Capitol Report Full Broadcast (May 8)

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, a Democrat-drawn congressional map struck down in Virginia, why the court stepped in, and what it means for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. In the United States, expecting a response from Iran on the latest deal to end the war. As President Trump says the ceasefire holds, his threat to Iran if a deal is not reached fast. The system is still highly fractured and a bit dysfunctional as well, so that may be serving as an impediment. And the Pentagon publishing a batch of UFO files that were previously classified. What's in those files that have never been released to the public? This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. And President Trump declaring that the ceasefire with Iran is still holding, but threatening strikes if the peace deal is not signed quickly. That's as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is expecting a response from Iran today. Right now, we go live to NTD's White House correspondent, Mari Otsu, standing by at the North Lawn at the White House. Mari, good evening. Hey, Steve. Good evening. Yeah, and now it's not just Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump just moments ago before departing in Marine One for his Virginia of golf course for a dinner there, said that he expects a response from Iran, quote, very soon. And this is coming as amid the ceasefire, President Trump continues to tout and highlight the successes of that U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, with the U.S. Central Command today giving us some new numbers saying that since the beginning of that blockade, 57 commercial vessels have been redirected and four of them have been disabled from either entering or exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon saying that today, actually, two of them were disabled as they tried to breach Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman. And here's the secretary of state in Rome earlier today. Take a look. We're expecting a response from them today. At some point, we have not received that yet as the last in the last hour, but perhaps that will come. Their system is still highly fractured and a bit dysfunctional as well. So that may be serving as an impediment. I hope it's a serious offer. I really do. If it doesn't get signed, they're going to have a lot of pain. They're going to have a lot of pain. They want to sign it. I will tell you, they want to sign it a lot more than I do. This coming a day after Iran attacked three U.S. Navy destroyers in the Hormuz Strait, the U.S. then deployed defensive strikes in return, targeting Iranian military facilities. We took our three destroyers and we rammed them through some pretty big stuff today and we knocked the hell out of them. The destroyers weren't hurt in any way. The people weren't hurt, but they were firing at us and we were firing back at them. And our firepower was a hell of a lot stronger than theirs and they knocked the hell out of them. President Trump calling the U.S.'s defensive response a mere, quote, love tap, describing the effect of U.S. strikes on incoming Iranian drones, quote, they dropped ever so beautifully down to the ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave. The president reiterating the Iranian regime is, quote, led by lunatics. He says, though, they won't have that opportunity because the U.S. will knock them out a lot harder and a lot more violently in the future if they don't get their deal signed fast. This coming as the White House says the ceasefire holds. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. If there's no ceasefire, you're not going to have to know. You're just going to have to look at one big glow coming out of Iran. If you fire at a U.S. Navy ship, what are we supposed to do? Say, oh, there's a ceasefire. We're not going to shoot down your drone. That's a stupid question. That's a stupid position to take. Of course, we fired back at them. They were shooting at us. That's what I would expect to do. Only stupid countries don't shoot back when you're shot at. And we're not a stupid country. Meanwhile, the jobs report surpassing expectations this morning almost twice as much as the consensus from economists. The Labor Department reporting the job market grew by 115,000 in April, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.3 percent. White House spokesman Kush Desai writing, the April jobs report smashing expectations thanks to robust private sector growth is yet another sign that the American economy remains on a solid trajectory under President Trump. America added 12,600 factory construction jobs in April as trillions in investments continue pouring into American manufacturing. Every leading indicator is pointed in the right direction, and Americans can rest assured that the best is yet to come. Two months in a row now, we've had blockbuster jobs numbers. Initial claims for unemployment insurance right now are the lowest since we've ever been counting them, all the way back to the 1960s. And so the job market is really, really, really strong. Meanwhile, Steve, on a different ceasefire, President Trump announcing today that for the next three days, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop exchanging blows and that they'll do a prisoner swap, 1,000 prisoners from each of their respective countries. President Trump saying that he personally made this request of each of these presidents and is thanking the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for their agreement and saying this to us just moments ago. Take a look. I mean, it could be, it'd be nice. I'd like to see it stop. Russia, Ukraine, it's the worst thing since World War II in terms of life, 45,000 young soldiers every month, it's crazy. And Steve, just a couple of days ahead of Mother's Day, President Trump today in the Rose Garden patio hosting both Angel Moms and Gold Star Moms. Notably, one of the president's guests today was Anna Zyrutska. That's the mother of Irina Zyrutska, the 23 year old Ukrainian refugee who was tragically stabbed to death in North Carolina light rail train last August. So a very moving event here, just a couple of days ahead of Mother's Day. Back to you. Certainly a lot going on, a very busy day at the White House for you there, and we'll be checking in and keeping a close eye on Iran's response. As always. Mariotsu, live from the White House. Thank you. And Virginia's new congressional map was not passed following the proper procedures. That's what the state Supreme Court said in striking it down. Joining me to discuss are panelists Lee Neves, a Democratic strategist, and Denise Gitsum, a former aide to former President George W. Bush. Great to have you both back with us. So Virginia's Supreme Court has struck down the new congressional map that would have potentially netted Democrats four guaranteed additional seats in the House of Representatives. The court says the proposed map wasn't passed following the right procedures. Denise, how much does this strengthen the GOP's chances to maintain control of the House in the midterms? Well, obviously it's helpful because what Democrats in Virginia tried to do would have stripped four seats, as you said, and that would not have been great both for democracy, just for the representation, the voice of Republicans in Virginia, which is often considered a swing state. But also, I'm so glad that this happened because this is democracy at work. When you violate your own state's constitutional procedures, you should not be allowed to move forward with a vote. You never should have gone to a vote because Democrats try to rush a partisan map through an invalid process. It actually required a proposed constitutional amendment passed through the General Assembly twice with an intervening election between the two legislative approvals before even being put before voters. So this was completely invalid from the start. To say anything otherwise means that you're just simply not enforcing constitutional norms in your own state unless it works to your benefit. Lee, a county judge had already blocked certification one day after voters weighed in, calling the ballot language flagrantly misleading. What is your response? Well, first off, Steve, I saw the intro to today's show, and I'm very disappointed you guys aren't having me on here talking about UFOs. That'd be a much more fun thing to talk about today. That being said, I mean, don't we all have them now? That being said, you know, look, I do agree with Denise. We should follow constitutional norms. Let's take a gander at the state of Florida, which in their constitution, it specifically says you cannot draw their lines on purely partisan political means. And yet you had Florida introduce their maps on Fox News with red and blue marking which are Republican, which are Democrats. So I'm looking forward to that map also being overturned. That being said, I mean, we could talk about the redistricting and who picked up what in what state. When it comes down to it, the game still needs to be played. And the headwinds that Republicans are facing going into the midterms aren't just regular headwinds. They're hurricane force headwinds. When you look at where gasoline is at, where people feel the economy is at, not where the economic indicators say the economy is at, not where economists say the economy is at, where people feel the economy is that people are still feeling the pinch. People are still trying to make it paycheck to paycheck. And you have a president who said he was going to fix that on day one. Republicans, they got a victory in Virginia. They've gotten victories in Texas and in other southern states, and there will be continued redistricting. But they face really, really bad headwinds going in to the midterms. And, you know, sometimes be careful what you wish for when it comes to this redistricting. Spoiler alert, Lee, we will be getting both of your thoughts at the end of the panel as to whether or not you guys are believers that there is other life out there. Don't worry, Lee, we will get there. Denise, I do want to get your thoughts on a post today by the California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was lashing out over the redistricting. He listed a variety of states gaining GOP seats and then concluding that MAGA, as he calls it, has rigged the system. You hear out in California, what's your message to anyone who sees this post by Newsom? And he's comparing these redistricting efforts. Yeah, well, I mean, he's clearly trying to distract the myriad problems we've got here in my home state and being the least affordable, as Lee just pointed out, like every issue is about affordability for voters. And we're living in the least affordable state in America when affordability is literally front and center on everybody's mind. Look, we would kill for the national gas rates that we see on TV. Everyone watching here at home is saying, when was gas four dollars a gallon? We haven't seen that for, I don't know, since twenty nineteen. And so we're very well aware of what Gavin and one party Democratic rule has done to our state in Sacramento. And so it just goes to show that he's a lying liar. Just another politician, a pot calling the kettle black when he just redistricted our state so that only seven percent of the forty two percent of Republicans, really not even Republicans, Republicans and independents who voted for Trump in twenty twenty four are actually to have any representation anymore because of the redistricting. So cry all you want about this. When you mess with a bull, you get the horns. There were twenty eight states that are led by Republican legislatures and only 18 with the Democrats. So you want to go there. We can go ten rounds every single day. We're going to will it just on numbers alone. Lee, what say you? I think that post was directed directly towards Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina in twenty twenty eight. Gavin Newsom is doing what as the quote unquote Democratic front runner. That's what everyone puts him as for president in twenty twenty eight. He is he's carrying the he's carrying the Democratic mantle here. And he's really positioning himself to be the front runner in those Democratic primaries when let's you know, and I'm sure Denise can agree when it comes to primary elections, it is the diehards of both parties who come out to vote in the primaries. As far as waiting in California, let's I also am in California. Granted, I'm not in a nice part of California. I'm in the lovely Central Valley. But that being said, I mean, I do like my cows. That being said, California was a direct was a direct response to what Texas did. And and let's look at Texas's rationale. Texas's rationale was we're going to make this congressional our congressional seats look like what they should look like because everyone voted for Trump. Everyone did not vote for Trump before redistricting in Texas. The Republicans had 63 percent of the vote, but Trump got 56 percent in Texas. So if it really was going to look like the 2024 election, then we'll take a couple seats back in Texas as well. We're cool with that. We could go 10 rounds on this because we could look at all the states in New England that went hard for Trump that didn't quite get over the finish line and have had zero representation for years. And all the gerrymandered districts, the Supreme Court has shut down. But if if Texas wants to gerrymander after the 2030 Texas, they can gerrymander their hearts to life. And on both sides, on both sides, there's currently a bill in Congress to outlaw mid decade redistricting. It probably won't get past the Senate, but I think it's it's something that we should look at because I don't think both sides should be doing this redistricting was meant for every decade, not to try to stack stack the sides on either side, Republican or Democrat, just because you think you might lose a midterm. On that, we agree, Lee. So so Lee, the Democrats seem to be feeling pretty good until that massive Supreme Court ruling on the Louisiana case. Where do things stand right now? The GOP right now is set to potentially flip as many as 10 seats. And the Democrats will still probably win the House. You're looking at a very bad midterm for the Republicans. Is the wind going to be as big as it probably would have been pre all this redistricting? No, it may be a 10, 15 seat margin, but I think you're going to see a very a backlash to what is going on and they're going to blame the party in power. And look, I've been running campaigns for 28 years, and a lot of times it comes down to the fact that people aren't happy with who is in power right now. And literally the other candidate could be a wet paper bag. I've seen it on the Republican and Democrat side where either a Republican or the Democrat was the wet paper bag and they won because they weren't the other guy. And you have a lot of that. You have a lot of that going into this midterm. It's not that. And look, I'm a Democrat. It's not the people are going to be saying, yeah, we agree with Democrats. We're going to vote for them. It's like we don't like what's going on over here. So we're going to give these people a chance. They can be a pet rock for all we care. Denise, history is is really not on the GOP side based on the party in power. Yeah. How important is it for the Republicans to hold the House? And do you think at this point, based on what you've seen unfold over the past week or two, that there is a chance to defy the odds? There's always a chance, right? Democrats are at record low approvals. So are Republicans. So is Congress. Let's be clear. Nobody likes anyone in Washington right now. And we do, however, remember that when Biden was in office, we had nine percent inflation. So if we want to go back to that, we can do that. Right. Like if that's what Americans wanted, they're worried about affordability. We can go back to how it was. That's the option that they have. That's the last Democrat that was in office. So as far as Democrats and their track record on the economy, it's not great. And that's why it's shocking and horrifying to me as a Republican that when in fact we lose that issue to Democrats, which we happen to be in some of these polls, it's a really bad thing. But it really only takes, you know, a couple of months before the election cycle. You know, I've been doing politics for 26 years myself. Hopefully I don't look like it, but I have been. And, you know, both here in California and in Washington, D.C., I ran for Congress in San Diego. And I know that what you're saying is correct. It's about the two people on the ticket. But it will be about how affordability changes or hopefully to Republicans favor, in my opinion. But, you know, things can change. And if things drop enough, if this war ends and those prices come back to four year lows for gas, which is what they were right before this war, you're going to see a real change in the winds of fortune for Republicans. Now, Lee, I told you that we were going to get to the UFOs. And here we are. I haven't had a chance myself to to dig in to the files. But from what I'm seeing, there are reports. Now, keep in mind, this isn't coming from a QAnon site. This is coming from the United States government, from the Pentagon, that there were reports from highly credible intel and military officers seeing four foot alien beings in weird spacesuits, along with, you know, UFOs and other activity in this grand, vast, large, endless universe. Lee, are we alone? I mean, this explains a couple of my ex-girlfriends right off the bat. I don't think we're alone. I really don't. I was waiting, I was waiting for that one. You are locked and loaded. I am locked and loaded today. I don't think we're alone. I think it's hard to fathom that of all the planets in the Milky Way, we're the only one that have the perfect conditions to have living beings on it. And yeah, I think I think somewhere out there, there's, you know, I don't know, maybe. Look, I was a big fan of Superman, Superman, the cartoon when I was a kid. And, you know, there was that other planet with the Bizarro World. So for all I know, there could be another planet with a Bizarro Lee and a Bizarro Steve and a Bizarro Denise on it. UFO, you top that, you know, how do you top that? You know, he took my line right out for me. My ex-husband, you know, must have been that must be the answer. But, you know, I just think that there are so many weird things happening in Washington that I barely have any attention span for anyone who might be four feet tall. And there are times when I wish I would get beat right up, given what's happening in our country. So especially in politics. And so, you know, if there is, I'll be fascinated to know. But, you know, I never really worry too much. My faith in God is so strong that whatever comes my way, I know that we're going to be fine. And so if they've been around for a long time and they haven't done any harm thus far, I welcome them to our planet. Let's go. Just let's get them registered as Republicans. Denise Kitchum, great to have you both. From the party that talks about illegal aliens voting, just for the record. Touché. You're on fire, Lee. Thank you, guys. So what's in these new UFO files that have now become public and are more expected to come in the coming weeks? And to the correspondent, Jason Blair reports. The Pentagon releases 161 files, including 27 video clips related to UFOs and extraterrestrials. Some of them have been floating around the public already, but some are newly released. This one is from the United Arab Emirates. An object can be seen flying over the water. It's described in the report as an object with a vertical pole or bar attached to the bottom of the object. And here's one from the Middle East taken in May of 2022. The file says it could possibly be a missile, but at this point, it's officially an unresolved UAP or unidentified aerial phenomenon. And this one is from Greece taken in January of 2024. The report describes the UAP as, quote, diamond shaped and moving at approximately four hundred and thirty four knots, which is about 500 miles per hour. The observer also reported that the UAP was only detectable via shortwave infrared sensor. Right after the files were published, President Trump posted in an effort for complete and maximum transparency. It is my honor to direct my administration to identify and provide government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomenon and unidentified flying objects. Back in February, President Barack Obama made headlines for saying that aliens are real while on a podcast. And shortly after, President Trump was asked directly about extraterrestrials. Something that got a lot of attention is the Barack Obama said that aliens are real. Have you seen any evidence of non-human visitor? Well, he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that. You know, aliens are real. Well, I don't know if they're real or not. I can tell you he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that. Well, he made he made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information. Now, I don't I don't have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. The Trump administration says that this is the first batch of UFO files and more will be released on a, quote, rolling basis with new batches expected every few weeks. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, Entity News. And so is the truth finally out there? And what do everyday Americans make of the release of these newly declassified UFO files? Entity Sam Wong was out in the National Mall in D.C. to find out. Are we alone in the universe? No, because the universe is too vast for us mere mortals to just be here and think that we're the it of the universe. Well, then Obama the other day, like he kind of like let slip that he thinks there's aliens, too. So I don't know. Like you've got former presidents talking about it. So I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. One time we were camping. I definitely feel like we saw something that was just so crazy. It was like pitch dark out. And we did see just like this light come out of the sky. And it wasn't like a normal airplane and how it flew was just so different. Oh, yeah. Well, it was on the news. You know, a Mexican family said they seen a UFO or alien in their backyard and they were on the news about it. And, you know, a week later, everything was quiet because they were worried about getting deported. So we don't know if they seen an alien or not. I believe there's there's interdimensional beings. I've also seen orbs. I've seen things in the sky. I can't explain what they are, but I was standing on a beach with 100 other people that saw the same thing, just seeing orbs moving, you know, and, you know, too fast, different motions, multiple and then disappearing, coming back. And there wasn't balloons or Chinese lanterns or anything like that. The Pentagon just released another batch of UFO files. Do you think this is a step in the right direction in terms of transparency? Yeah, absolutely. You know, plus being in Nevada, you know, you got Area 51 and who knows what goes on down there. Yes, I think everybody needs to be aware of it. I think that the government has never been transparent in dealing with extraterrestrials or. Do you think this is a step in the right direction, though, in terms of transparency? Well, I would hope so. Maybe that would give us the incentive to work together as a human race more. I appreciate it. I think transparency helps. It helps us be able to make the decision with the information then. So I actually believe that, you know, in the Trump administration, it's been great with transparency in my lifetime. I believe Trump's been the best president ever. And right there, you're looking at a live shot of the U.S. Capitol coming up, negotiations with Iran and a ceasefire in Ukraine. More from our expert after the break. This is how I keep my joints happy. Omega XL is a powerful natural supplement backed by 40 years of clinical research. Take control of your pain like Cynthia Bailey. My knees in particular started giving me pain issues all the way back to my modeling days from just running through airports, photo shoots. After taking Omega XL, I really started to notice how less stiff I was, especially my knees and my hip. Has Omega XL changed my life? Yes. I barely notice my joint pain anymore. Now I'm like literally sprinting through the airports. My secret is Omega XL. Pick up the phone and call now to get this exclusive TV offer. 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Ancient recipes were passed down from heaven to bring prosperity and longevity. Prairie thyme green vegetable Omega-3. It's finally here. Our second annual mega sale. This sale only comes around once a year. So take advantage of the best offers ever while you can. For example, save 50% on our Giza Dream bed sheets as low as $29.98. And for the first time ever on TV, my pillow mattresses and my pillow mattress toppers as low as $99.98. And you save 50% on our Luxe Pure six piece tall sets, regular $69.98 now only $39.98. And our best selling standard, my pillows, regular $49.98 on sale for $17.98. Wait on it, mega sale only $14.98. So go to mypillow.com or call the number on your screen. Use this promo code to take advantage of our second annual mega sale. But wait, there's more to make the mega sale even more special. When you order right now, your order's going to ship absolutely free. And welcome back to the Capitol report. I'm Steve Lance, the United States still waiting to hear back from Iran regarding the recent peace proposal. Secretary of state Marco Rubio describing Iranian leadership as fractured and dysfunctional. Joining me now to discuss is Rico Danielson, national security expert and U S army combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Rico, great to have you back with us. So why haven't we received a response quite yet? And is it due to exactly what the secretary of state said, their fractured leadership? And how are you interpreting, um, you know, this, this, uh, chaos? Yeah. The reason we haven't got a response back from the Iranian leadership is because there's really no Iranian leadership. Uh, basically the, the Iranian Republican guard wants to be in charge. The people want to be in charge. So there's this disconnection here. And the best things we can do is actually kind of listen to the people who actually want to be in charge, not necessarily the authoritative regime that is in charge. So that's this connection. Marco Rubio is right. Uh, there's going to be a lot of disconnection here, not a lot of progress forward. And it's going to, it's going to cause us the ceasefire, this prolonged ceasefire to continue to escalate. Now, I want to get your thoughts on China, Rico, you know, putting things into perspective, Iran and China aren't just allies. They're two of the most vicious, really powerful dictatorships, um, on the planet, uh, that support each other in more ways than just trying to purchasing their oil. China has used Iran for decades as a proxy, uh, to carry out distractions and supply them with military equipment, you name it. So how do you think Iran right now is factoring and perhaps leveraging president Trump's upcoming visit to China? So China knows for a fact that the United States has to make a deal here, right? Uh, they're buying the bad debt of the United States. They have the economic influence. So what they're trying to do is hold out and hope that the United States, um, is pressured by China, right? Uh, Iran has a very big game and also a political stake in this. They're going to try to leverage as much as that, not only their proxy, but also leverage the relationship they have to cause economic foul play, if you will. And then also economic pressure on the United States. So without a doubt, the Iranian and also Chinese relationship is going to cause a lot more pressure. And as the United States president goes there, it's going to show how much more pressure is going to be applied. Secretary of state Marco Rubio weighing in on the situation today. Watch. Um, obviously we've seen the reporting overnight that Iran has established. They're trying to establish some agency that's going to control traffic in the straits. That would be very problem. And that would actually be unacceptable. With what I mean, where the normalizing of their controlling of international waterway is both illegal and it's just something that's unacceptable. Rico considering how reduced Iran's Navy and infrastructure is, uh, would they actually be capable of achieving this? Now with regards to establishing, um, an agency around or authoritarian, authoritarian agency in the straight or her moods, the Iranian government really can't because they don't really have a good military or Naval right now. Right? However, they do have different proxies they can use such as Yemen and also Oman as well from the different organizations, the rebel organizations. So while it wouldn't be a formal agency there, it would actually be more of a heartache, uh, caused from different rebel organizations and also as different proxies. What this will do is it'll cause more than likely a, an issue of trading and then also delay further trading. Also commodities in the world causing a global and economic impact. Major announcement today, Rico, uh, pivoting a bit, uh, president, um, on true social saying that he essentially brokered a, uh, uh, peace or a ceasefire, not a peace deal, a ceasefire three days between Ukraine and Russia. Um, this isn't the first ceasefire between the two, but it is, it is some progress. Talk to us about how you're interpreting this and can we expect this to lead to a more permanent solution? So this is an intermittent, um, ceasefire with Ukraine or Russia. What I see happening here is they're buying time. Russia is, is pretty much getting, uh, uh, it's money's worth and Ukraine is expending a lot of its assets, but different and approaching this in a non-traditional warfare aspect, specifically drone warfare. So Ukraine is making good progress. However, from a nutritional perspective, it's losing its progress. Uh, Russia sees an opportunity there to actually say, Hey, look, we should probably stop maybe make a territorial deal. So while Russia's there with the, uh, peace talks, I wouldn't be surprised that Ukraine pushes back. And this actually becomes a bigger conflict or a prolonged conflict unfortunately. Rico Danielson really appreciate your insights. Thank you. And right now you're looking at another live shot of Capitol Hill lawmakers returning to Washington next week for key hearings on China, COVID oversight, defense spending in the next phase of a $72 billion border security package. More on that when we return. You've done the hard part. You quit smoking. Now do the easy part and get scanned for lung cancer. If you smoked, you may still be at risk, but early detection could save your life. Talk to your doctor and learn more at saved by the scan.org. Hi, I'm Ryan Blaney, a third generation race car driver, and we dedicate a lot of our time to going as fast as possible. My grandpa Lou is the reason why my dad and I started racing and I'm really proud to follow in his tracks. But when my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it was a very unexpected bump in the road for us. I've learned a lot on this journey with my grandpa Lou and the memories of my grandpa will always be with me. And in our family, we're used to getting involved and I encourage you to do the same, especially when it comes to caring for your loved ones. When I think about Alzheimer's and the impact it had on my family, I recognize that losing a race isn't such a bad day after all. It's important to notice if older family members are acting differently, experiencing problems with their memory or having trouble with routine tasks. Talking about Alzheimer's can be really tough, but if you notice something, have a conversation with your loved one, encourage them to see a doctor or offer to go with them. Early detection of Alzheimer's can give your family time to explore support services, make a plan for the future and access available treatments. If you or your family are noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer's. Talk about seeing a doctor together. Boxes everywhere. And this is going to be Addie's room. I know this road is there for me. First night here, but Amy seems cool. I got this. Take me down to the river. And welcome back to the Capitol report. President Trump saying he plans to raise the case of imprisoned underground church pastor Ezra Jean during next week's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The announcement comes as the Chinese communist party's human rights abuses are in the spotlight. Now more than ever entities, Washington correspondent Jack Bradley reports. With president Trump meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, Trump says he'll bring up the case of imprisoned pastor Ezra Jin. His name's Ezra Jin. Are you going to press president? I've heard about it, but I will certainly look into it. Yeah, I'll look at it. I'll bring it up. I've gotten a lot of people out of different countries, including China, uh, people that were hostages or held. So we'll take a look at that. Jin is the founder of the Zion church and was arrested in October with around 30 other church leaders and members who've been imprisoned ever since. Upon hearing the president's remarks, pastor Jin's daughter Grace Jin Drexel releasing this message, thanking president Trump. To know that the president of the United States will be raising his case in front of Xi Jinping gives my family tremendous hope. As an American, I am tremendously, tremendously honored and blessed to be part of a nation that cares for the vulnerable. Zion church is an underground Christian organization, spanning several provinces in China. It remains unregistered because churches in China need to first go through an approval process. One that requires church followers to pledge their allegiance to the communist party first and to their religion. Second, that's because the CCP takes anything spiritual to be a direct threat to its absolute power. It's the same reason the CCP imprisons democracy advocates in Hong Kong, putting Muslim Uyghurs in slavery camps in Xinjiang and imprisoning Falun Gong practitioners, systematically killing them for their organs. Lawyers trying to stand up for human rights in China, like Gao Zhisheng have been disappeared without a trace. Even billionaire Jimmy Lai who ran the Apple daily news outlet in Hong Kong and was critical of the CCP was arrested in 2020. The 78 year old was sentenced to 20 years in prison. President Trump says he'll also bring up Lai's case in China. There's a little bitterness I would say with him and Jimmy Lai, but I will be, I will be bringing. A bipartisan group of over 100 US lawmakers, including about two thirds of the Senate is urging Trump to push for Lai's release. Secretary of state Marco Rubio, who's expected to accompany Trump to China says that China's human rights violations, including forced organ harvesting are priorities for the administration. You've long been a leading voice on human rights in China. And so including religious persecution and forced organ harvesting, do you expect human rights concerns to be on the table? Well, we always raise those issues and they remain true. And I think we've proven in some cases it's most effective to raise them in the appropriate setting. For many persecuted believers in China, these remarks signal a vital attention from the White House and US lawmakers. For NTD News, Washington, I'm Jack Bradley. And Congress returning to Washington next week with a full slate of hearings focused on China, national security, COVID oversight, defense spending, and border enforcement. Senate Republicans are also moving forward with funding plans for ICE and CBP. NTD's Chris Bobb reports from Capitol Hill. The only way you can guarantee a matching organ on a specific date is if you control and the donor dies. Next week, the congressional executive commission on China holds a hearing on forced organ harvesting in China. The panel includes senior research fellow, Ethan Gutman, former ambassador at large for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback, survivor, Kalbinur Siddiq, and Epoch Times, senior editor, Jan Jekielek. Jekielek recently published a book on the topic. Will to order China's organ harvesting industry and the true nature of America's biggest adversary, China, that control exists in a prison system full of political and religious prisoners, especially Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs. There is bipartisan legislation in Congress now to combat this. The Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act. And it just does something very simple. It sanctions people that are involved in this. Also next week, FBI director Kash Patel appears before senators to discuss the Bureau's 2027 budget request. His testimony comes as the FBI continues investigating the attempted assassination of president Trump at the Washington Hilton during the white house correspondence dinner. We can expect lawmakers to push for more details. Secretary of war Pete Hegseth and joint chiefs chairman, general Dan Cain returned to Capitol Hill for another hearing on the Pentagon's $1.5 trillion budget request. This president's budget for 2027 supports the secretary and the department's goal of reinvigorating, recharging the defense industrial base and the national industrial base, enhancing our readiness and securing our military advantage. A ceasefire is in place in Iran. The topic of Iran I'm sure will come up often today, which I welcome. I look forward to sharing the incredible success of our military effort achieved in a matter of weeks. The Senate Homeland security committee plans a hearing featuring whistleblower testimony on COVID chairman ran Paul posting on X quote, the American people still don't know the full story behind the COVID coverup. Meanwhile, Congress is advancing the next phase of a reconciliation package after they funded other DHS agencies outside of ice and CBP before recess. Lawmakers considering a reconciliation package, totaling roughly $72 billion through 2029, including more than 30 billion for ice and over 3 billion for CBP Senate judiciary chairman, Chuck Grassley says the legislation would help provide quote certainty for federal law enforcement and safer streets for American families reporting from Capitol Hill, Chris Bob, NTD news. And that's another live look at the Capitol coming up. Many Gen Z-ers are turning now to faith while still being sympathetic to ideologies like socialism. Can this be traced back to a failure of education? We'll take a look after the break. 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Of course she will. Let's go. Thank you for everything. Oh my goodness. That is so beautiful. Thank you for everything. Wow. At Mathis home. We have your style in stock. Now during the spring style event, whatever you're looking for, we have what you need for your perfect bedroom. This plush queen upholstered bed is a great example. It's a hot buy at just $5.99 from traditional to modern or anywhere in between. We can help you find the matching pieces and accessories to fit your own personal style. All at great values. Come find the look that's right for you during the spring style event at Mathis home. And welcome back to the Capitol report. I'm Steve Lance across the country. Many Gen Zers are now turning to religion and spirituality while at the same time, sympathizing with ideologies like socialism. Joining us now is Alex McFarland co-host of exploring the world. Alex, it's great to have you with us. So I want to start with a clip from secretary Scott Turner, uh, at the national prayer breakfast. Here's what he had to say. Prayer is very powerful because almighty God is powerful. And that truth has guided our great nation through mountaintops and valleys for the past 250 years. Our founding fathers were men of faith who understood that God is the cornerstone of our Republic. And all of us here because we recognize that truth as well. Alex, we're seeing more and more young people looking and turning to God. First, let's talk about this trend. Do you sense this shift in our national culture? Absolutely. And by the way, thank you for having me on, you know, since COVID Bible sales have gone up annually and those Bible sales are largely among young adults and even late teens. Church attendance is up somewhere between 38 to 45%. So the good news is there's a real spiritual revival among young people. Sadly, um, our colleague and friend Charlie Kirk was shot last fall, but since Charlie Kirk's death, the spiritual hunger has really been manifested and all across the nation, hundreds of thousands of teens and 20 somethings are turning, not just to religion, quote unquote, but to Christianity, to faith in Jesus Christ. And this is, this, uh, bodes wonderfully for the future of our nation. Now, despite this many Gen Z-ers continue to embrace ideas like socialism and Marxism. What's so appealing to them and why don't they see that this very ideology is antithetical to their faith? Yeah. Well, you know, the majority of young people that, especially those that went through K through 12 public education and maybe secular college, they've never really heard, uh, the story of the greatness of America and how our Judeo-Christian free market capitalist economy has produced more wealth, more innovation and bettered the human condition. And with, uh, you know, the rockstar politicians like AOC and recently mom, Donnie kids have even those that are Christian have seen socialism just, uh, falsely portrayed as the answer for human need. And young people are inherently compassionate. They really are. But, um, let, let me just say Christianity and Marxism are incompatible. Uh, absolutely. Because the Bible supports, uh, private property ownership rights. I mean, think about it in the 10 commandments. It says that we're not to covet or steal our neighbor's property. So it presupposes private property ownership. The Bible also says in second Thessalonians chapter three, that if a man will not work, neither shall he eat. Uh, finally, let me just say this in Romans 13, one through seven, it gives the role of civil government to preserve order, uh, and to engage in national defense. But nowhere does the Bible say that the role of government is to confiscate wealth and redistribute it, uh, but where it is to keep the peace. So, um, I think that it's a wonderful thing that young people are compassionate, but to meet the needs of others, uh, government enforced Marxism, which is inherently atheistic is not the answer. Now, recent trends do show that when it comes to, uh, young folks, it's actually the men who tend to identify more as religious. What do you attribute this to? And does that give any insight into how this generation is approaching religion? Well, you know, it is very encouraging that masses of young American males have a priority to marry and build a family. And this is very exciting and much of that is born out of, uh, religious and biblical convictions. Um, you know, I really think not only, um, some of the, uh, among females, a little bit of the less inclination to seek God, uh, but the depression and the stress among young adult females is due a lot to social media. And I mean, we compare ourselves with others. We look at people supposedly living their best life now on social media, but behind all the filters and Photoshop, we're all, you know, just people trying to get through life struggling. Um, what we need though, is to not try to find ourself in materialism or, you know, likes on a social media platform, the human heart in every generation, male, female, every age, the human heart, the human longings, uh, find their completion and fulfillment in a relationship with Christ. More and more young people are finding this out. And for those watching that are, you know, believers pray for this generation, our ministry and others like us are ministering to tens of thousands of youth every year. We're trying to help them not only love God, but this country as well. And the Lord seems to be blessing those efforts. Alex, considering the serious human rights abuses, it's estimated that, uh, in China alone, um, when it comes to socialist and communist regimes, China alone over, I think 70 or 80 million, uh, people have died unnatural deaths due to, uh, the regime, um, that, you know, practices communism. Um, how do we ensure that younger generations are aware of the true evil of these communist regimes and the suffering that they've caused? That is a fantastic question. Uh, I commend you for it. Um, I mean, listen, the biggest human rights violators of the last, you know, a hundred plus years have been the socialist Marxist communist regimes. And look, I know people that have lived in China, um, business persons, missionaries, the CCP, the Chinese communist party, uh, has spilled more blood. I mean, think about the two ideologies and regimes, uh, communism and Islam that have done more to stamp out people's human rights, if not their very lives and young people need to know all people need to know the engine that has given more, um, wealth raised the standard of living contributed to the betterment of the human condition, not to mention guarded human rights. These as Jefferson wrote, our inalienable rights, uh, American Judeo Christian principled constitutional republicanism. And I'm not talking about the Republican party, but I'm talking about our Republican form of government, our constitutional government, JFK in January of 1961, when he was being inaugurated, John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, very different from the Democrats today, I might add, but JFK said the rights of man come not from government far from it, but from God role of government said JFK is not to give rights, but to guard the rights that we inherently have. And from the declaration to the fifth and 14th amendments, there is that right to life. And so our nation based on biblical principles is miracle and really young people need to understand what a gift the United States of America is that not only has freedom of expression, freedom of religious practice, but also the moral foundation whereby life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness are guarded by the government because those rights come from God. Oh, this 250th birthday of our Republic, what a time to return to our core principles and not only speak of them, impart them, defend them, but let's elect leaders that believe in those principles as well. Alex McFarland really appreciate you joining. And this mother's day, the first lady is inviting the nation to champion a new American model that restores the honor of motherhood and prioritizing family in shaping a stronger America. In an opinion editorial op-ed published by the Washington post today, the first lady wrote quote, the love between mother and child has helped shape America's identity. Since the nation's founding 250 years ago, the household is our nation's smallest institution, yet it is the foundation of all others, including democracy itself. The values cultivated in homes often shape the moral voice of the next generation. Looking ahead, we must consider how to strengthen this vital role. The first lady went on to talk about how she challenges herself in her work and initiatives that support education and children, but she says family always comes first. And that is all we have for you tonight on the Capitol report for round the clock, original coverage. Be sure to visit us at ntd.com and download the entity mobile app from the nation's Capitol. I'm Steve Lance. Have a great mother's day weekend. Happy mother's day to all the moms out there. We'll see you back here.