Skip to content 12/5/2025 Court Cases on Redistricting and the Ten Commandments, a Look at Healthcare, and a Faith-Based Movie Dec 5 · 59 min ...more
12/5/2025 Court Cases on Redistricting and the Ten Commandments, a Look at Healthcare, and a Faith-Based Movie
December 5, 2025 · 59 min
Texas redistricting receives a SCOTUS victory as California’s map remains unknown, an appeals court's Ten Commandments case, the healthcare debate, and “The Case for Miracles” hits theaters soon.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
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December 5, 2025 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Texas redistricting receives a SCOTUS victory as California’s map remains unknown, an appeals court's Ten Commandments case, the healthcare debate, and “The Case for Miracles” hits theaters soon. ...more Show the full description Show less Texas redistricting receives a SCOTUS victory as California’s map remains unknown, an appeals court's Ten Commandments case, the healthcare debate, and “The Case for Miracles” hits theaters soon.
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In this video 0:00 News Brief and Supreme Court Victory for Texas Redistricting12:42 Reforming Healthcare: Scaling Back Subsidies and Lowering Costs21:55 Election Integrity, Redistricting Battles, and Defending Biblical Foundations41:56 The Case for Miracles: Evidence of God's Supernatural Work Today1:31
1:43 Now normally, this would be a relatively straightforward process. But since Trump took office, Democrats have refused to confirm Trump appointees, leaving countless positions in the government unfilled. But
1:55 now, after months of delays from Democrats, Republicans changed the senate procedures and began grouping nominees together in large batches as long as they are below cabinet level positions and confirming them all at
2:07 once.
2:08 Democrats and their base still can't deal with the fact that president Trump won last November. And so they have held up every single 1.
2:21 Every single 1 of his nominations in revenge.
2:26 The final vote on those nominees is expected next week. In other news, newly released polling data shows that the majority of Americans believe that when illegal immigrants commit violent crimes, they
2:38 should be deported. In fact, a survey from The Economist in YouGov found that a whopping 88 percent said violent criminal illegal aliens should be deported, which includes even 87 percent of Democrats.
2:51 A plurality of Americans in the same poll said they should be deported for nonviolent crimes with 45 percent in favor and 34 percent opposed. The rest are unsure. Other recent polls have shown a
3:03 majority of Americans support deportation for all illegal immigrants. A Harvard Harris poll from October found 56 percent of registered voters support deporting all illegal aliens. The new data
3:14 here we're seeing comes as the Trump administration continues its mass deportation efforts and many blue cities refuse to cooperate. Now for our last story, president Donald Trump
3:26 attended the FIFA World Cup drawing today where he was awarded the FIFA Peace Prize.
3:33 Thank you very much. This is truly 1 of the great honors of my life. And, beyond awards, John and I were discussing this. We saved millions and millions of lives. The Congo is an example.
3:45 Over 10000000 people killed, and it was heading for another 10000000 very quickly. And it just you know, the fact that we could do that, India, Pakistan, so many different wars that we're able
3:57 to end, in some cases, a little bit before they started, just right before they started. It was gonna be late, but we got them done.
4:05 FIFA said this prize, given out for the first time this year, will be awarded annually to someone committed to, quote, advancing peace and unity throughout the world. In the president's case, he brokered
4:17 the Abraham Accords, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and more. This award comes after the Nobel Peace Prize Committee passed over president Trump for their award in October.
4:29 And that is today's news. I'm Casey Harper. You can dive deeper at the Washington Stand, which is Family Research Council's outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. And we are back next week
4:41 with more stories that matter.
4:53 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:04 newsmakers, all from a biblical world view. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
5:11 What the Supreme Court affirmed is what we have all known and said from the very beginning. Texas followed the law. They had the right to to draw a fair map that accurately reflect reflects the population of of their
5:22 state. It's a deep red state, and, that's what this map reflects. And the court said, yes. Of course. The states have the right to do that.
5:31 Well, that was how speaker Mike Johnson reacting to last night's Supreme Court decision in favor of the Texas Republican redistricting map. Welcome to this December fifth edition of
5:42 Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heist. Thank you so much for joining us. Alright. Coming up today, House Republicans plan to unveil their health care plan that
5:54 they'll present next week. They're aiming to rein in costly Obamacare subsidies. But with moderates pushing competing proposals, the party debate is certainly
6:06 heating up, and North Carolina congressman doctor Greg Murphy will be joining us momentarily for his take on it all. Plus, there is an upcoming film, The Case for
6:17 Miracles. It takes on some big questions, like whether God exists and whether miracles are still happening today Using stories, science, real
6:29 world evidence, and the like, Doctor Lee Strobel, best selling author, probably best known for The Case for Christ, among other things, will be joining us to
6:41 preview the the movie and its message. So you wanna be sure to stay tuned for that. And the US
6:53 Supreme Court has cleared a way for Texas to use its newly redrawn congressional map. This obviously deals a blow to the lower court that tried to block it, while at the same time it
7:05 delivers a win for republicans heading into the 20 26 midterms. The map literally could shift several house seats to the GOP, which of course would strengthen
7:16 president Trump's push to maintain control of congress. And joining me now to discuss this and more, Washington's stand reporter, Casey Harper. Casey, thanks for being with
7:28 us. Let's start with this story. Just how significant is this ruling for Texas and potentially Republicans as we head into the midterms?
7:38 Yeah. Well, thanks, Jody. This decision is a major victory for Texas Republicans. No doubt about it. Those Republicans, they argued that the lower court overstepped by inserting itself into an already active election
7:49 cycle. The Supreme Court, they agreed. They said the judges created unnecessary confusion and failed to present any workable alternative map. GOP leaders say the reinstated map
8:01 better reflects Texas political landscape and pushes back against what they call partisan lawsuits designed to undermine state authority. Now here's what speaker Mike Johnson said about the hearing in an interview with
8:13 Tony Perkins that's gonna air on their weekend program this week on Capitol Hill.
8:18 Texas followed the law. They had the right to to draw a fair map that accurately reflect reflects the population of of their state as a deep red state, and, that's what this map reflects. And the court said, yes.
8:30 Of course. The states have the right to do that. Now there's a number of states in various stages of doing the same thing, some red states, some blue states. We'll see how it all shakes out at the end. I think by most
8:39 analysis, our party will will benefit, will net a handful of seats out of that.
8:46 Now Democrats are, of course, criticizing the ruling, but Texas is just 1 of many states in a legal redistricting battle. Both Democrat and Republican led states nationwide are advancing their own maps and
8:58 moves that could reshape the house for 20 26.
9:02 That's a big deal, and I I certainly encourage all of our viewers and listeners to tune in to the entire interview that Tony has with, speaker Johnson, that is coming up this weekend.
9:14 And by the way, for those viewing analysts, you can catch that if you, have the Stand Firm app, and we will certainly also include it under, the tony perkins dot com website.
9:26 So either of those options for you, but you wanna catch that entire interview. Casey, there's there's additional news coming out of Texas, involving the 10 commandments, and and now we have a host of congressional
9:38 Republicans defending the 10 commandments displays in public schools. What can you tell us about that?
9:44 That's right, Jody. So Texas lawmakers and congressional Republicans in Washington are backing this Texas law that requires every public school classroom to display the 10 commandments. Senator Ted Cruz,
9:56 house speaker Mike Johnson, and congressman Chip Roy led 43 other congressional Republicans in filing an amicus brief. That brief argues that the 10 commandments are a foundational part of America's legal and
10:08 historical tradition and can still be displayed without violating the first amendment. They say the move reinforces the nation's Judeo Christian roots. This case is now before the fifth circuit court of appeals, which
10:20 will decide whether the law stands, Jody.
10:24 Well, we're going to be having Mike Berry from First Liberty Institute in a little bit later in the program to deal with this specifically. So, that's a that's a big deal. Casey, if
10:36 we can switch gears, on a lighter note, but we're in Christmas season. I know the national Christmas tree lighting took place. Can you share with us, a little bit about that
10:47 and maybe a little about the message that president Trump delivered?
10:52 Yeah. That's right, Jody. I'm 1 of those people who puts their tree up before Thanksgiving now, which I know is controversial. So I do love this story. And its story is this, President Trump and first lady Melania Trump
11:02 led the 20 25 Christmas tree lighting on the National Mall, they drew a large crowd for this century old tradition.
11:09 3, 2, 1. Yeah, honey.
11:33 You just feel the Christmas spirit, Jody. The first lady had the honor of flipping the switch on this 35 foot red spruce tree, and the president, he focused his remarks on the holiday's spiritual
11:45 significance by quoting scripture.
11:47 This beautiful evergreen tree, it reminds us of the words of gospel of John, in him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. With the birth of Jesus,
11:59 human history turned from night to day. His word and his example call us to love 1 another, to serve 1 another, and to honor the sacred truth that every child is
12:11 specially made in the image of God.
12:15 The president also delivered an emotional tribute to the 2 recently attacked national guardsmen, Jody, praising 1 who's recovering and honoring the other who died. And the president also met with their families
12:27 earlier
12:29 today.
12:29 Wow. That is powerful, Casey. Thank you so much. We appreciate you providing these updates, and what a what a great message. I'll tell you that lighting of that tree there in Washington is always, always
12:41 special. Alright. Let's turn our attention now with House Republicans, of course, close to finalizing their health care bill, and Senate Democrats at the same
Reforming Healthcare: Scaling Back Subsidies and Lowering Costs
12:53 time trying to set up a last ditch effort to try to extend the Obamacare subsidies. I wanted to get a pulse on where things stand right now and what we might see in the days to come. So joining me now to
13:04 offer his assessment is congressman Greg Murphy. He serves on a number of committees, including the ways and means committee. He's also the cochair of the doctor's caucus, and he
13:16 represents the third congressional district, the great state of North Carolina. Doctor Murphy, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you.
13:25 Yeah. Hey, Jody. Hope you're doing well. Thanks for having me.
13:28 I'm doing well. Thank you. Alright. Let's start off with what's happening, over in the the senate side of things. Of course, we have senate Democrats, who are introducing a bill. I think I think they did it
13:40 yesterday, to try to temporarily extend, for 3 years the Obamacare subsidies, that, of course, are set to expire at the end of this year. But as I understand it,
13:52 congressman, the this would create somewhere between a 300000000500 billion deficit. I mean, there's a huge price tag with what they're trying to do. So what's your your
14:04 thoughts on the attempts by the senate Democrats right now, which they're proposing?
14:09 Jody, those won't go anywhere. House Republicans won't go for won't won't go for this. A plain extension of cost, as you point out, it'd be 400000000000 dollars. I think our viewers really need to understand that this
14:20 was a ticking time bomb, set forth by, Obamacare, you know, back in 20 14 when it was started to be enacting. And then with the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, which had
14:31 nothing to do with inflation, just put Band Aids on a dying and decrepit and bloated, failing system. And then then the enhanced premium tax credits, the COVID era temporary tax
14:43 credits continue to pour more money into a failing system. Remember those words from Obama, you can keep your plan and your premiums will go down? Absolute lies to the American people. So we've kept subsidizing
14:56 during this entire time the health insurance industry, which is where the rise in the premiums is primarily coming from. Health care costs have increased. There's no doubt about that. But what we're doing here,
15:07 is continuing to, subsidize a very, very profitable health insurance industry. I think since Obamacare started, they've earned over 360000000000 dollars in profit
15:19 in profit alone. So, as far as what the senate Democrats are gonna do, that's that's not gonna go anywhere. Republicans won't vote for that. What we need to do is a a scaled down response, 1 that's gonna be
15:31 tapered out a lot with other reforms that actually lower the cost of health care.
15:36 Well, that's certainly encouraging to hear. And, of course, on the other side where you serve there in the house, speaker Johnson told reporters yesterday that house Republicans are close at least to wrapping up their
15:48 own health care bill. What are you hoping for there, and what can you tell us about it?
15:55 Yeah. So, we had a great meeting yesterday with the speaker and, and majority leader yesterday with doctor's call because we met for over an hour and discussed things. And, you know, basically, I think there has to be a
16:05 glide path. I I I think it's bad for the American people to just immediately stop these subsidies. Remember, this is only about anywhere from 8 to 12 12000000 people. Most people in this country are covered by their
16:17 insurance plans, by their by their employers. About 40000000 individuals are covered by Medicaid. And so we're dealing with a fairly small population, but that fairly small population would be left out in the lurch. So
16:28 what we're talking about is scaling back the fraud. You know, you've had up to 6 to 12000000 individuals who've been on these plans that have never filed a claim. So they've been we think that they've been fraudulently
16:40 enrolled, and the checks have gone literally from the, the treasury to insurance companies' pockets with not with no expenses whatsoever. The other thing is we've had individuals that have been paying nothing. We need
16:52 individuals to pay something to register in with the system, be it 5 dollars a month, 2 percent of their income to pay something. They're not on Medicaid, to pay something to be in this. The other part of this is the
17:03 other extreme with this. We have individuals in some places in this country earning 5, 600000 dollars that are getting subsidies from the government. Those need to go away. So scaling this back maybe to about 650 percent
17:15 of the federal poverty level and then tapering it off where they go away completely, I think is on the plan. But also, this is what's critical also, Jody, is that we're gonna need to include things that start lowering
17:26 the cost of care. Now Obamacare, the insurance companies did not want competition, so they outlawed, what's something called associated, insurance plans where groups of individuals can get together
17:38 and insure themselves. They didn't want that competition. Democrats don't want that, but we're gonna make sure that that gets put in the bill. Other things, PBM reform, pharmacy benefit managers, which, you know, we've
17:49 seen consolidation go through the roof since Obamacare. True meaningful reform that actually passed in the house last year in a bipartisan manner needs to go on that also. Other things need to happen, site neutrality,
18:00 CON reform. A lot of different things need to happen whether they'll be included in this bill or not, but it'll be part of a big initiative next year to actually lower the cost of health care.
18:11 Well, North Carolina congressman doctor Greg Murphy, I I know very few understand the depths of what's going on and what needs to any more than you. I wanna thank you so much for
18:22 taking time to join us today on Washington Watch as always. Honor to see you and, thank you for joining us.
18:29 Thanks, Jody. God bless. Merry Christmas.
18:32 Likewise to you, my friend. Alright. While congress is debating health care folks, I wanna encourage you. We have a petition here to urge congress, No more taxpayer funding of abortion.
18:44 No more funding of gender transition procedures period. Text ACA to 6 7 7 4 2. We'll be back.
18:53 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, and I wanna invite you to join me for Stand on the Word, a daily journey through the Bible, 10 to 15 minutes a day. That's all it takes. And in no time, you'll have finished the entire Bible. And
19:04 along the way, we'll learn how to apply God's truths to the world in which we live. As we're about to start a new year and as our nation is about to celebrate 250 years, there's never been a better time for a fresh
19:16 start in the word of God. To join us, text bible to 6 7 7 4 2. That's bible to 6 7 7 4 2.
19:23 Should a Christian support Israel? That question has become 1 of the most emotionally charged issues of our time, both in the world and within the church. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins offers a
19:35 clear biblical and prophetic answer. In his latest book, he examines Israel's past, present and future through the lens of scripture. Revealing why support for Israel is not rooted in politics,
19:47 partisanship or cultural sentiment, but in the unchanging promises of God. Drawing from Genesis to Revelation, Tony Perkins demonstrates that the ultimate rationale for a Christian support for
19:58 Israel is spiritual. Should a Christian support Israel invites believers to see beyond headlines and ideologies, Israel invites believers to see beyond headlines and ideologies returning to the foundation of God's word
20:08 to understand his heart for his chosen people and the blessings that flow when we stand with what he has established forever. Text the word Israel to 6 7 7 4 2 for more information.
20:23 What is God's role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our
20:35 constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government,
20:47 a powerful series that explores the connection between biblical principles and the American government, equipping you with truth to engage in today's most pressing debates. We'll uncover the foundations of
20:59 our nation's history and why it's relevant for today. Join us to defend God's plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. You can view
21:11 the course at pray vote stand dot o r g slash god in government or on the Stand Firm app.
21:20 Are you looking for a meaningful gift to share this Christmas? Family Research Council has you covered. Check out the stand on the word official store for gear and gifts that are thought fully designed
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