Skip to content 3/31/2026 Tony Perkins and Guests Analyze Challenges while Identifying Positive Movement at Home and Abroad Mar 31 · 59 min ...more
3/31/2026 Tony Perkins and Guests Analyze Challenges while Identifying Positive Movement at Home and Abroad
March 31, 2026 · 59 min
Big SCOTUS win for Christian counselors, a new option for funding DHS, protecting voter integrity, Russia-China involvement in the Iran conflict, and how the Middle East oil trade impacts the globe.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video March 31, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Big SCOTUS win for Christian counselors, a new option for funding DHS, protecting voter integrity, Russia-China involvement in the Iran conflict, and how the Middle East oil trade impacts the globe. ...more Show the full description Show less Big SCOTUS win for Christian counselors, a new option for funding DHS, protecting voter integrity, Russia-China involvement in the Iran conflict, and how the Middle East oil trade impacts the globe.
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In this video 0:00 Headlines: Iran War, Prayer Backlash, and Terror Attack10:28 DHS Funding Fight and Election Security22:18 Iran Military Wins and Energy Price Pressures38:30 Supreme Court Victory for Counseling Freedom
Headlines: Iran War, Prayer Backlash, and Terror Attack 0:00 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, president of 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 elected0:12 leaders, newsmakers, and culture experts. We have a great program planned for you today, but first, 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 Casey Harper bringing you today's big stories. The war in Iran continues, but the White House said they could be on the verge of a deal. Meanwhile, gas prices topped a0:39 national average of 4 dollars a gallon today as the Strait of Hormuz remains throttled. The US has decimated Iran's military, but so far they've been unable to fully reopen that Strait or0:51 finish negotiations to end the war. The White House has repeatedly said that the talks are making progress. Well, Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Dan Cain held a press conference1:03 today. Pete Hegseth said that Iran is at their lowest point yet in firing missiles and that they're experiencing mass desertions. He also said a prayer of protection for the troops.1:14 The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it. May his almighty and eternal arms of providence stretch over them and protect them and1:26 bring them peace in the name of Jesus Christ, and amen.
1:33 But Haig says appeal to God has not been well received by everyone. The mainstream media has blasted the secretary for praying, especially for using the name of Jesus. But he's also appeared to take
1:45 flack from the pope. On Palm Sunday, Pope Leo raised eyebrows when he used his address on the holy holiday to condemn war and said the prayers of leaders who wage war will
1:57 go unanswered, which is an apparent response to the US, Hegseth in particular, who has public publicly called on God for help in the Iran war. Notably, the comment could also be in response to
2:08 Russia, which has relied on the Orthodox church's support in its invasion of Ukraine. Well, the White House responded to the pope during the White House press briefing.
2:18 We've seen, presidents. We've seen, the leaders of the Department of War, and we've seen our troops, go to prayer, during the most turbulent times in our nation's history. And I
2:30 don't think there's anything wrong, with our military leaders or with the president calling, on the American people to pray, for our service members and those who are are serving our country overseas. In fact, I think
2:42 it's a very noble thing to do.
2:44 Some have expressed support for the pope's comments while other religious leaders have rebuffed him, even pointing to Catholic teaching and just war theory, which does allow war in some cases. Well, in other
2:56 news, the FBI has confirmed that that deadly attack on a Jewish temple in Michigan earlier this month was in fact terrorism. Ayman Ghazali is a 41 year old man who was born in
3:08 Lebanon and later became a US citizen in 20 16. He carried out the attack. He crashed his truck into Temple Israel Synagogue, 1 of the largest in North America where children were at the time
3:19 attending preschool. He opened fire on security guards, caused an explosion using fireworks, and took his own life. Thankfully, no 1 else died during the attack. But
3:31 we now know that the attacker consumed pro Hezbollah content before the attack. On social media, he posted pictures of the deceased Iranian Ayatollah and reportedly told his sister in a message that he planned to,
3:43 quote, commit a mass terrorist attack. Well, antisemitic incidents have spiked in recent years in the US. According to FBI data, the thousands of anti Jewish incidents
3:55 account for nearly 2 thirds of religiously motivated hate crimes since February of 20 24. Now 1 more story. Kansas's, Republican lawmakers passed a
4:07 law to protect pro life pregnancy centers from a harsh crackdown in regulation of what they can and can't say to expectant mothers. But the Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, vetoed that bill.
4:19 However, the lawmakers have overridden that veto, meaning that that law will now take effect. And that is today's news. I'm Casey Harper. You can dive deeper at the Washington Stand, which
4:31 is Family Research Council's outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. You can ask also to check out our longer conversations on the outstanding podcast. As for us, we're back tomorrow with more
4:43 stories that matter.
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
5:04 newsmakers, all from a biblical world view. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
5:10 Today, the Supreme Court issued a decisive win for free speech, families, and common sense. It condemned Colorado's unconstitutional censorship on counseling
5:22 conversations. In this ruling, the court held that counseling conversations are speech protected by the first amendment and that Colorado's law targeted the viewpoint of
5:34 people like Haley and her clients.
5:37 That was Jim Campbell, chief legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom Freedom celebrating a landmark Supreme Court decision from earlier today. It's a decision that supports First Amendment rights and religious
5:49 freedom. We'll discuss the details of this important case and what it means for families a little later. Welcome to this Tuesday, March 30 first edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host, Tony Perkins. Great to be back
6:00 with you. Well, coming up, could a reconciliation bill be the key for fully funding the Department of Homeland Security? I'll talk about that with Oklahoma congressman Kevin Hearn. And while president Trump
6:12 says negotiations with Iran are making progress, the Iranian regime denies that current talks are taking place. We'll get the latest from congressman Scott Perry, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a little
6:23 later. Well, big news today. The US Supreme Court struck down a Colorado law that banned talk therapy for minors that helped them
6:35 resolve gender dysphoria, ruling it violates the first amendment. It was an 8 to 1 decision. The justices said the state went too far by limiting what a licensed counselor could
6:47 say to patients, calling it unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. I wanna bring in Washington stand reporter Casey Harper who's live in front of the Supreme Court. Casey,
6:59 walk us through it. How did this all start, and where did things go from here?
7:05 Yeah. Thanks, Tony. It's a big case, and it actually was brought by a Christian therapist who said that this law blocked her from fully talking with willing clients about gender identity and sexual orientation. Just
7:17 exercising her free speech in conversation was illegal under this law. Now the ruling is gonna have big big ripple effects nationwide because there's many other laws in other states like it. But what's the big takeaway?
7:28 Well, the court is set ruling. They're treating counseling as protected speech, which is really important. Also, when you read through the ruling, they also made a point that the government can't just pick sides in those
7:38 conversations on these political issues because this law in question here said, well, you're allowed to say that transgenderism is good and and encourage it, but you can't say, if someone wanted to ask questions or was
7:49 trying to navigate it in a more nuanced way, you couldn't help them through that conversation without running afoul of the law. Now these justices found that Colorado's law did that. They encouraged some point,
7:59 viewpoints and discouraged others, and that's where it ran into the constitutional trouble. And we have a clip here from Alliance Defending Freedom chief legal counsel, Jim Campbell, after today's ruling.
8:10 Today, the Supreme Court issued a decisive win for free speech, families, and common sense. It condemned Colorado's unconstitutional censorship on
8:21 counseling conversations. And as a result of today's decision, kids who are wanting to regain comfort with their bodies and live consistently with their sex will now have more freedom to seek help
8:33 from counselors like Kaylee.
8:37 Now this counselor in question, Kaylee Charles, they found in the case that reached the Supreme Court, she had a response today. Here it is.
8:46 Kids is a real help, affirming that their bodies are not a mistake and that they are wonderfully made. I'm grateful that my speech is protected, but I'm even more excited that families and children
8:59 seeking access to counseling that respects biological reality will be able to get the help that they need.
9:07 Now, Tony, supporters are, of course, calling this a big win for free speech, but but we're gonna see many more cases as this plays out from state to state with which have similar laws.
9:16 Thanks, Casey. It is it is big news. It's also worth mentioning that the Family Research Council filed an amicus brief in support of, Kaylee in this particular case. We're gonna discuss this a little bit more
9:28 later in detail with our own expert, doctor Jennifer Bowens, as well as the senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, Jake Warner. Casey, there's some also there's also some good news coming out of the state of
9:40 Kansas. Tell us about that.
9:42 Yeah. That's right, Tony. Kansas' Republican lawmakers, they passed a law to protect pro life pregnancy centers, which, as you know, have been facing a lot of persecution. But they've also faced some harsh legal
9:53 crackdowns and regulation of what they can and can't say to expectant mothers, actually very similar to the case that was ruled on at the court right behind me. But the Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, actually vetoed
10:04 that bill. But now we've seen the Republican lawmakers overrode that veto, meaning that law will now take effect.
10:11 Alright, Casey. Thanks so much for joining us. I know you're right there in front of the, the Supreme Court, but we can't see it. You're facing the, US Capitol. And I wanna bring in a member of Congress now to talk about
10:21 the latest on the partial government shutdown. Casey, thanks so much for, for joining us. Alright. I do wanna turn to this partial department of, homeland security shutdown
DHS Funding Fight and Election Security
10:33 that's ongoing. The resolution could in fact be another budget reconciliation effort. Joining us now to discuss this and much more, congressman Kevin Hearn. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and
10:45 is the chair of the House Republican Policy Committee. He represents Oklahoma's first congressional district. Congressman Hearn, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
10:55 Tony, thanks for having me. Thanks for all you do.
10:57 Well, I appreciate that. So let's talk about this. Congress, maybe in recess, the house did its work, but we see once again Democrats blocking an effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
11:10 Is a rec I'm hearing a reconciliation, budget reconciliation measure may be the vehicle to solve this shutdown.
11:20 Well, as you know, we've been talking about a second bite at the apple, so to speak, since we did the 1 big beautiful bill last year on July fourth and getting all the things done that we didn't get done before. And, you
11:31 know, as I've said many times, a reconciliation bill is always possible right up until the time it's not. And so here we are again. We're at a place where, we could possibly fund
11:42 the DHS, the the the baseline funding of DHS in this bill, the portions that we can't get through and and the regular regulatory process, plus the the 200000000000 in supplemental for
11:54 military, all of that being paid for by the waste, fraud, and abuse and the mandatory spending, which is what reconciliation says. I was talking to some senators today about reconciliation process, and it's
12:06 good for all the viewers to know the reconciliation process is in place because it prevents you from having to have 60 votes in the senate. The reality is we will be fine in the senate. The house is where we're gonna
12:18 have the problem because you couldn't make the bill too conservative for me, but we're gonna have people in swing districts are gonna have a real problem with it. The speaker knows that. We all know that. We're working
12:26 hard to try to figure out a way forward.
12:28 Well, Kevin, you also have an issue of the margins. You've only got a couple of seats, to work with, and you have a historic number of retirements from the house, and you have some others
12:39 that, you know, having some health issues. So you've gotta have every Republican in the chamber to be able to pass a measure.
12:49 That's right. And, like you said, there's there's a lot of reasons why we don't have the full, full vote margins that we need, but we can only lose 1. And we know that we have 1 member that's going to
13:00 vote against everything that we do going forward. So we can't lose any. And that's a very difficult situation when you're you're trying to pass something as monumental as a second reconciliation bill, something that we
13:12 need to get done because there are so many things as you just alluded to, funding DHS, protecting our borders, making sure that the illegals that came here, there's some 10000000 plus that came under Joe Biden, that we
13:22 have a way to get them out of the country. We're seeing the Iranian, you know, watch list. We know that 700 were released in the to the United States that we haven't gotten out yet. All these need to be found and gotten
13:32 out. And so my friend, the former senator, of the, you know, of Oklahoma is now the DHS secretary. He understands the the job before him, and he's working hard to,
13:45 help navigate the senate and the house to a place where we can get funded. And that's obviously senator Mark Ray Mullen, now the secretary of DHS.
13:52 Well, it does seem that he has brought the temperature down a little bit. And, and I I do think there's a way forward there, but you've got some recalcitrant Democrats that just are refusing to to fund the
14:04 government saying that this is about ICE when in fact everybody knows or everyone that's listening should know that ICE is funded. This has nothing to do with ICE.
14:12 Yeah. I think the only way forward, Tony, we're at a point now again in talking to the some of the senators today, and I think it's important for your viewers to know just because we're all back in our district working,
14:22 that we're still talking, trying to find a way forward. It is important to Republicans that we we secure this nation, keep our border secure, and our ports secure, and making sure that the bad guys are gone. But trying
14:32 to find a way forward. I think we're at a point now, after this impasse by what the senate passed at 3 o'clock in the morning on Friday, and we came back in at, you know, around midnight on Friday night, passed the
14:44 CR to fund everything. That we're at a point now where the leaders in the house and leaders in the senate are gonna have to go to the White House and sit down with the president and find out what we can all move together
14:54 so that we make sure our nation is secure because the Democrats are not going to help us in this matter. They've shown that since the State of the Union. They've shown in their vote against Iran being identified as a
15:05 state sponsor. I mean, the list goes on, and now we're seeing them, defunding DHS or wanting to bifurcate it and not fund the CBP and ICE.
15:13 Now now congressman Hearn, you're, you're a part of the leadership team. You're you're a smart guy. You've headed up the, Republican study committee. You're a business guy, very successful, pragmatic. What
15:25 do you see as the way forward? I mean, look, realistically, what do you see happening here to move this forward and get something done that secures America's borders here internally, but
15:37 also with with this war ongoing with Iran, the threats are even higher?
15:43 Yeah. I I think you saw, I think, 3 or 4 Democrats, support our vote on Friday night. Listen. Not every single Democrat is against funding the security of our border and and ICE.
15:55 But the the stronghold the stranglehold by the Democrat leadership is making it such where if you vote to do the right thing for America, you're you're a bad person. But I do think that it's
16:07 unprecedented. In fact, I was asking my staff today to try to find a time in the history where we've taken an appropriation bill and had to split it up, to be able to get people to pass. And I'll give you just a sort of
16:18 a side by side example. It'd be like taking the transportation bill and saying, okay. The only way we're gonna agree to pass this is we gotta we have to take bypass out of it. We have to take railways out of it. We don't
16:28 do that. We vote on the bill entirely. And so what happened on the senate side was something that was totally unprecedented. Removing that, people are not really sure why that happened, but we've got to move forward,
16:39 pass the entire bill, come together and work on this, fund DHS as we have done in the past. House Republicans, along now with some Democrats, have done this now 4 times.
16:49 Right. Right. What what do you think the prospects are of the Save America Act, which has been a a big focus of securing America's elections?
16:58 Yeah. I I spoke to a group of, we'll say less than conservative high school students this morning. They were that was the first question they asked, but I didn't know that that's what they were gonna ask. The first thing
17:08 I let out with was how important and the fundamental freedoms that we have is the right to vote. And we need to protect that as a nation as does every other nation around the world. It's how you pick your leaders of your
17:20 nation. And so, you know, this question came up about the Save America Act, and I said, you know, it's really very simple. We wanna make sure that American citizens that have the right to vote identify themselves when
17:30 they register to vote. Secondly, when they go to the poll, that individual goes to the poll that they identify themselves as that person. And then finally, no mass mailings of absentee ballots. You have to
17:42 request it through an ID process just like we do here in Oklahoma. And so that's really the 3 big issues. I if I had thought in the moment that I should have just asked, so are you for anybody in the world that could
17:54 come in and vote in our elections? And I'm I'm afraid to ask that question because I think of my Democrat colleagues, that's probably what they want. And that's why we saw, you know, 10000000 plus people come in across
18:04 the southern border in 4 years is to create a voter base that didn't have to prove they were a citizen, violate our US constitution, and have the Democrats in control forever.
18:15 I think you're absolutely right. And, of course, also, tilt the census so they get greater representation in Congress and so that they can, even direct the leadership of the
18:27 nation, which as we see right now, it's, closely, closely decided. Congressman Kevin Hearn, great to see you. Thanks so much for, taking time out of your busy day to join us.
18:36 Thanks, Tony.
18:38 Alright, folks. Something to pray about. The the, the way forward is gonna require, I think, divine intervention. Don't go away. We're back with more after this.
18:54 When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 1 people
18:58 To dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another. And to assume among the powers of the earth The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature
19:07 And of nature's god entitle them.
19:10 A decent respect to the opinions of mankind
19:12 requires that they should declare the causes
19:15 which impel them to the separation.
19:17 We hold these truths to be self evident
19:20 That all men are created
19:22 equal. That they're endowed by their creator. With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
19:34 Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
19:38 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:40 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:42 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:43 Happy 200 and fiftieth birthday, America.
19:46 May God bless America.
19:51 I think all people really need to have this type of education.
19:54 Well, I can tell you that it's been an amazing course period.
19:57 I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we're doing with our families and
20:08 with our work. God and Government
20:11 is a video driven Bible based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between biblical principles and American government. In this 6 session
20:23 video series, FRC president Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of civil government from a biblical worldview. I would encourage all people to take it. I
20:35 almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.
20:38 I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
20:45 So I'm an attorney, and for me, it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community to make better legislation, to try
20:57 to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
21:03 Any pastor would benefit from taking this course because we are dual citizens. Right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we're also seated citizens of just great land and that that comes with responsibility. Even
21:13 as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you're learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it's also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school,
21:24 college students, they can really glean something from this. So I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it's the videos, whether it's doing it in person, bring your bible study group through it, bring
21:34 your homeschool group through it, and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead. View the course
21:40 at f r c dot o r g slash god and government or on the Stand Firm app.
21:53 Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. A US military as US military operations against Iran enter their second month, president Trump says productive negotiations are
22:05 underway with Iranian officials, including direct talks involving the speaker of Iran's parliament. However, Iranian leaders have denied that such negotiations
22:17 are underway. Joining us now to discuss all of this is congressman Scott Perry, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is a former US Army National Guard Brigadier General.Show more
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