
6:56 We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy, and we'll continue to do so. And I think it's really important that our investigators continue to be given time to do that.
7:06 Now to your question, Jody, the new evidence reinforces that this was a targeted anti Semitic terrorist attack on a Jewish holiday. Now the violence has sparked global concerns, particularly
7:18 in New York, where police visibly increased security at synagogues and Jewish sites amid fears of copycat or related threats during this holiday, Jody.
7:29 Yeah. I mean, you you gotta anticipate the possibility of something like that happening. It just, it's incredible.
7:37 Well, if you don't see the antisemitism at this point with these attacks, I'm not sure that you or you're capable of seeing it.
7:42 Yeah. I I totally agree with you. Well, Casey, let me let me ask you this. If we can switch back to some domestic news, 1 of the big issues taking a lot of oxygen out of the room right now, of course, is this,
7:55 whole thing with, health care, really, health insurance. I know we've touched on it a little bit, but, does it does it appear to you that some of the negotiations there are breaking down?
8:06 You know, Jody, I I think it for all the negotiation, for all the hullabaloo, the government shutdown that was over these ACA subsidies, they still haven't been able to reach a deal. And they have that, December
8:17 fifteenth deadline. You know, these ACA subsidies are expiring, and millions of Americans are gonna see their health care premiums rise next year. Now I think it's important to note that some of
8:29 the framing on this is not exactly fair because people are characterizing it as if Americans will be forced to pay thousands and thousands of dollars more for their premiums. And, you know, some will maybe facing that,
8:40 but they could also if the price goes up on 1 product, you might shop elsewhere. So it's not as if, you know, Obamacare subsidies or the Obamacare is the only health insurance available to everyone. It's just been that
8:51 these prices have been artificially lowered by taxpayers like you, Jody, and me who have been keeping these premiums lower. And so when that expires, we're gonna see these premiums raise. It's it's hitting the
9:02 affordability crisis, and so far, there's no deal.
9:05 Well, Casey, thank you so much. You set the stage perfectly. Appreciate, as always, you keeping us abreast on these items. And I wanna go now to the latest on this battle over health care, over health insurance,
9:17 really. Joining me now to discuss this is congressman Mark Harris. He, of course, represents the eighth congressional district of North Carolina. Congressman Harris, thank you for joining us.
9:28 Hey, Jody. It's great to be with you.
9:30 Okay. Listen. Dealmakers all over the place, both, chambers all over, seem to be making some last ditch efforts right now to try to extend the Obamacare subsidies. What
9:42 what are you hearing? What are you seeing right now?
9:45 Well, I think that what we're actually gonna see is what what really needed to happen, and that was the Democrats set this into motion. And and, frankly, we knew that it wasn't sustainable.
9:57 And you're gonna see these subsidies, basically, the the COVID era subsidies expire the end of December. I do think Republicans are working, tirelessly to try to come up with a
10:09 plan. We're gonna take a vote this week on a health care plan that's gonna really focus on several things. 1, folks being able to buy health insurance through their associations and forming
10:21 associations, which I think is gonna be very important. And then there's gonna be then some more that's gonna go into these sort of choice accounts that folks are able to, get through the places they work and for
10:33 businesses to be able to, help their employees by basically giving them, some money that they would be able to go out and purchase and shop for their own. And, I think you're gonna see some of that
10:44 happen. There's really a series of ideas that Republicans have have really supported for some time, and now we're finding ourselves in this situation where Obamacare is doing exactly what we predicted it would
10:56 do, and that is collapse on itself if you're not continuing to fund it. Right.
11:02 So I
11:02 think that, ultimately, what I'm understanding, Jody, is that we're going to still have Obamacare in place unsubsidized in the COVID era premiums. They'll still be subsidized
11:14 in some way. But we're gonna offer Americans an alternative so that they can have the opportunity to have more control of their health care, and and their spending. So I I think and when
11:26 it's all said and done, people are gonna be glad that it's happened, but I think it's gonna take some time to get there.
11:32 Yeah. It's gonna take some time and probably a little pain to get there. What about, congressman Harris, the the Hyde Amendment? The, no tax dollars going for abortion. With all the discussion, debates that are
11:44 negotiations taking place, is the Hyde Amendment going to stand?
11:48 I think the Hyde Amendment is going to stand. I'm very thankful that folks have have been committed to that here, and, we're not willing to to do anything different. So if you're going to be able to be on
12:00 that plan, the Hyde Amendment is going to be in place and is going to protect us from putting federal money toward abortions. That's my understanding at this point of of where we are.
12:10 Well, keep it up. That's a biggie. Alright. If I can, we've got less than 2 minutes to go here. Some other news, the house judiciary committee sub subcommittee, of course, had a hearing today on the Southern Property Law
12:22 Center. I'll be discussing that a little bit more as the program unfolds, but wanted to get your thoughts. I know you were there. What what did you think? What were the highlights of the hearing?
12:33 Well, I was grateful for the hearing, Jody. Grateful that, our chairman of the subcommittee, Chip Roy, had assembled us to do this. I thought, the president of FRC, Tony Perkins, did a phenomenal job of
12:44 relating exactly the experiences that FRC had gone through and and just really, it exposed. And that was so important to expose what the southern, poverty and law
12:56 center is really all about. And it really exposed them that they are really trying to stop Christians. And, I mean, we had folks there not only FRC, but you also had folks there from Turning Point
13:08 USA. They played such a pivotal part. Unfortunately, the SBLC did. Even in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, you could easily make that link. And then, of course, you all know what what
13:20 happened at FRC as a result of SBLC's dangerous dangerous statements that they put out there.
13:26 Thank you so much, congressman Mark Harris. We always appreciate you coming on, and, I will say it was an honor to be with you and others last night. They're they're in the meeting. Always good to see you. Thank you for
13:37 joining us on Washington Watch.
13:39 Thank you, Jody. It's always a pleasure.
13:41 Alright, friends. Don't go anywhere. Coming up, we are going to have a special guest who will be joining me to dig deeper into today's hearing on the Southern Poverty Law Center. So you don't wanna go anywhere.
13:53 Stick with us. We'll be back in just a few moments.
14:01 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, and I wanna invite you to join me for stand on the word, a daily journey through the bible, 10 to 15 minutes a day. That's all it takes. And in no time, you'll have finished the entire bible. And
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15:01 For over 4000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank.
15:13 To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It's the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80 percent of the Bible's events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in
15:25 Shechem. Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before god. On Mount Gerizim overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount
15:37 Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel's current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a
15:48 vital and strategic part of the nation's identity. The October seventh massacre launched from Gaza shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once
16:00 seen as the cornerstone of a 2 state solution, became a launchpad for terror. Today, only 21 percent of Israel support a Palestinian state. Trust in a 2 state solution has all
16:12 but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran's grip is weakening. New alliances are forming, but western countries and some US officials
16:30 region, are 24 times larger than Gaza, deeply woven into Israel's geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would
16:42 invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council stands with Israel's rightful claim to sovereignty. It's time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting
16:54 security in the Middle East.
17:01 Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Wash. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony, and appreciate you joining us as well. Alright. Just a couple of
17:13 hours ago, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the disgraced Southern Poverty Law Center, specifically the way it's been targeting Christians and conservative
17:25 Americans. And among those who testified was an executive VP of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, Tyler O'Neil. Literally, he wrote the book on the SPLC.
17:37 But in addition to him was our very own Tony Perkins. He was at the hearing. He testified, and he is joining me now just literally coming in from the capitol, to discuss this.
17:49 Tony, thank you for joining me. Thank you for rushing over here.
17:51 Well, I
17:52 feel like you're doing this for
17:53 I I know. I've never seen it from this side.
17:55 It's a
17:55 it's a different view. It's a different view.
17:58 It's a different view. It actually
17:59 looks pretty good.
18:00 Well, we I feel like we need some musical chairs to change seats here.
18:03 Well, thanks for filling in because I could not have testified today before the constitution committee had you not been filling in for
18:10 a second. With what you shared
18:11 with that.
18:11 Well, it
18:12 it really was focused on the the Southern Poverty Law Center. It kind of connecting the thread from what happened here in August of 20 12 when we had a gunman come in our building and, to to kill us,
18:24 shot Leo Johnson, who was able to stop him, through to 20 17 when, my our friend, my former Louisiana colleague, Steve Scalise, was shot at a,
18:36 congressional baseball, practice. He had been labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center. And then most recently, Charlie Kirk also labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center and and
18:48 assassinated there on that college campus. Of course, we were labeled in 20 10. We were the first to be labeled. Of course, now there's there's dozens and dozens of Christians in conservative organizations. But what
19:00 Jody, what was most ironic, I should say, is that the the the Democrats on the committee complaining that the the Republicans were having this hearing and that this would marginalize, intimidate, and
19:11 silence the Southern Poverty Law Center and civil rights organizations that want to speak out. Duh. That's why we're here. That's exactly what the Southern Poverty Law Center is doing. And my point
19:23 was they have every right to do that. The issue was not what they say or the fact that they have a map. It's who uses the map and amplifies their voice. The government should not
19:35 be using an advocacy organization that has a left wing ideology or a right wing for that matter. It should be a neutral peer reviewed
19:47 criteria for elevating a standard of what they call as a hate group.
19:53 So is that the message you hope sticks with this subcommittee?
19:56 I I do. I go from there. So there there's really 3 levels of this, and and people don't realize how the Southern Poverty Law Center has utilized the the federal government using it. The media
20:08 uses them as some type of arbiter, you know, to use a sports analogy. I said, you know, they're like a player, but a referee and the announcer. And they're the ones blowing the whistle on the other side when they
20:20 don't like what they're saying. And so they're not only at the federal government. They're at the state level. We actually have law enforcement that has utilized their list. And most
20:31 frightening, Jody, is that they have a curriculum that they're putting into public schools. It used to be called teaching tolerance. They've changed the name of it now, but their ideology is being used in our public
20:42 schools, again, supposedly to be this neutral, viewpoint on these issues when in fact it's a leftist ideology.
20:51 Yeah. Unbelievable that they could even call it teaching tolerance. I mean, their view is anything but so what was your feel, Tony, of the the members of the committee? What what was your take on how on both
21:03 sides of the aisle, how they were receiving the information?
21:06 Well, first off, on the Republican side, it was frankly, for a cub subcommittee, it was well attended. It was a long we've been there for a couple hours. The the members were well informed, asked, I think,
21:18 good questions. You you've been there before. It it it most of the members, especially when when we look at the Democratic side, are not there to
21:30 gain any information. It is to in fact, a couple on the on the Democratic side were making statements totally unrelated to the topic just because it was a platform for them to
21:41 attack the Trump administration. Right.
21:43 Right. Yeah. That's that's unfortunately try to get the bullet point and get a a sound bite that the news so was there any media in in in attendance, and what do you hope the media
21:55 might get from this? Yeah. There was some. We'll see what kind of media comes from it. But I I again, I think the the bottom line message was that the SPLC is not a neutral
22:07 arbiter. It should not be seen as a referee of what is, is hate speech or what is not hate speech. But the reality is it's not about the speech. It it they say, you know, they're trying to stop
22:19 violence. Well, none of the conservative groups that they've labeled have ever advocated for violence. And there is no there's no, consistent definition. There's no, objective definition
22:31 of what hate or anything else based upon what they label exist. It's all subjective. It's all ideologically driven. It's not based upon behavior. I mean, if if organizations are
22:43 out there advocating for violence or engaging in violence, sure. Label them. But that's not what's happening here. These are just people they're ideologically opposed to come and and corporations use this.
22:55 So it it's it's government uses it. Corporations use it. The media uses it. And what it does is it chills speech. It marginalizes conservative organizations so
23:07 that the left can advance their agenda.
23:09 Yeah. Absolutely. And it, you know, it it's just amazing to me how the lack of definition I think that's an excellent point. There has to be definitions
23:21 Right.
23:21 With what Objective. Objective definitions. So we've only got a little over a minute left here. What needs to happen from here? Where where's where do we go from here?
23:31 Well, I I think first off, again, I wanna be very clear that this is not saying that the Southern Poverty Law Center does not have a right to speak. They do. But government and the media and the corporation should not
23:42 facilitate an organization that characterizes law abiding citizens and organizations in ways that suggest violence against against them, like Floyd Corkin
23:53 Corkins coming into our building and shooting 1 of our people is somehow justified or that the assassin of Charlie Kirk is justified because of the views, that Charlie Kirk or Turning Point USA
24:05 or the Family Research Council espouses. So if we're to come together as a divided nation, we need to have dialogue, conversations. We can differ on the opinions,
24:17 but we have to have the conversation. The SPLC stands in the way.
24:21 Absolutely. Well, Tony, personally, all of us here at FRC and across the country, thank you for taking this stand or and for being a voice right now for,
24:33 this incredibly important issue, and thank you for rushing. I won't ask how fast you
24:38 were
24:39 on the way over here, but thank you so much.
24:41 Alright. Thank you, Jody. Merry Christmas. You look good in that chair,
24:44 by the way. Thank you. Alright, friends. Stay tuned. Much more watching watch coming your way. A very important case developing in Southern California. The churches, what they went through during the COVID pandemic. SoShow more
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