Skip to content 7/11/2025 A Week Ending Wrap Highlights National Concerns Needing Course Correction and Biblical Responses Jul 11 · 59 min ...more
7/11/2025 A Week Ending Wrap Highlights National Concerns Needing Course Correction and Biblical Responses
July 11, 2025 · 59 min
The Trump administration resists those within the government and violent activists who seek to undermine America, as Jody Hice and guests analyze current events from a biblical perspective.
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.
July 11, 2025 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
The Trump administration resists those within the government and violent activists who seek to undermine America, as Jody Hice and guests analyze current events from a biblical perspective. ...more Show the full description Show less The Trump administration resists those within the government and violent activists who seek to undermine America, as Jody Hice and guests analyze current events from a biblical perspective.
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In this video 0:00 Current Events and Political Tensions4:32 Immigration and Law Enforcement Challenges18:42 Education and Parental Rights29:37 IRS and Religious Freedom38:48 Biblical Worldview and Current Issues
Current Events and Political Tensions 0:06 Welcome to the Washington Watch news desk. I'm Zachary Goll with today's top stories. This week, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed that the Trump0:18 administration has arrested around 600 known or suspected terrorists and about 2700 members of the violent gang, Tren de Aragua, a group known for0:30 sex trafficking, drug trafficking, and extortion. Now the news comes amid a nationwide deportation effort that has sparked backlash and protests from Democrats across the country.0:43 McLaughlin slammed liberal politicians who are, quote, protecting such criminals. 1 liberal city in California advised illegal residents to actually evade ICE officers.0:55 The city of Paris has received reports of ongoing ICE operations within the area. We urge all residents to remain calm, stay indoors when possible, and know your rights. Do not go out1:07 unless necessary. Stay at home and do not open the door to strangers.1:12 And while most Democrats resist the administration's actions, some have actually chosen to embrace it. Senator John Fetterman took to x to levy his support for the agency, saying1:24 that ICE performs an important job for our country and that calls to abolish the agency are, quote, inappropriate and outrageous.1:36 Now moving from ICE to the Secret Service. As you will recall, president Trump was nearly assassinated 1 year ago. Ever since, Americans have demanded answers about what
1:48 went wrong. Multiple investigations were initiated with congress launching their own inquiry. Well, now 6 Secret Service agents have been suspended for
2:00 their conduct that day. The Department of Homeland Security conducted its own review and released some rather disturbing findings. The report concluded that the Secret Service
2:12 does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission and that another butler can and will happen again unless certain changes are
2:24 made. Now on to trade. President Trump is threatening an additional 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods. Why? Well, he claims it's to force
2:36 Canada to help stop the fentanyl crisis here in the United States. In a letter to the Canadian prime minister, president Trump blasted Canada for its failure to stop drugs pouring into the
2:48 US via the northern border. The United States has opposed tariffs months ago to force Canada to deal with the drug problem. Canada responded with tariffs of their own.
3:01 Now the president is doubling down. Trump did offer an olive branch though. At the end of the letter, he said, if Canada works with me to stop the flow of fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider
3:13 an adjustment to this letter. When speaking to reporters, president Trump actually seems rather optimistic.
3:20 It was sent yesterday, they called. I think it was fairly well received from what we need. So, we'll see what happens.
3:30 Now we'll keep a close eye on this story as it continues to unfold. Now in another massive development, the IRS is actually allowing churches to endorse political candidates. For
3:42 decades, pastors have feared that the IRS would remove their tax exempt status if they dared to endorse someone for public office. But they need not fear any longer.
3:54 Some Christian leaders have praised the IRS calling it the right decision and hoping that it will cause pastors to be bolder in the pulpit. But other churches have indicated they won't take advantage of the
4:06 recent announcement. In particular, the US Catholic bishops declared that the new policy won't change their stance to not endorse political candidates. And
4:18 those are today's headlines. I'm Zachary Goll. You can dive deeper with the Washington Stand at washington stand dot com. Watch this and other news in the Stand Firm mobile app, and follow us on social media for
4:30 updates at f r c d c. Up next is Washington Watch with guest host Jody Heiss. We're back next week with more stories that matter.
Immigration and Law Enforcement Challenges
4:52 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,
5:04 all
5:05 from
5:05 a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heise.
5:11 Well, good afternoon. Welcome to this July eleventh edition of Washington Washington Watch. I am Jody Hice, a senior fellow here at the Family Research Council, and you're a Friday host. So glad
5:23 to have you on board with us today. Coming up on today's edition of Washington Watch, immigration and custom enforcement continues to do its job, and that is to enforce
5:35 our nation's laws. But the lawless left is not happy about that.
5:41 What have they accomplished except for spreading fear and terror in our community? What have they accomplished? I'm sure there's a handful of dangerous people that they detained, but we know that that
5:53 is not the case. Otherwise, they would have been parading them through the media telling them about telling us about all the horrific crimes they committed.
6:02 Well, that was Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass earlier this week on NBC's Telemundo network. Well, just maybe if she watched something other than the leftist media outlet, she would hear
6:14 about the types of criminals who are actually being rounded up.
6:18 We have arrested almost 600 known or suspected terrorists, within the United States. 2700 members of Friend de Arawa, a vicious gang that kills, rapes, and maims
6:30 Americans for sport. That is who these politicians are protecting.
6:36 That was DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin earlier this week. And I'll discuss this here in just a couple of moments when I'm joined by congressman Brad Knott, who is a member of the House
6:48 Homeland Security Committee. And the National Education Association recently held its annual meeting, and among the resolutions they passed was 1 to fight president Trump's
6:59 alleged fascism. And their war cry was certainly heard loud and clear.
7:06 Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Say the words. Say the words. Say them. Diversity. Say them out loud.
7:19 Wow. That was NEA president Becky Pringle on day 1 of that gathering, and we'll discuss what else came out of that 4 day meeting when I'm joined a little bit later by
7:30 CEO of Moms for Liberty, Tina Deskovich. And also today, we'll highlight a legal effort to prevent the IRS from back blackballing conservative
7:42 groups who are seeking nonprofit tax tax exempt status. Attorney Chris Gober will join me for that discussion a little bit later. And speaking of the IRS,
7:54 that'll be 1 of the topics that we'll also discover discuss when I'm, joined by David Clawson for our biblical worldview segment a little later in the program. So as always, we have a
8:06 lot coming your way. All of it trying to hit the highlights of the week from a biblical worldview perspective. And you can always, keep abreast of it all,
8:18 with our website tony perkins dot com. Alright. Let's jump into our first topic for today. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been working tirelessly, literally,
8:29 trying to enforce our nation's immigration laws, rounding up criminals, illegal criminals, immigrants, but their work is, not come without fierce and, in fact, in some sad
8:41 instances, even violent resistance from the woke mob. And you can take for just an example the immigration raid at a marijuana farm in Southern California just
8:54 yesterday where for 4 hours, there were protesters and apparently 1 of them at least opened fire on federal agents. And thankfully in that incident,
9:06 none of the agents were injured. But unfortunately, that was far from being an isolated incident. Well, joining me now to discuss this in more is congressman Brad Knott. He's a member of the House Homeland
9:17 Security Committee and represents North Carolina's thirteenth congressional district. Congressman Knott, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you.
9:27 Hey, Jody. It's good to be here. Thank you.
9:31 Alright. So we've got, several of these immigration enforcement raids that are seemingly being met with fierce fierce resistance from the woke mob. And so let me
9:43 start with this question. Do do democrats in your opinion, even some like California governor Gavin Newsom, do they bear some responsibility for stoking the fire of the violence
9:55 that we're seeing right now against these federal agents?
9:58 Absolutely. And I I would push back on that. It's not just the woke mob. It's the entire Democratic party, by and large, who are pushing back against the efforts of this administration to do 2 things. And
10:10 those 2 things, of course, are to secure the border and then to remove illegal immigrants starting with those who are most dangerous. And even in Congress, it is it is, very
10:22 common to hear people call our ICE agents the Gestapo or, you know, compare them to Hitler's secret police, the SS. It's it's really it's unbelievable. And
10:34 it's unfortunately a continuing trend that I I saw before I decided to run. When I was working in the Department of Justice, when I was seeing the resistance from the Biden Harris administration to enforce our laws, they
10:45 do not want any immigration enforcement. They are committed to the open borders. And the
11:01 raging the left, here in raging the left and raging the illegal immigrant community against law enforcement like they're doing, and it should stop.
11:09 Yeah. Great point. In fact, I had that discussion with with someone earlier in the week, and we both agreed. Yeah. This is beyond just the woke mob out there. It really does seem to entail, virtually, if not all of
11:21 the Democratic party. I wonder if the SBLC now is going to come out and label the Democratic party a terrorist organization or some sort of hate group. We'll, probably not hold our
11:33 breath for that to happen. But, interesting question anyways. So let me what what is your reaction, your response to, governor Newsom? He's calling these immigration raids inhumane.
11:46 How do you respond to that type of, terminology?
11:50 Now governor Newsom is the quintessential finger in the wind. Whatever he needs to do to maintain relevance and to secure political power, that's all he's doing. And he knows deep down that
12:02 the open border the
12:15 to answer this question. In the country, there are probably 25 to 30000000 illegal aliens. Where do they get their healthcare? Where do they get their healthcare? It's either in states like California, on the government
12:27 dole, or they go to the emergency room and those costs are handed off to Americans. You know, governor Newsom should know better. I was in California not too long ago, and their their state has been overrun by an
12:38 illegal immigration swell that has really, really it's it's almost divide the state into into 2 separate Californias, and it's absolutely unacceptable. And so he knows better, I hope. And,
12:51 he is just trying to score cheap political points at the, at the expense of his own state.
12:57 Yeah. Very interesting, perspective there. You know, when you look at all the violence that is, intertwined in all all of this, it certainly is not unique simply to California. I mean,
13:20 neck. Are are we watching congressman I
13:24 I don't
13:24 know. Some sort of version of defund the police 2. Is it that type of thing do you think that we're we're witnessing with all of this?
13:34 Well, I think we have to come to grips with the fact that the Democratic Party, a greater percentage of of that party is the radical left. And the radical left truly hates the structures that have enabled Western
13:46 civilization to flourish. 1 of those is, of course, law and order. And whether it's the border, whether it is, coming down on violence, on vandalism, on assaulting our police, whatever it may
13:58 be, it really enrages the the the extreme elements of the Democratic Party. And it's a tremendous problem, but you look at the Democratic Party, look at their mayor, the candidate for mayor in New York City.
14:09 He is an unapologetic, anti Semitic communist. He has championed the phrase globe globalized the intifada. This is where the Democratic party is now, and any type of traditional
14:22 conservatism or American, jurisprudence, American law enforcement, they they really do, get inflamed, And it's a huge problem. But let me just put this 1 note in there.
14:34 The violence that I'm most concerned about is not the crazy college kids who live in their parents' basement. It is the violence that will come to our streets if we have open borders. Around the world, there are some of
14:44 the most heinous people who are plotting to come, if they're not here already, into the United States. And they lay dormant for a while. But you import the third world, you import people who want to cut people's heads
14:56 off or or shoot their rivals. That violence will show up in the American streets before too long. We've already seen the effects, whether it's with drugs or human trafficking, but it is only going to grow worse
15:08 if we don't get ahead of this problem. So I commend the president Yeah. Absolutely. He's got that right.
15:13 Yeah. Yeah. Great point. I went and I I I hope you heard it, coming into this, but we're talking about, DHS assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, actually has said that they've they've captured almost
15:25 600 known or suspected terrorists who have been arrested and some 2700 members of the, gang trend in Nicaragua. You would think people would be happy that these type of people,
15:37 individuals are being caught apprehended. Tell me real quickly. You've got a couple of bills that I want you to explain dealing with the these type of things, and both of them have passed out
15:49 of their respective committees. Real brief briefly give us a highlight of what these bills are.
15:55 The first bill, I think, is the most important, piece of legislation for illegal immigration in this in this congress. And it it's built on my experience as a federal prosecutor, and it essentially
16:07 categorizes anyone who is here illegally in a separate slate, if they commit a crime. If they're convicted of a crime, they are subject to enhanced penalties. And then secondly, if
16:18 they return to the country a second time illegally, they will be subjected to harsher penalties. And there are 2 goals here. 1 is to protect the American citizens from people who are here illegally
16:30 that want to commit crimes. But second is to deter those from coming back a second time after deportation. I prosecuted people who returned more than a dozen times illegally because they don't
16:42 fear the American legal system. We must recognize this threat, address this threat, and hope to deter it into the future. The second bill I introduced, it it it basically tasks a
16:54 a study and then an action plan on how to deal with Trinidad Agua. They're in about 15 different countries in the Western Hemisphere. They're very proficient at embedding themselves in society, laying dormant,
17:06 and then metastasizing with violence, with drug trafficking, with human trafficking. And, again, the Department of Homeland Security needs to study it and then put an action plan together on how to remove this this
17:17 blight once and for all. So those are my 2 bills that we've gotten out of committee, and the house will be voting on them, soon, I hope.
17:25 Outstanding. Those are 2 excellent bills. Congressman Brad and I, we wanna keep a a track on that. We'd love to have you come back on and keep us posted on how those are developing and how they're moving forward. You
17:36 know, and it comes at such a time. I'm sure you saw that data recently analyzed, by the Center for Immigration Studies found that, sanctuary states released some 25000
17:49 criminal illegals back into our population between October and February. Just unbelievable. And then you have also, what what seems to be the left is okay with some
17:59 300000 missing children, that have come across the border, and very few of them have been, found. So this is this is just an unprecedented time that we're
18:11 living in, and I wanna thank you for the incredible work that you're doing there on Capitol Hill. We've got just, just 20 seconds. Your final thoughts before we take off.
18:23 Thank you for having me, and I'll just remind everybody. We have a precious country that we must steward. And if we don't take immigration seriously, if we don't be if we're not carefully betting people to come in, we're
18:35 gonna pay the we're gonna pay the price, and we've got to do that. Protect legal immigrants and deter illegal. And,
18:42 my work. North Carolina, thank you so much for joining us. Alright, friends. Mom for Liberty CEO will join me next. You don't wanna miss what's coming up.
Education and Parental Rights
18:57 A family is the oldest, most tested, and most reliable unit of society. It is divinely created and sustained. And yet, there are those who are always tampering with its values and structure.
19:09 That's why we need organizations like the Family Research Council that can effectively defend and strengthen the family.
19:16 Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation's capital, FRC continues to
19:28 champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
19:35 FRC is 1 of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north, and I shudder to think had they not been here that it could have been worse, worse, worse.
19:45 The Family Research Council is key. It's 1 of a handful of groups that I think will determine whether our children live in a country that
19:57 enjoyed all of the freedom and all the opportunity that we enjoyed in this great land.
20:03 It's just a wonderful parachurch organization that doesn't seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward
20:15 successfully, not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the holy scriptures.
20:24 FRC, is not gonna be whooped. You know, we're we're gonna fight. We're gonna take a stand. And again, we don't retreat.
20:33 You will never see in front of this building here in Washington, DC, a white flag fly. We will never step back. We will never surrender, and we will never
20:45 be silent. Hello, friends. This is Tony Perkins. You know what? We just finished our 21 day family bible challenge through the book of
20:57 Matthew. And if you joined us, I pray that it has already borne fruit in your life and in your home as you place the Lord and his word at the center of your home. Now our journey through the Bible doesn't
21:09 end here, though. The challenge was a part of our stand on the word Bible reading plan. And from here, we're gonna cover the rest of the New Testament. And now that we finished the book of Matthew, let me ask you, would
21:19 you consider joining us for the rest of the journey through the word of God? In 10 to 15 minutes a day, you'll see how the good news of Jesus transformed the lives of common people, people just like you and me, and how
21:31 those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to continue the journey with me and discover the life enriching power of the word of God. Visit f r c dot o r g
21:43 slash bible for our reading plan. That's f r c dot o r g slash bible to learn more.
21:54 Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us today. I am Jody Heise, your Friday host and an honor to be with you. Alright. Last weekend, the National Education
22:06 Association held its 20 25 representative assembly meeting in Portland, Oregon. And throughout the teachers union meeting, the delegates there doubled down on
22:18 things like pushing to get LGBT events into more schools, how to usurp parents' rights to know about their kids' education, and that, in fact, even in spite
22:30 of the fact that the Supreme Court recently spoke to that issue. But they did so much more. And, of course, I guess, predictably, they also their their delegates voted to
22:41 fight president Trump's alleged fascism. So what else were they up to? Well, here to share more about this is Tina Deskovich. She's the cofounder and CEO of
22:53 Moms for Liberty. Tina, welcome to Washington Watch. Great to have you.
22:58 Thanks, Jody, for having me on. I'm looking forward to chatting about the great National Education Association.
23:06 Well, let me start with this clip. I think this is a great place to start.
23:12 Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Say the words. Say the words. Say them. Say them out loud.
23:25 Wow. Alright. So you were tracking this teachers union meeting. What struck you, most about the the proceedings that took
23:35 place? What's most striking about the NEA conferences every summer since I've been following what they're doing is that they actually don't discuss and don't vote on anything that has to do with education. It's quite
23:46 remarkable. You know, in the United States, about a third of fourth graders can read proficiently. You heard that right. 1 third can read proficiently, and yet they don't address that issue at all. They address things,
23:58 like you said in the intro about how to insert LGBTQ curriculum even after the Supreme Court said just last week that, parents can opt out. We had 1 of our moms, as a as
24:10 a petitioner in a Supreme Court case from Montgomery County, Maryland. And parents you know, the Supreme Court verified again that parents do have the fundamental right to raise their children and opt them out.
24:22 And, you know, the NEA spends its time saying, no, parents. You don't know best. You do your children do need to learn, LGBTQ and gender ideology. We need to teach them that they can be a boy
24:34 or a girl, neither or both.
24:37 Well, it really is a stunning and alarming it's exceedingly alarming, the the leadership of where the the teachers union is going. And among other things, there's so much we could
24:49 discuss, but, they basically are calling president Trump a fascist. Were you in any way surprised by the fact that delegates okayed that particular business
25:01 item?
25:03 Sometimes I'm shocked that I'm still shocked, to be honest. I've been following them for, you know, 5 or 6 years now. And even in the past few years, they vote on things like abortion. They've been voting voting on
25:15 Middle East policies for several years now. What the world does that have to do with education and teaching kids to read and write and do math? This year, they voted on numerous things that are, you know, astonishing.
25:26 Using the term fascism when referring to Trump president Trump's policies, like you said, they voted fascism when referring to Trump president Trump's policies, like you said, they voted to cut ties with antisemitism
25:33 groups. They voted, just on a numerous things that have absolutely nothing to do with educating children.
25:41 Yeah. And, I mean, that is a great point. That's a question that they need to answer, quite frankly. You actually describe the NEA as lighting the fire but playing victim.
25:53 I thought that was a great word picture. Go a little bit further into depth as to what you mean by that.
26:00 Because the NEA and all the teachers unions, even local teachers unions, they come after moms for liberty and parents that are standing up for but most specifically,
26:12 school choice. They constantly say that parents that want to choose to homeschool or private school or public charter school are trying to destroy public education. And moms for Liberty as a whole, they've been telling
26:24 us since the day we launched that we are out to destroy public education. There couldn't be anything further from the truth. I served on a public school board for 4 years, and I actually believe that there is a role for
26:36 public education, and it should serve the public well. But the union says you're trying to destroy public education. Meanwhile, the union actually is spending all of their time on doing everything but educating children.
26:47 And, you know, I don't wanna jump all the way back to 20 20, but let's reflect on who is trying to keep schools closed the longest. The LA teachers union in 20 20 and 20 21 said they wouldn't open until they
26:59 agreed to defund the police.
26:59 Again, absolutely nothing
26:59 to do with education.
27:18 Education Association. And so you probably know a lot of people right now that we're talking to on Capitol Hill that are drafting language right now to revoke this charter.
27:28 Yeah. I think that's a great idea and something that certainly needs to happen. If there's anyone who's trying to destroy public education, it would be the N. E. A. Quite frankly, as you referenced, they're the ones
27:39 that's doing everything but education. So let let me ask you because you brought this up, Tina, what would your advice be to parents in our audience who are watching or listening
27:51 right now who may not be able to feasibly homeschool their kids or put them in Christian private schools? What would you say to them?
28:00 You have to do what's best for your child and your family. And, unfortunately, sometimes you are left with a public school option only. You have to be an involved parent. You have to be proactive, not reactive.
28:12 These things are in your schools all across the country. We are in 48 states, 320 counties. And I will tell you, parents are coming to us all the time with their children that have been harmed by policies
28:24 where there's boys in their daughter's bathrooms. There's boys in their daughter's sports. Lessons that have been taught to them that they can change their gender. These things are happening. And so if your child is
28:32 still in public school, you must be proactive. Check those backpacks. Ask to see what they're reading before they're reading it. Ask to opt out. You can go to our website, moms for liberty dot org. We've created forms
28:43 and tools for you to opt your children out. The Supreme Court has said it is your right to opt your children out of these things. We will help you do that. You have to take a stand and be a strong parent to protect them
28:54 against what's going on in public schools right now.
28:58 Well, I just wanna say thank you, Tina, to you and everyone there at Moms for Liberty, a relatively young organization, but 1 that has just become a powerhouse
29:10 in our country for standing up for the rights of, moms and kids and education, and you're so on the tip of the spear. I wanna say thank you for the incredible work that each of you
29:22 do, there at Moms for Liberty. Tina Deskovich with Moms for Liberty. Thank you so much for joining us today on Washington Watch.
29:32 Thanks, Jody, for having me on.
29:35 You're very welcome. God bless. Alright. Coming up, the IRS's facts and circumstances test was weaponized against conservatives during the Obama administration.Show more
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