Skip to content 3/25/2026 Today on WW: Breaking News, Including Exposing Arctic Frost and Christian Persecution by the CCP Mar 25 · 59 min ...more
3/25/2026 Today on WW: Breaking News, Including Exposing Arctic Frost and Christian Persecution by the CCP
March 25, 2026 · 59 min
Jody Hice and others review developments in DHS funding, the SAVE America Act, and the Iranian Conflict, as new details emerge on the Arctic Frost investigation, and Christian Persecution in China.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video March 25, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Jody Hice and others review developments in DHS funding, the SAVE America Act, and the Iranian Conflict, as new details emerge on the Arctic Frost investigation, and Christian Persecution in China. ...more Show the full description Show less Jody Hice and others review developments in DHS funding, the SAVE America Act, and the Iranian Conflict, as new details emerge on the Arctic Frost investigation, and Christian Persecution in China.
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In this video 0:00 Government Shutdown and Security Threats22:03 Exposing the Arctic Frost Scandal31:53 CCP's War on Chinese Christians43:20 Iran Conflict: Strategy and Stalemate
Government Shutdown and Security Threats 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 first, get up to speed on the top headlines with Washington Stan's news brief.0:26 Welcome to the Washington Stan news brief. I'm Casey Harper bringing you today's big stories. Negotiations to end the US war in Iran have apparently stalled. President Donald Trump suggested0:38 progress was being made, but the Iranian military has publicly rejected the president's deal, apparently sending them back to square 1. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt addressed those reports today,0:50 and she said the talks are still ongoing.0:53 Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and and refused to come to a deal.1:02 Meanwhile, the war in Iran continues. US Central Command released footage you see here and said US forces have destroyed 9000 military targets inside Iran, which includes1:14 destroying nearly the entire navy. Now separately, the Pentagon is expected to deploy thousands more soldiers to the Middle East. The move comes as the president considers a potential land invasion of Kharg1:26 Island, which is key to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has continued to use mines and missiles to harm vessels passing through that very straight, which is a key passageway for 1 fifth of the
1:37 world's oil supply. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will occupy Southern Lebanon up to Litani up to the Litani River to create a quote defensive
1:49 barrier against Hezbollah rocket attacks. Now this is spelling out for the first time Israel's intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon.
2:01 Now back in DC, hope of a deal to end the partial government shutdown is fading. Lawmakers expressed optimism that a deal could be reached earlier this week, but the latest proposal took fire from both
2:13 sides. Some Republicans pushed back saying they want a plan that would fully fund ICE and end the government shutdown. Now even more Democrats are still pushing to unmask ICE officers among many
2:25 other reforms. In fact, the list of reforms seems to keep growing. Now with both sides unhappy, minority leader Chuck Schumer reportedly sent a counter offer to Republicans this afternoon. So we'll see
2:37 how that is received. But all this comes as long lines at airports in some places stretch on for hours. In fact, hundreds of TSA employees, sometimes as much as half the staff,
2:48 are calling out from work at various airports. It's no surprise though as they continue to work day after day without pay. Now in other news, a major court ruling today against
3:00 social media companies could pave the way for more lawsuits. A Los Angeles jury found that Google and Meta, which is a company that owns Facebook, are liable for 3000000 dollars in damages.
3:12 The case here involves a 20 year old woman who said she became addicted to the apps at a young age because of their attention grabbing design. The plaintiffs focused on platform design rather than
3:24 content which makes it harder for the companies to avert liability and say, we're just a platform, we can't control the content. But this outcome, it could influence thousands of similar cases against the tech companies
3:36 which have been brought by parents, attorneys generals, attorneys general, and school districts. Now for our last story, a pretty striking moment at the White House today. The spouses of world leaders at
3:48 an event hosted by first lady Melania Trump were addressed by a robot.
3:53 Thank you first lady Melania Trump for inviting me to the White House. It is an honor to be at Fostering the Future Together's global coalition inaugural meeting. I'm figure 3, a humanoid built in the United States of
4:05 America. I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education. Welcome.
4:19 The first lady walked into the technology focused meeting escorted by the humanoid robot, which she called the first humanoid guest in the White House. Sign of the times. Well, that is
4:31 today's news. I'm Casey Harper. You can dive deeper at the Washington stand. And as for us, we're back tomorrow with more stories that matter.
4:52 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:04 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
5:09 We're 40 days into this shutdown. It's the second longest in history. It's partial, but it's a big 1 because they shut down the third largest department of the federal government. They are holding the government hostage.
5:20 Why? What is their demand? At the at the the root of all this, they wanna reopen the border and they wanna protect criminal illegal aliens just like this murderer here.
5:31 Well, that was house speaker Mike Johnson speaking to the press earlier today as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security continues.
5:42 Guest host, Jody Heiss. I'm honored to be filling in for Tony today, and thank you so much for joining us as well. Alright. Coming up today, are we any closer to seeing a deal reach to
5:54 fund the Department of Homeland Security? Well, we'll discuss the latest developments here in just a few moments with Oklahoma congressman Josh Burkina. Plus, Iran has
6:06 now rejected a 15 point peace plan sent to them by president Trump, and they put forth a list of demands to end the war. We'll get an assessment later in the program
6:17 from Elon Burman of the American Foreign Policy Council. All that and more is straight ahead.
6:29 Alright. The partial shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security is now in its fortieth day. And earlier today, a house committee on homeland security held a hearing on the impact
6:41 of the lack of funding for the Department of Homeland Security. And joining us now to discuss this and more is Washington stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, what took place today at the hearing?
6:53 Well, Jody, we we've seen, you know, the airport lines and different things, that have given us an insight a little bit into the impact of the shutdown, but this hearing took us into a lot greater depth and and show that
7:04 it's a lot worse than people may realize. Testimony came from officials at TSA, FEMA, and the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, CISA, and the the coast guard as well
7:15 about how their agencies are being impacted now as well as the potential long term impacts. Now during the hearing, the acting director of CISA, Nick Anderson, pointed to the detrimental effects that the government
7:27 shutdown has on their ability to protect the nation. CISA functions to secure critical infrastructure like power grids, financial networks, and more from cyber and physical threats.
7:39 We have a clip of him from the hearing. Let's take a look.
7:42 CISA's mission remains unchanged to protect and defend the American people, but we cannot do that at full strength under sustained funding uncertainty. We need stability. We need continuity. We need the the ability to
7:53 operate proactively, not just reactively.
7:56 Also discussed at the hearing was the major fallout of TSA officers working without pay. Here's a clip from Homeland Security Committee chairman Andrew Garvino today.
8:05 Shutdown has caused massive disruptions across our airports and travel system nationwide, weakened our nation's cybersecurity posture, and left states unsupported. The shutdown is not a game, and frankly,
8:18 I'm tired of it being treated like 1. The stakes are too high. We owe it to the American people to stop the political games, to fund DHS, and to get back to regular order.
8:28 Nearly 500 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began in mid February, and those who haven't quit are just not showing up to work. We've seen absences increase by 10 percent in recent days at airports
8:40 with some airports seeing as high as 50 percent call out rates. Now a senior TSA official told a house committee that 50000 TSA agents have been forced to work without pay, which means there's a 1000000000
8:51 dollar, 1 dollar 1000000000 dollars in missed paychecks if the shutdown continues through this Friday, which is the next paycheck. Now earlier today, president Trump said he could deploy national guard troops to airports
9:03 to help ICE secure security do the security needs. They're already there helping TSA. And all this also means, Jody, that we could see smaller airports be forced to close down if this continues.
9:15 Wow. Incredible, incredible stuff. You know, 1 of the other big items that's happening right alongside parallel with TSA is the Save America Act. I know they've been debating that all
9:27 week on the senate floor. Was there anything today that, was new? They came off the debates in the senate regarding the Save America Act.
9:36 Well, we've seen you know, these debates go on. So we're not seeing a lot new come out every day. What we did see was senate majority leader John Thune and Republican senator John Cornyn argue why it is imperative to see
9:48 the Save America Act passed. And as a reminder, this bill would mandate citizens to show a valid ID when showing up to polling stations to cast ballots in federal elections. Here's senator John
9:59 Cornyn on the senate floor today.
10:01 I'm committed to doing whatever it takes to muscle this through the senate, including using the reconciliation process if necessary to get around senate Democrats' obstruction.
10:13 But at the same time, we're not giving up on moving it through regular order here on the senate floor.
10:21 Now fraud through social, president Trump called the bill 1 of the most important and consequential pieces of legislation in the history of Congress and America itself, some, classic hyperbole from the president. He's
10:33 very good at that. But senate majority leader John Thune is working to get the bill passed before they come up against that 2 week recess deadline beginning at the end of this month, Jody.
10:42 Seem like so much happening, on Capitol Hill right now, and I appreciate those updates, Casey. What about the the latest, we're we're hearing that the Pentagon is set to deploy potentially,
10:54 3000 or so more troops to the Middle East, as all this conflict in Iran continues. What's the latest that you're hearing on those developments?
11:02 That's right. We're seeing a mill an increased military buildup in the Middle East, which comes as Iran has rejected that, that 15 point peace plan from president Trump. Now earlier today, Iran on offered a counter
11:14 proposal to the US. Kind of interesting. They think they're in a bargaining position, and they have 5 conditions to end the war. 1 of which is not gonna be very palatable. They want total sovereignty over the Strait of
11:25 Hormuz. Here here's a clip from press secretary, Carol Levitt earlier today with a warning from president Trump.
11:32 President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again. Their last mix miscalculation cost them their senior leadership, their navy, their air force, and their
11:44 air defense system. Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal.
11:54 You probably remember, Jody, that on Monday, president Trump postponed strikes on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure for 5 days as these negotiations continue. For right now, there's no deal in sight to open
12:05 the government or to end this war.
12:07 Well, yep. And the 5 days are counting down with the rejection of that deal. Who knows what may happen next? Alright, Casey. Thank you so much for those updates. We appreciated a great deal. I wanna jump over now to
12:18 Capitol Hill and discuss the latest on what's going on there. And joining us now is congressman Josh Perkin. He's a member of the Homeland Security Committee as well as a budget committee and
12:30 the Freedom Caucus. He represents the second congressional district of the great state of Oklahoma. Congressman Perkin, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you, my friend.
12:41 Good to see you, Jody. Thanks for having me back on.
12:43 You bet. Alright. So here we are. Day 40 of the shutdown partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. What do you make of where we are with the negotiations? Where where's it all
12:55 looking like this thing's headed to you?
12:57 Yeah. I don't know. I that's the reality. And today is a part of the hearing. 1 of the things I wanted to make it clear after some of what your reporter has has covered, 40 days of people,
13:09 facing no no income. TSA airport security is being compromised. And we know that you have, as a brilliant move, the president moving ICE agents in to
13:21 be able to do some of the nontechnical screening. But what we heard today is is it takes 6 months to train someone on the on the real technical aspects of that frontline security for airports. And
13:33 when you're talking about, 500 people have blocked away from the job, in some cases, 40 to 50 percent of people calling in saying I can't do this, I have to go, work somewhere where I know next at the end of the week,
13:44 I'll get a paycheck, We've got real problems. 79 days from now, you're gonna have the World Cup. You're gonna have thousands and thousands of people that will be utilizing air traffic much much much to a greater
13:55 level. And in addition to that, this conflict in Iran. And so I I talked about that for the Democrats who spent the time in the hearing today
14:07 to try to blame the lack of funding, whether it be to the coast guard or CISA or to TSA, and and FEMA. They tried to blame it upon Republicans. I just
14:20 wanted to make sure that we really define what the word obfuscate actually means.
14:25 Yeah. Absolutely.
14:25 The Wizard of Oz who sees the dog pulling back the curtain, and his booming voice is heard. And he says, disregard the man behind the curtain, pulling the levers and spinning the wheels. He's not fooling anyone. And I
14:37 said to the Democrats in the room who are trying to confuse people and and say that the Republicans are the reason why there's no funding, You're gonna have a real hard time if we end it into, may the lord forbid,
14:49 a an an act of terrorism. And you had this morning, and all these officials sitting before you today were saying, this is dangerous. Don't do this. And yet they allowed it to continue.
14:59 Yeah. I mean, that's the that's the point right there. You just hit it on the head. Americans are certainly being affected by this shutdown. A a lot of attention, of course, has been directed towards the lines at
15:11 airports and so forth. But at the end of the day, this is about homeland security, and and we've already seen some of the lone wolf attacks and so forth. So at the end of the day, we've
15:22 got to pretty rapidly, like ASAP, get DHS funded, don't we?
15:27 Well, look. The president's doing what he can in redirecting for national security interests and where ICE could be involved. It is a brilliant move. He's really saying, you know what's gonna happen. We're gonna find
15:36 people who are are are using fraudulent means, and that's kind of the subtle, thing the president is saying there to Democrats hoping to get them off of high center and moving them into airport security.
15:48 But they're not budging, and and they are sacrificing national security. And so, I know I'm talking to individuals and those who follow your program who believe in a shield
16:00 of protection greater than that which man can provide. And so we need to be in prayer for this country. We need to be that in prayer that, wisdom prevails and that, that our our homeland is
16:12 secured.
16:12 Yeah. Absolutely. And, I appreciate you making that appeal to prayer. We do it over and over and over here. I did wanna play a clip for you from Hakeem Jeffries, comment he made regarding,
16:25 some of our, personnel helping out at the airports. This was pretty stunning. I'd like to play this clip and get your reaction to it.
16:31 Go ahead.
16:32 The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances, kill them.
16:44 So what do you think about I mean, here we're just demonizing ICE agents and others.
16:49 Look. He he apparently doesn't understand the heightened risk to this country. He doesn't understand that when people, are not being vetted and what that means for for air air travel. And what the president has
17:01 done and what we heard from the TSA administrator today, they are moving these IS agents and training them on the nontechnical screening processes they can utilize them for. And these are people that have been hired on
17:12 in a professional atmosphere. They can learn some of these other elements. But at the end of the day, because the lessened number of employees in the long term, the question I want answered from TSA administrator was 6
17:23 months to train someone for this job. They walk away. They're not coming back. This has been the third shutdown in a matter of a year that many of these have dealt with, whether it be FEMA or coast guard or TSA and
17:35 or CISA. And so at some point, these people and and their ability to go back and borrow money and high interest rates. Yes. They're gonna get the payment then when this process ends. But what about the interest rate they
17:46 were charged? So some of these people will walk away. They won't come back long term. What does that do, towards us being able to have people that are really well trained long term for
17:58 security at at our air systems.
18:00 Yeah. It's, I don't know know how people can continue to work without being paid. I mean, the vast, vast majority of American families literally go from paycheck to paycheck,
18:12 and, to not be able to pay to get paid is
18:15 Jody, they're deflecting the Democrats. They're trying to say, look over here. Look over here. There's only so many times you can move the green
18:20 team around under the customer
18:22 or someone realizes what you're doing. And I wanted to tell the Democrats, well, if they if something happens, you won't be able to wordsmith your way out. That's right.
18:31 Congressman Josh Perkin, Oklahoma, thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. We we've got a fun DHS. Absolutely have to. Alright. Coming up, we'll dive into yesterday's senate judiciary
18:42 hearing on the Arctic Frost investigation. I, among others, was targeted in that. We'll discuss it right after the break.
18:54 When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 1 people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth
19:04 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 requires
19:13 that they should declare the causes
19:15 which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths
19:18 to be self evident
19:20 That all men are created equal.
19:22 That they're endowed by their creator.
19:24 With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
19:30 That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
19:34 Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 200 and fiftieth. Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:42 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
19:43 Happy 200 and fiftieth birthday, America.
19:46 May god bless America.
19:52 I think all people really need to have this type of education.
19:55 Well, I can tell you that it's been an amazing course period.
19:58 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
20:10 with our work.
20:11 God and Government is a video driven bible based training course from Family Research Council
20:27 government from a biblical world view. A practical understanding of civil government from a biblical worldview.
20:33 I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.
20:39 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.
20:47 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
20:58 to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
21:04 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 this great land, and that that comes with responsibility.
21:14 Even 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
21:25 school, 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,
21:35 bring your homeschool group through it, and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead. View the course
21:41 at f r c dot o r g slash god and government or on the Stand Firm app.
21:54 Alright. I hope you're having a fantastic day. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony, and glad to have you joining us as well. Alright. Yesterday, there was a senate judiciaryShow more
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