Skip to content 9/2/2026 Foreign Policy Takes Stage Abroad as Resisting Socialism and Protecting Kids is Our Domestic Focus Sep 2 · 59 min ...more
9/2/2026 Foreign Policy Takes Stage Abroad as Resisting Socialism and Protecting Kids is Our Domestic Focus
September 2, 2026 · 59 min
The House takes up birthright citizenship, the U.S. strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, the residual impact of the former Syrian president’s nuclear ambitions, trade talks between Russia, China, and India may affect the United States’ global influence, a Kansas school pushes gender transitions on children, the threat of socialism in America, and the misleading use of “Christian Socialism.”
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
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.
September 2, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
The House takes up birthright citizenship, the U.S. strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, the residual impact of the former Syrian president’s nuclear ambitions, trade talks between Russia, China, and India may affect the United States’ global influence, a Kansas school pushes gender transitions on children, the threat of socialism in America, and the misleading use of “Christian Socialism.” ...more Show the full description Show less The House takes up birthright citizenship, the U.S. strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, the residual impact of the former Syrian president’s nuclear ambitions, trade talks between Russia, China, and India may affect the United States’ global influence, a Kansas school pushes gender transitions on children, the threat of socialism in America, and the misleading use of “Christian Socialism.”
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
In this video 0:00 Headlines on Escalating US-Iran Conflict and Domestic Issues7:35 Birthright Citizenship, Abortion Drugs, and Middle East Updates11:10 Congressional Perspective on Middle East Conflicts and Socialism18:50 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit and Global Threats29:47 DOJ Lawsuit Against Secret School Gender Transitions and Christian Socialism
Headlines on Escalating US-Iran Conflict and Domestic Issues 0:00 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and host of Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in. Every day, we offer a biblical perspective on the news as well as insightful interviews with elected0:11 leaders, newsmakers, and culture experts. We have a great program planned for you today, but 1st, get up to speed on the top headlines with Washington Stan's news brief.0:27 Welcome to the Washington Stan news brief. I'm Quindella Mater bringing you Wednesday's top stories. 1st, the war between the US and Iran is still escalating and at a0:38 rapid rate. US strikes carried out Tuesday continued overnight into Wednesday in the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July with0:50 US forces striking Iran's southern coast and Iran firing at American bases across the region. In response, the US threatened more devastating attacks.1:02 Iran accused Washington of hitting a wedding party, though this has not been confirmed by the US. Here's treasury secretary Scott Besant discussing the matter.1:13 My message to everyone is stay away. We all want this conflict to end, and the fastest way for the conflict to end is the for no 1 to1:25 provide any support to this regime. We are going to sever every tide that they have from the outside world.
1:33 Reuters reported that a municipal worker along the strait said, last night was like the end of the world, in describing attacks on the area. Iran fired on US assets
1:45 in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Iraq and said its aim was now to drive US forces from the vast network of military bases they have occupied for decades across the Middle
1:57 East. Washington says that despite Iranian attacks, it is guiding ships through the street. In other news, the parents of a 7 year old girl left
2:08 permanently disabled after an accident are speaking out. Delilah Coleman was only 5 years old when a 6 car pileup caused by an illegal immigrant who obtained a
2:20 driver's license left her with traumatic brain injury, loss of the ability to talk, and cerebral palsy. Tuesday, her father shared his family's story at a fiery
2:32 Capitol Hill hearing.
2:34 My daughter doesn't deserve this. She would she didn't ask for any of this. The people that jumped the fence did, though. They knew exactly what they were doing. They still chose to move forward in that direction. And
2:43 every day something's happening to somebody, and it is your guys' fault. I hold each and every 1 of you responsible for it, and I always will.
2:52 This comes after transportation secretary Sean Duffy said earlier this week that every driver's license held by an illegal immigrant will be revoked.
3:03 Now in partnership with Homeland and partnership with prosecutors, every single illegal driver on American roads, we're gonna come for you. So maybe it's just better off, cut up your
3:15 commercial driver's license and find something else to do. This is not your space. We are not gonna allow you to endanger American citizens' lives. So just cut
3:27 it out. We're not coming for you. Well, at least in this context. So that's subject to debate. Yeah. But, but at least in regard to this task force, get off the road.
3:38 Back in March, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the Delilah law, which would bar any state from granting commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens. And for
3:50 our last story today, the House has approved legislation to avoid a government shutdown on October 1st when existing funds are set to run out. The bill that keeps the government funded
4:02 through December 11th was passed and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Senate passed the measure on August 8th and the temporary measure was needed since congress has so
4:13 far failed to pass any of the 12 spending bills that fund government programs for the next fiscal year. Those programs range from Homeland Security and Federal
4:22 law enforcement to Energy,
4:23 Housing and Defense.
4:34 Of agreeing on and passing
4:34 12 full year spending bills. Of agreeing on and passing 12 full year spending bills. I'm Quinn Dellenator, and that's Wednesday's news. We'll be back next time.
4:53 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
5:04 newsmakers, all from a biblical world view. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
5:11 We've controlled and we are controlling the Hormone Strait. We are, bringing lots of boats out every day with millions of barrels of oil. We are, for the most
5:23 part, doing it without trouble. Every once in a while, they shoot a drone and we knock it down. But, we we have control of very strong control.
5:34 That was president Trump earlier today in the Oval Office commenting on the conflict with Iran and the status of the Strait of Hormuz. Welcome to this Wednesday,
5:46 September 2nd edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host filling in for Tony Perkins and thrilled to have you on board with us as well. Coming up on the program today, military
5:58 exchanges between Iran and the United States in recent days have reignited really concerns over a full scale regional conflict in the Middle East. So where do
6:10 things stand now? And are we potentially at a tipping point? Well, Indiana congressman Marlon Stutzman, some member of the House budget committee will be joining me to discuss that and more.
6:22 Plus, the US Department of Justice has sued Kansas City Kansas public schools for its alleged secret gender transitions happening behind parents' backs. Britney
6:34 Jones, president of Kansas Family Voice, will join us to talk about that. And then later coming up in the program, doctor Peter Jacobson from the University of Canis will be
6:46 joining me to talk about why socialism is not just a democrat problem. Catch this. It's also a problem for the church. So all that and more is coming your way on today's
6:58 edition of Washington Watch. Stay with us. Let's begin with some news coming out of Washington.
7:10 Earlier today, a congressional subcommittee held part 2 of a hearing on birthright citizenship. Joining us now to discuss this is Washington Watch reporter
7:21 Mary Stackhouse. Mary, what came of the hearing today?
7:25 Jody, the house judiciary subcommittee on the constitution and limited government held today's hearing, which was called subject to the jurisdiction of birthright citizenship and the 14th amendment part 2. The hearing
Birthright Citizenship, Abortion Drugs, and Middle East Updates
7:37 focused on the Supreme Court's recent decision that the 14th amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to children born in the US regardless of whether their parents are temporarily or unlawfully there. Now during the
7:48 hearing, lawmakers examined potential legislative responses. Rosemary Jinx, policy director for the Immigration Accountability Project, was 1 of the witnesses who testified. Here's a clip.
7:58 I wanna point out that prior to 19 66, the federal government required parental status information on passport applications. It was a 19 66 bureaucratic
8:10 revision by the state department unaccompanied by any new legal or constitutional developments that dropped the parental status questions and began treating birthright as birthplace
8:22 as solely dispositive.
8:24 Now Jenks argued that while the Supreme Court blocked president Trump from changing birthright citizenship rules, it did leave the door open for congress to change immigration rules. Jody?
8:34 Okay. Some more domestic news, Mary. A federal judge has delayed a case on access to abortion drugs until after the midterm elections. Can you walk us through the news of that
8:46 issue?
8:47 Sure. A federal judge has paused a lawsuit by Florida and Texas which seeks to limit access to the abortion drug, mifepristone, nationwide. The judge has delayed the case while the Trump administration completes a
8:58 review, a safety review, of of on the drug. The judge also rejected a motion by drug makers of mifepristone, Gen BioPro, and Danko Laboratories, to dismiss the case. The
9:10 lawsuit has been paused until December 1st or until the FDA completes its review of the abortion drug, whichever comes 1st. Now the lawsuit which was filed last December challenges the FDA's initial approval of
9:22 mifepristone back in 2000. It challenges regulations adopted under president Obama and president Biden expanding access to the drug, including a rule in 20 23 allowing Mifepristone to
9:33 be dispensed through the mail. Jody.
9:37 Okay. And, Mary, 1 other, region we've got to go to is the Middle East. So much has been happening there. What are the latest developments?
9:46 Jody, Iran reportedly launched new attacks on US military bases earlier today in the Middle East. Iran says that these were retaliatory strikes in response to US military attacks, which they say included
9:58 a deadly strike on a wedding party. A spokesperson for Iran said that the Iranian military deployed dozens of attack drones to strike radar systems and US military garrisons at 2 air bases in the
10:10 UAE. Now Iran warned that if the US continued its military operations in the region that it would face a stronger response. Iran also threatened any country, cooperating with US forces would have to
10:22 bear the resulting consequences. Earlier today, president Trump commented on the latest attack. Here's a clip.
10:28 We hit them last night because they took a shot at us in Jordan, at our base in Jordan. We knocked all of them down. There were, I guess, 8 missiles that were shot. We they were all knocked down.
10:40 President Trump told reporters that the renewed US campaign against Iran would not continue for too long. Jody.
10:49 Alright, Mary. Thank you so much for getting this kicked off as always. We appreciate it. I wanna turn our attention now to capitol hill and get a congressional perspective of some of the developments in the
11:00 Middle East. And joining me now is congressman Marlon Stutzman. He's a member of the House Freedom Caucus and he is actively engaged in US foreign policy in the Middle East. He represents the
Congressional Perspective on Middle East Conflicts and Socialism
11:12 3rd congressional district of Indiana. Congressman Stutzman, always great to see you, my friend. Welcome back to Washington Watch.
11:21 Thank you, Jody. Great to be with you. Great to see you as well.
11:25 Alright. Before we get to the Middle East, I did wanna get your thoughts on yesterday's vote in the house on a nonbinding resolution condemning socialism. Is
11:37 surprising to me. Only 8 Democrats broke from the party lines to vote with Republicans to, condemn socialism. Any surprises to you on that?
11:48 Yeah, Jody. Very surprising. I I I didn't think that many Democrats would vote to, to basically say communism and social or socialism is is okay in America. I mean, you know,
12:00 Ronald Reagan was fighting the communist for many years, and we that was the fight that we were all concerned about. And I think this is just a backdoor entry, to communism again, and the Democrat party has become,
12:13 the party that has embraced socialism. In fact, you see the socialist candidates being elected across the country in in Democrat primaries, and, you know, this is very concerning. It should
12:25 be concerning to every American. You know, when people think of America, they think of freedom, whether it's religious freedom, whether it's, free enterprise, freedom of speech, and we have to be very vigilant
12:37 through this election series, to be sure that we defeat any candidate who, wants to take America towards socialism.
12:45 Yep. I agree with you. It's really, really surprising. Turning now to the Middle East, the US and the Iranian regime have traded strikes as you know in recent days. And although the the 2 sides have been trying to avoid
12:57 a full scale war, Some believe that we could be at a tipping point. What do you think?
13:03 Well, you know, I I definitely think that, Iran is trying to hold on every to every bit of bit of power that they possibly can muster. I I think that they're a country that is of course, the leadership
13:15 there, the IRGC, is the, the the problem here, and I I do think that they need to be removed, eliminated somehow. And what president Trump has done is he's decided that
13:27 this problem has gone on long enough. It's been happening it's it's been going on since 19 79, when the IRGC took control of the country. You know, our military has done a
13:39 phenomenal job in being sure that they take out the assets of the IRGC. They have a lot of money. That's the 1 thing that Iran does have. They have the ability from the oil and
13:51 gas industry to build up a military, with assets. But we've taken a lot of those out, and we're still capable of doing more. And, you know, these are these are zealots. You
14:03 look at the other countries around Iran. You look at the UAE, which has been a great ally for us, even from the financial piece where they have stopped doing business with Iran.
14:15 They are a big financial center in the Middle East where a lot of money flows through the UAE. They've shut that off. You look at Saudi Arabia, even Qatar, you know, is is trying to play the middleman and the and
14:27 the mediator here, and we've we have them isolated. You know, even though Putin came out and said that he's gonna stand with Tehran, in this this war, He has very little ability
14:38 because of his conflict in Qatar, and so I'm not surprised by that that he stepped in. The sanctions that are, possibly gonna be voted on soon with Russia will put Russia even in in a difficult
14:50 spot, but I think we're winning. We just have to be vigilant. And that's 1 of the hard pieces, Jody, as you know. Campaign and elections come along. Even through those moments, we still have to do the right thing and
15:02 defeat totalitarianism, defeat authoritarianism, and, we need to defeat people that want to control people to the point of, you know, jihad. And that's, that's what's happening with the
15:13 IRGC.
15:16 Ona, in another part of the Middle East, there's a UN report that, reportedly is being circulated to other member states. But according to the Associated Press, which actually saw the report,
15:28 there was confirmation that Syria was constructing a a nuclear reactor under the leadership of ousted former president Assad. I know you have spent a lot of time and interest in the Syria. What are
15:40 your thoughts on that?
15:42 Yeah. Not surprising at all. Again, Assad was, he became a monster just like we see the monsters in Iran. They have no regard for their the people of their country. Assad
15:54 killed roughly 1000000 of his own people, and, of course, millions fled Syria during their civil wars. When I visited there, a little over a year ago, ago, you know, the the stories that I heard from
16:06 the people were just unbelievable. I visited the prison that many were sent to that were tortured and finally just murdered. It was, it was almost like a
16:18 a cattle operation where Assad just would kill people who disagreed with him. He would bomb his own cities. The billions and billions of dollars of damage that were done there, because of
16:29 a madman who was was so afraid of his own people and had to build bigger weapons. So having a nuclear weapon by him, not surprised. The other thing too is he was
16:41 an asset and an ally to, president Putin and the Russians. And, again, we see where Russia is using these sorts of countries, Iran, Syria, and others to, to do their bidding
16:53 and use them as proxies in other parts of the world. And so I believe that, you know, we're taking the right step forward. Having Assad gone is good for the Syrian people. We're watching closely, the new
17:05 president, president Alshara, who, has had a very checkered past, but has proven to at least keep the country stable and is talking with the Kurds who are very good allies of the United States,
17:17 where they are merging their military and the government together. So positive steps are going on in Syria, but this again shows why we need to get rid of these mad people who want to to to control
17:29 a country and use it for their own purposes. And it's a good thing that Assad is gone because he probably would have developed a nuclear weapon there.
17:37 Less than a minute to go, do you think that it's a good idea that the state department removed Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism?
17:46 I I do. And I think, you know, at some point and, you know, as a Christian, we believe in, you know, reconciliation. We believe in redemption. We believe in 2nd chances. While things are not perfect in
17:58 Syria, the the Christian heritage that is in Syria is incredible. Of course, Paul and the road to Damascus is such a great part of our own Christian heritage. There's Christians there that are looking
18:10 for opportunities. The country is very diverse, but, you know, with the sanctions that we had on them because of Assad and the label of terrorism on them kept them from being able to grow their economy.
18:22 So I think it's it's good to give them a chance and move ahead. But, again, watch very closely to be sure that they don't take advantage of that.
18:30 Thank you so much for joining us today. Indiana congressman Marlon Stutzman, always great to see you. By the way, FRC has a new issue brief on Syria, and you can find it at f r c dot
18:42 org slash Syria. Alright. Stay with us. Much more Washington Watch is coming your way right after the break.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit and Global Threats
18:53 Everyone wants wisdom, but few know where to find it. In wisdom of Solomon, Toni Perkins takes us on a 24 day journey through Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to discover God's unchanging
19:05 wisdom for our changing times. Each day's study explores key passages, offers practical reflection questions, and focuses on life application. Get it now at f r c dot org
19:17 slash wisdom or text wisdom to 6 7 7 4 2.
19:22 America, what formed the fabric of our freedom? What sticks together the hearts of those that fasten the stars and stripes? 250 years ago, our founding fathers pinned the invisible
19:34 words woven within every heart. That all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
19:47 Unite with others who will pledge to defend these eternal truths today at Family Research Council's Pray Boat Stand Summit, September 24th to the 26th at Cornerstone Chapel outside Washington
19:59 DC. In 17 76, our country declared independence in reliance upon divine providence. In 20 26, in the same spirit, we'll declare dependence upon God
20:11 by gathering for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action for faith, for family, for freedom. Register now at pray vote stand dot o r g.
20:22 Washington DC is more than a place of political power. The city proclaims our national story woven with faith. In God We Trust is a commemorative book from Family Research Council celebrating
20:34 250 years of America's biblical foundations through the monuments of Washington DC. This special resource will inspire you to make America's future as God honoring as her past. Order your copy
20:45 today, text book to 6 7 7 4 2. That's book to 6 7 7 4 2.
20:52 Stand on the Word is a simple yet powerful daily bible reading plan designed to center our hearts, homes, and culture on scripture. This free resource invites you to read a couple chapters a
21:04 day to grow in biblical understanding and be equipped to frame current events through the ever relevant lens of scripture. Stand on the Word is transforming how thousands engage with God's word.
21:15 We're enjoying, learning, and growing so much as a family with Stand on the Word.
21:20 I like how you lay things out and dive deeper into each chapter.
21:24 I am gleaning much critical political and cultural insight from a biblical world view that is grounded in God's word. This devotional study is phenomenal.
21:34 It's like being in a small group every morning.
21:34 Our lives are transformed.
21:49 Of
21:54 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. So glad to have you with us. Just a quick reminder, don't forget our pray vote stand summit is just a couple of weeks
22:06 away, taking place September 24th through the 26th, just outside of Washington DC in Leesburg at Cornerstone Chapel there. We wanna see you come join us.
22:18 It's gonna be an awesome event for details and to register. Text the word summit to 6 7 7 4 2. Speaking of summits, the the leaders of China,
22:30 Russia, and India have gathered in Kyrgyzstan and other heads of states for a summit of their own. It's the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the SCO.
22:42 This is an organization that was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and 4 Central Asian states. Now it's a 10 member SCO, and they've been billed as
22:54 a counterweight to US global in, influence and a potentially emerging challenge, I might add. So just how serious of a threat could this be?
23:06 Well, joining us now to discuss this on the Patriot Mobile hotline is Asia expert Gordon Chang. He's a senior fellow at the Gate Stone Institute and author of
23:17 Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America. Might add real quickly also that you can follow Gordon on x under the handle at gordon g
23:29 chain. Gordon, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you. Could you tell us a little bit more about the SEO and its members?
23:39 Yeah. Thanks, Jody. The SEO, which was originally known as the Shanghai 6, has become a grouping of countries that do not like the US, and China has been trying to use
23:51 it as an anti US organization like they've tried to use the BRICS grouping for that purpose. What was fascinating about this 1, you know, normally SEO summits are snooze affairs.
24:03 No 1 pays attention. Even people who are geopolitical addicts don't pay attention to SEO summits. This 1 was a little bit different, and the reason is because it comes at the time of the Iran
24:14 war. The Bishak declaration, which concluded the summit, was very anti US, very pro Iran, and Iran is a member of the SCO. What was fascinating,
24:26 Jody, was India. Now India signed on to that anti US declaration, but Prime Minister Modi gave the 1 speech, the only speech at the summit that didn't
24:38 pledge allegiance to Beijing. And so really what you've got is India very much a counterweight to China in China's organizations like the SCO, like the BRICS
24:49 grouping.
24:52 Very, very interesting. So how is China using all of this? I mean, what I think we can all probably guess somewhat what the intention is, but how how are they and how do they plan to use
25:03 this?
25:05 Yeah. What they used it for was, 1st of all, to protect Iran, because Iran is basically China's proxy. So the declaration after the summit talked about condemning the US
25:17 attacks on Iran, declaring support for Iranian sovereignty, declaring support for Iran's peaceful nuclear weapons program.
25:29 And also, they supported, you know, multipolar world, which is China's code term for a world dominated by China where the U. S. Is no longer a factor.
25:41 So you've got all of these things that these are Chinese narratives and China uses these organizations to propagate them. Most of the time, people don't listen, but this 1, this
25:53 summit was different. It was an important 1 because it comes at a critical moment in, this decade.
26:00 It sure does. You know, we hear a lot about Russia's war with Ukraine and, of course, the US, war with Iran. They seem in some degree
26:12 unrelated. But in reality, is it I think it's fair to say that China at least seems to have their fingerprints on both of them. Is that accurate?
26:23 That is 100 percent accurate, Jody. Matter of fact, you can even say neither Iran nor Russia would be able to fight were it not for China's backing. So in
26:35 terms of the Ukraine war, China's support is across the board, including providing combat personnel. With regard to Iran, China supplied everything but combat
26:46 personnel. But this is serious because these 2 wars threaten, peace and stability could actually bring down everything because they're occurring at a very important
26:58 moment and in a moment where we could see other wars start. So this is really, I think, a critical turning point of our era.
27:08 Well and at the same time, Russia is hosting the 11th Eastern Economic Forum or reportedly, at least with some 5000 representatives from 80 some odd countries.
27:20 Now this has been a a forum historically that has served as Russia's primary international platform to stimulate foreign investment, and so forth. So
27:32 what have you heard so far about that particular forum this week?
27:37 Yeah. That's in Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East. The important point here is that China's state media is starting to propagate the narrative that Vladivostok
27:49 and a good portion of that Far East of Siberia should be China's. Now China has been the main investor in the Russian Far East. When you have a lot of Chinese
28:01 people crossing the border setting up homes, this is the Russians are apoplectic about this, but they don't have a choice because they cannot provide any sort
28:13 of funds and support for the Far East beyond just minimal support. So really what you've got right now is the Russians are sort of in a impossible situation.
28:25 They need Chinese money, but they know that with Chinese money, they could lose their hold over Siberia.
28:32 So real quickly, we've got less than a minute. But, 1 other thing I wanna ask you. The relationship between, Russia and China, they they seem to be chumming up more and more and
28:44 more. How concerned are you about that real quickly?
28:49 I've gotta be extremely concerned. You know, Russia is called the junior partner, and that's right. But Russia is more important than we think in this partnership because the Russians go out and do what
29:01 Xi Jinping would like to do, knows he must do, but feels he can't do, and that is to go out and disrupt the world, directly. So Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin,
29:13 is very much an important part in that enduring, no limits partnership as they call it.
29:21 So much happening all around the world. I tell you, Gordon, it's always, great to have you on here to try to break this down and to dissect it for us. I wanna thank you. Gordon Chang, senior
29:33 fellow at the Gatestone Institute. Alright. Coming up, we have more Washington Watch after the break. We're gonna go talk about some big issues coming out of the state of Kansas.
29:45 So stay with us. More to come on the other side of the break.Show more
Tony Perkins93.9K followers
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.