Skip to content 6/1/2026 As Securing the Middle East Continues, so Does Securing America’s Homeland Jun 1 · 59 min ...more
6/1/2026 As Securing the Middle East Continues, so Does Securing America’s Homeland
June 1, 2026 · 59 min
Tony Perkins and guests cover the upcoming U.S. Congressional agendas as Democrats determine to defund crucial aspects of the government, California primary elections, celebrating families in June, how the marathon White House Situation Room meeting impacted the on-again, off-again ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and the recent incursion of Israel into Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.
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.
June 1, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Tony Perkins and guests cover the upcoming U.S. Congressional agendas as Democrats determine to defund crucial aspects of the government, California primary elections, celebrating families in June, how the marathon White House Situation Room meeting impacted the on-again, off-again ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and the recent incursion of Israel into Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon. ...more Show the full description Show less Tony Perkins and guests cover the upcoming U.S. Congressional agendas as Democrats determine to defund crucial aspects of the government, California primary elections, celebrating families in June, how the marathon White House Situation Room meeting impacted the on-again, off-again ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and the recent incursion of Israel into Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.
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In this video 0:00 Top Headlines: Iran Tensions and Domestic Battles5:10 Congress Returns: Funding Fights and Family Focus25:20 Iran Insights and Biblical Foundations of Freedom38:10 Speaker Johnson on Budget Battles and Security45:00 Middle East Update: Towards Regime Change?
Top Headlines: Iran Tensions and Domestic Battles 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 elected0:11 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. Iran announced today they're done talking with the US. After weeks of ups and downs in the ceasefire negotiations, the White0:38 House last week said they were close to a deal. But both sides exchanged more or fire over the weekend. The US said on Sunday it conducted self defense strikes on Iranian radar and drone control sites0:50 after Iran shot down a US drone that was operating over international waters. Though those are hardly the only exchanges of fire since the ceasefire began. Then today, Iran said they're1:02 finished negotiating with the US altogether because of Israel's attacks against the terror group, Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran also said they would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Now1:14 hostilities between the militant terrorist group, Hezbollah, and Israel continued on Monday with strikes on both sides. Israeli troops have also carved out a self declared security buffer zone between Lebanon and
1:25 Israel. That's an area where Hezbollah has fired on Israelis for years. However, after Iran announced today that the talks were done, president Donald Trump responded. He posted on True Social
1:37 that he had a very productive call with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and that there will be no troops going to Beirut. Likewise, the president said he spoke with Hezbollah and they agreed that all shooting
1:49 will stop. That Israel will not attack them and they will not attack Israel. With that, the president declared the talks with Iran were back on. But whether Iran feels the same way is unclear.
2:02 Keeping the Strait of Hormuz open with no tolling and handing over that enriched uranium have remained persistent sticking points in these talks. And And even worse, internal divisions within Iran make the negotiations
2:13 and even who can speak for the Iranians a difficult issue. Well meanwhile, back in the US, Florida is taking on OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
2:25 We're here to announce that we recently filed a monumental civil lawsuit against Sam Altman and ChattGPT for endangering our kids and deceiving parents into
2:37 believing that this application is safe for use. It's clearly not. People are getting hurt. Parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it.
2:49 So today, we're gonna send a message to OpenAI. Get ready for a fight, and there's not 1 more important than this right now. Again, technology is here. We're not running
3:01 away from it. We need to lead and get out ahead of it.
3:05 Florida attorney general James Oetmayer, who you just heard there, a Republican, sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman today, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its ChatGPT platform. Now the civil
3:17 lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT harmed children by providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self harm, and even addicting young users. Now the suit points to a shooting at a
3:28 Tallahassee University last year in a number of events in other states which IGBT allegedly provided information to people who went on to commit violence. The lawsuit seeks damages up to billions of
3:40 dollars plus a court order ordering the company to change how it interacts with young users. OpenAI already faces a criminal investigation after a shooter at Florida State University allegedly
3:51 consulted ChatGPT to help make the shooting more deadly. Today's announcement, it's only the latest example of AI companies facing scrutiny particularly for how they affect young people,
4:03 and it likely won't be the last. Well, meanwhile, in New York City, supporters of Israel based in New York gathered on Sunday for the annual Israel day parade. Mayor Zoran Mamdani made
4:15 headlines for his decision not to march in the parade this year. But other officials including New York governor Kathy Hochul attended the event. Attendees pointed to the rise in anti Semitic incidents in the US and
4:26 around the world including deadly attacks. Well, that is today's news. I'm Casey Harper. You can dive deeper at the Washington Stand, which is Family Research Council's outlook for news and commentary from a
4:38 biblical worldview. 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 you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:03 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
Congress Returns: Funding Fights and Family Focus
5:10 Over the weekend, Trump said, quote, he's in no hurry to end the war in Iran. No hurry? Tell that to our troops who are in harm's way every second this war continues,
5:22 including those who were fired upon in Kuwait just this morning. I'll tell you who's in a hurry for this blunder to end, the American people who are getting crushed by record gas prices at the
5:34 pump.
5:35 That was senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on the senate floor earlier today, going on about the war in Iran. Welcome to this Monday, June first edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host, Tony
5:47 Perkins. Thanks so much for tuning in. Well, coming up, North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer joins us for a discussion on the conflict with Iran and why a deal remains so elusive.
6:00 Plus, Chris Mitchell joins us from Jerusalem with an update on Israel's ongoing operations against Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanese territory. All of that and more straight ahead.
6:17 Well, the senate is back in town, and the house is scheduled to be back on Wednesday. Joining me now to discuss the major issues that will be waiting for lawmakers as they return to
6:29 Washington DC is Washington Sand reporter Casey Harper. Alright, Casey. What can we expect this week? Alright. I'm not hearing you, Casey. There you
6:41 go.
6:41 Can you hear me now?
6:42 I can hear you now.
6:44 Alright. Good, as they say. Well, reconciliation and the war in Iran have to be key points of discussion. Today, senate majority leader John Thune called on the White House to ditch that pretty controversial
6:56 1700000000 dollar request in funding for the anti weaponization fund. Now senate Republicans are focused on how to get that reconciliation package across the finish line. Here's a clip of senate majority leader
7:08 John Thune this afternoon pushing forward with funding for ICE and border patrol.
7:13 Mister president, needless to say, as long as Republicans are in charge, we are not going to let Democrats defund border security and immigration law enforcement. So we're moving forward with a bill
7:25 to fund these important responsibilities for the remainder of the Trump administration so that Democrats cannot again put our nation's security and American safety in jeopardy.
7:36 Meanwhile, the other side, House Democrats are pushing for war powers votes on Iran and and Lebanon as congress is back this week, Tony.
7:44 Well, tomorrow, is election day in California where voters across the state will make their voices heard in the 20 26 primary election. It it's kind of shaping up to
7:56 be somewhat of a interesting race out there.
7:59 Very. Too many candidates, 2 names. So the race for governor of California is gonna be closely watched, of course. Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer are leading in that race according to the latest polling, but Republican
8:10 Steve Hilton is right there behind him. But, 2 candidates are gonna emerge out of out of this race, but there's, more than 60 people running for governor there, which is, of course, made it very interesting. But the
8:22 race for mayor is also interesting and very high profile. In Los Angeles, the Democratic incumbent mayor, Karen Bass, is facing off against the socialist councilwoman and a reality show star, Spencer Pratt,
8:34 all competing for the mayorship there. Kinda sounds like a reality show of its own, Tony.
8:38 It's gonna be very interesting to watch. Back on the other side of the country, 2 southern states are designating the month of June as a time to celebrate faith and family juxtaposed
8:50 to pride month. Tell us about it. Yeah.
8:54 This is a a couple couple states. Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has declared June Fidelity Month, and she's saying it's an opportunity for the residents of that state to reflect on their commitment to faith,
9:05 family, community, and country, and, instead of celebrating, pride month to rededicate themselves to those higher values. We're seeing something similar in Tennessee where the month of June is being called nuclear family
9:17 month where, Tennessee governor Bill you know, the Tennessee Republicans there are emphasizing God's design for marriage between being between 1 man and 1 woman. So a couple states really rebuffing
9:29 the the national narrative on pride month, Tony.
9:32 You know, under underlying issue here, Casey, is that elections have consequences when we elect strong conservatives to these states who are not afraid to
9:44 challenge the status quo.
9:46 Yeah. That's right. And despite some of the popular narrative, these are very popular, positions they're taking.
9:51 Right. Alright, Casey. Thanks for the update. Alright. I wanna turn now to the situation with Iran where there have been a number of developments even today alone. Joining us now to discuss this
10:03 and a bit more is senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator Cramer, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
10:13 Thanks for having me. Always a pleasure.
10:15 I bet you're glad to be back to Washington from North Dakota. Not.
10:20 Says says me never.
10:22 Yeah. But it's good to be back
10:23 important work.
10:24 It's good to be back working for the people of North Dakota, but North Dakota is a more pleasant place to be. For sure. Alright. Let's talk about the the the situation with Iran. The president last
10:36 week saying it looked like a deal was imminent. Then this weekend, not so much so. And then today, Iran saying they're not even talking to us.
10:45 Yeah. Yeah. And and and an hour from now, we'll learn something different perhaps. The thing that's been constant through all of this, though, is that Donald Trump remains steadfast
10:57 and focused on a solution that does the the least amount of kinetic harm, to to people in places right now. So while there's the, you know, there's the occasional trading of of missiles or the
11:09 defense against incoming, you know, maybe it us taking out a a radar station that's directing, Iranian, drones at at US targets.
11:21 By and large, the the the major ceasefire has has stayed intact, and the president continues to try to negotiate. Now, you know, just reading they're listening to you, sort of lay out the the groundwork or the the
11:33 foundation for just today's activities sort of makes 1 sort of scratch their head. But but the constant is that there there is, in fact, discussion taking place. I think part of the challenge, Tony, for a lot of us is
11:44 that we don't really know who's in a position of authority to make a deal for Iran, and and that's I think we all find a little bit frustrating.
11:52 Yeah. I mean, that that's a part of the, the, the effectiveness of the military strikes that took out the the the the leadership.
12:01 That's right.
12:02 Nobody really knows who's who's in charge and who's running things. And I do appreciate what you said about the president wanting to minimize the kinetic damage. I mean, we we we don't wanna we wanna minimize the loss of
12:13 life. What is the intelligence telling us about the regime and their stability, their mono their their financial stability with the the blocking of their ports? It
12:25 sounds as if they are, they're really on the edge.
12:29 Yeah. No. A great point, Tony. And I think that's something that's maybe not fully appreciated, by a lot of folks. We can all we can all see pictures of bombed out buildings or the taking out of
12:41 particular weapon systems. But the economic, stress that that Iran is under, I don't think anybody could really imagine. The the president has always understood, economic
12:52 leverage. He's always utilized it very well. And, you know, I just think about Ronald Reagan. I mean, he he took down the entire, empire of the Soviet Union without firing a single shot by
13:04 simply, you know, economic leverage. So it can be done. This president understands that, and I think you're exactly right. I think they are teetering on the brink, which is why I think well, it's hard to be patient
13:15 sometimes, you know, depending on where you sit in in in the United States of America watching all of this when particularly, when you don't see the price of gasoline coming down too far below 3 dollars a, you know, a
13:27 gallon. I get all of that. But I what the president understands is, to your point, just how fragile the regime is and what's left of the regime and largely
13:39 due to the, to the economic pressure that that they're under.
13:42 Well and, ultimately, we don't want a country that just bombed out and decimated. We wanna Right. I I mean, I know that this hasn't been a stated objective of the Trump administration. They the stated objective is to
13:54 make sure that we do not have a nuclear equipped Iran. But long term, I think everybody realized it's gotta have a change of ideology, and that means a regime change.
14:03 No. That that's for sure, Tony. And and, you know, we saw the news, in the last day or, you know, 24, 48 hours of the president of Iran wanting to step down. I don't know whether the president of Iran really has much to
14:15 say about anything, and if the if that person's not IRGC. So you still have this internal political turmoil as well that while you're right, the stated goal is not regime change, but a regime change would be
14:26 would make all the difference in the world, not only to the United States, but certainly to the neighborhood in the Middle East, of course, and certainly to the Iranian people. And that's I think that's 1 of the biggest
14:37 challenges that we have. We we we know the Iranian people, for the most part, are really good people. They're smart people. Some of the the smartest people in the United States are Iranian people. I know a lot of them
14:48 in in the Fargo area, for example, that are professors or or, software developers at Microsoft or they they work in our hospitals and our clinics, and we're so grateful to have them. So so there's there's there is
15:00 that. And and I think the great hope is that that they'll be able to, at some point before long, take their country back. And, and then and then just thinking about the Abraham Accords and the
15:12 work that the president's doing, with with other other, allies in the region, Saudi Arabia, of course, UAE, Bahrain, countries that already are part of the Abraham Accords.
15:25 But but the others in the region as well that the fact that you could have peace in the Middle East, something that I'm not sure without Jesus at the table you're going to have, quite honestly, Tony. But I think
15:37 peace in the Middle Middle East is such a game changer for the world.
15:41 It's a it's a managed piece. And I think it it it the ultimate peace will come later. But we should work for a managed peace, and that's through as you pointed out to about Reagan earlier, it's a it's peace through
15:53 strength. Along those lines, I appreciate the president being judicious with our military apparatus. An analysis released last week by the Center for Strategic International Study says US
16:05 has enough munitions for any plausible scenario in the current conflict with Iran, but there will be a window of vulnerability for several years until inventories return to their previous
16:16 levels. I mean, how how concerned are you given what China is doing with their eye toward Taiwan or another possible battle taking place?
16:26 Well, it's always a concern, obviously, but we're also seeing some policy changes, both in legislation as well as in the Pentagon itself. I mean, Steve Feinberg, the deputy secretary, is there largely to to,
16:38 to oversee the Pentagon as a CEO would oversee it. And he's doing a great job working with our our industrial base and working with, everybody from the, you know, from the, you know, the the
16:50 largest companies have been doing it for generations to new startups that are providing new space assets and whatnot. I think we're seeing that change in process, in bureaucracy,
17:03 acquisition, of course, especially. And so I think we're in we're gonna be in decent shape, but there is that vulnerable point to to the to the analysis that you're talking about. That that moment where we're not quite
17:14 there yet. But you're also seeing some of the, you know, some of the demand signals being responded to by an industrial base that's that's eager to be helpful because, obviously, it's helpful to them as well. So Right.
17:25 The other thing is, Tony, we have something that very few of our adversaries have, and that is a lot of allies. We oftentimes think we're carrying this burden by ourselves. And in Iran, it certainly looks that way
17:36 sometimes. But remembering that as soon as there's a void somewhere in the world, we have people we have other countries, freedom loving countries, democracies that we can turn to that are part of our part
17:48 of our, you know, our alliance. And so I don't worry about it probably as much as some people.
17:53 Senator Kramer, just about 45 seconds left. What you what can we expect this week as the senate's back in town?
18:00 Yeah. So we you know, it looks like there's some progress maybe on the FISA. You might recall we're still waiting for a permanent or at least a 5 year extension of FISA or a 3 year extension of FISA, whatever it turns
18:10 out to be. That that that's that's very important. And then we have the budget reconciliation piece. Hopefully, it sounds like maybe the the White House has made some concession on, the
18:22 DOJ, or reparations fund. And, that if we could get something worked out there, we could maybe move on with budget reconciliation and make sure that homeland security at the border and with ICE is funded
18:34 for the next 3 years, and that's priority number 1 as far as I'm concerned.
18:38 Well, that would be some good news. Senator Kramer, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us today. Alright, folks. When we come back, the speaker of the Tennessee house joins us. So don't go away. We'll be
18:48 right back.
18:52 Join us for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action at this year's pray, vote, stand summit at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Hear from Christian leaders, issue experts, and government
19:04 officials as we work together to build a foundation based on biblical truth. Early bird special tickets are on sale for 69 dollars when you register by June fifteenth. To register, visit pray
19:16 vote stand dot org. That's pray vote stand dot org.
19:22 Exodus chapter 9 verse 1 says, thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. You see, America has freedom for a
19:34 purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? In scripture, deliverance and
19:45 freedom is never an end in itself. It is a liberation unto obedience, to worship, and to a covenantal relationship. God's demand to
19:57 pharaoh was not freedom for freedom's sake, but freedom so his people could identify with and belong to and serve him. Freedom that is not used to serve
20:09 God will not endure. 1 of the founders actually echoed a similar warning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that
20:21 God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever. See, the founders understood we as a nation would be
20:33 accountable to God for what he had granted to us. They sought freedom for a purpose, and that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same
20:45 purpose, to serve God, to honor him, and to live as a people under his authority. In this 200 and fiftieth anniversary year, we must
20:57 ask the question, are we living by that purpose today as a nation? Lord, we thank you for the godly
21:09 foundation and heritage of our states. And, Lord, we would return to an understanding of the freedom that you've granted to us, that freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a
21:20 purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. And I pray that our nation would return to that understanding of the purpose of the freedom that you have granted to
21:32 us. We thank you, father. By faith, we pray that we would return to that purpose. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
21:53 Welcome back to this Monday edition of Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. It is June the first. Alright. We're just a month away, just about a month away from the celebration of our nation's 200 and
22:05 fiftieth birthday. Alright, man. Think about that. I can remember the 2 hundredth. I was, about 13 years old. I can remember it. So, to to
22:17 kinda, this is a we've talked about this a lot. I've had the speaker on my weekend program talking about the speaker Johnson. In fact, we're gonna hear from him in the next segment. But the the this is an opportunity for
22:28 us to explore the biblical principles this nation was founded upon. It's it's a time it's a time to rediscover them, especially if you're our young people who have not been hearing these in school and not been taught
22:39 about that. Well, years ago, I started teaching a course, God in government. In fact, the the current house speaker, it was 1 of my first students, and he went on to to actually teach the course with me. We
22:51 taught it, at churches and such. You can actually participate. You can be a part of it. It's online now. It's our God and Government course. If you would like to to use it, use it in your
23:03 family, use it as you if you homeschool. It's a great thing for churches, but just, peruse it as we prepare for the 200 and fiftieth. Text the word course to 6 7 7 4 2. That's course to
23:15 6 7 7 4 2. This is a moment that we can take to to restore an understanding of a biblical foundation of our nation. Alright. As I mentioned, we're in the
23:27 the month of June. And, you know, for far too long, this month has been held up by the pro LGBTQ movement as Pride Month, which, you know,
23:39 just that term should, leave you wondering as Proverbs says, pride goes before a fall. But some states this year will not be celebrating what, quite frankly,
23:50 sin. Instead, they'll be celebrating what makes this nation great, rediscovering those principles, things like the nuclear family and shared values of faith and liberty and patriotism.
24:03 Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a proclamation declaring June as Fidelity Month. That's encouraging, taking us back to the founding principles of this country of
24:14 faith, family, and freedom. I think she was probably prompted by her neighboring state of Tennessee that declared June nuclear family month. Joining us now to discuss this is
24:26 Tennessee house speaker Cameron Sexton, who serves as Tennessee's 20 fifth district, representative in the house. Speaker Sexton, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
24:38 Thank you. It's great to be here with you today.
24:40 So you joined us, on the program after your governor Bill Lee signed legislation formally designating June as nuclear family month in Tennessee. We're now in June. As I mentioned at the top of this
24:52 segment, we're approaching the 200 and fiftieth anniversary. You know, I I can't think of a better way to celebrate and honor America than celebrating the family.
25:01 I mean, that's exactly right. And today's Tennessee's birthday as well. And so, look, the what we do know and the reason that we want to make June nuclear family month month is being raised by a a a a parents, a a
25:13 husband and a wife, a mother and a father, has benefits. And we also know that if you're in a fatherless house, you're 4 times more likely to have poverty, 10 times more likely for abusiveShow more
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