Concerned Women for America General Counsel Mario Diaz, Esq. and Vice President of Government Relations Doreen Denny bring you the latest update on the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
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In the clutter of news coverage, we want to give you some insight from our office in the nation’s capital. Our own Mario Diaz, General Counsel, and Doreen Denny, Vice President of Government Relations, preview what to expect in this video.
January 16 is Religious Freedom Day. It marks the anniversary of the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the precursor language of our First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom. This American ideal was born on Biblical soil. Freedom is impossible without faith. This is as true today as in the times of our founding. John Adams, the principal author of our Bill of Rights said:
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence, were … the general principles of Christianity … Now I will avow, that I then believed, and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature and our terrestrial, mundane system …
Questions of faith are the questions of life. That is why religious freedom is known as our first freedom, listed first as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If we lose our religious freedom, we lose our freedoms.
President Donald J. Trump understands this, and he has been a champion of religious freedom since his first day in office. Just today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing rules to further implement President Trump’s 2018 Executive Order removing regulatory burdens on religious organizations and ensuring they are treated equally under the law within the agency’s programs.
This is important work that will never get much attention in the mainstream media, but which protects people of faith from being forced to do the government’s bidding when it comes to things that violate their conscience, like abortion — a favorite area where the left wants to force pro-life people to actively engage in supporting.
Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo aimed at protecting religious freedom in government grants at all levels. OMB Acting Director Russ Vought (himself a victim of religious discrimination) said, “No longer will faith-based organizations be bullied by the government, which has not done enough to ensure that religious groups are not discriminated against when receiving federal resources.”
The Department of Education is also taking serious steps to protect religious freedom and clarify the First Amendment’s protection of prayer in public schools. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said in a statement:
Our actions today will protect the constitutional rights of students, teachers, and faith-based institutions. The Department’s efforts will level the playing field between religious and non-religious organizations competing for federal grants, as well as protect First Amendment freedoms on campus and the religious liberty of faith-based institutions. I proudly share President Trump’s commitment to religious freedom and the First Amendment.
And that is just what the president has done recently. The president has also stood strong against the Johnson Amendment which has been used for decades to try to silence pastors’ political and cultural engagement. He has stood strong against anti-Semitism. He has also promoted religious freedom abroad.
The president issued a proclamation today saying:
[W]e reaffirm our commitment to protecting the precious and fundamental right of religious freedom, both at home and abroad. Our Founders entrusted the American people with a responsibility to protect religious liberty so that our Nation may stand as a bright beacon for the rest of the world. Today, we remain committed to that sacred endeavor and strive to support those around the world who still struggle under oppressive regimes that impose restrictions on freedom of religion.
Let us continue to pray for the President as he stands for religious freedom and let us support these efforts that are to the benefit of all freedom-loving peoples around the world, not just Christian or religious people.
(Too) much has been witnessed and written regarding the impeachment of Donald John Trump.
As the first session of the 116th congress drew to a close in 2019, House Democrats relentlessly pursued a myriad of charges against the President declaring “high crimes and misdemeanors” against him. Repeatedly, they changed their tactics on how to define these charges (unable to prove any crime), but never veered from their true intent. Two articles of impeachment claimed assertions of “abuse of power” and an indefensible rationale for “obstruction of Congress.” Far from a cliffhanger, House Democrats prevailed in passing an impeachment resolution with partisan support, and notably bipartisan opposition.
A new year in a new chamber will bring a new perspective. The Senate has the responsibility of separating fact from fiction in a trial of the impeachment articles. Now that the House has passed a resolution to send the impeachment articles to the Senate, we await more details about the Senate’s roadmap and schedule.
As we learn about the plan for the Senate trial, we know this: PRAYER is crucial.
PRAY with us:
For wise leadership in the Senate, especially for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:
The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception. (Proverbs 14:8)
For the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, responsible for presiding over the Senate trial:
You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. (Deuteronomy 16:19)
For the House managers and President’s defense team responsible for presenting their cases:
“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King. (Isaiah 41:21)
Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. (Isaiah 45:21a)
For any witnesses who might be called to testify:
A false witness will perish, but a careful listener will testify successfully. (Proverbs 21:28)
In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. (John 18:37b)
For President Trump and his family:
In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. (Psalm 71:2-3)
For the opponents of Donald Trump, who desire to do their will:
Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD; do not let their plans succeed. (Psalm 104:8)
Bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you. (Luke 6:28)
For our nation:
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
For the HOPE we have in this New Year and always:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
As we continue to pray and fight against the unjust, politically motivated, unconstitutional impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, I want to take a moment and look back at the historic achievement we achieved in the area of judicial nominations. I do not want you to miss the important part you played in making this a historic year for the confirmations of federal judges.
Do not miss it. Your voice, through Concerned Women for America (CWA), is heard in Washington! When we speak on behalf or in opposition to a judge here, every senator knows that we have a mighty army of committed women standing strong for the values we represent. They take note, and they do everything to address the concerns we raise.
Recently, a high-level official sent a note of gratitude to CWA for our work on a very tough nomination calling us, “One of the best groups with which we work.” I know this is in reference to the very strategic, professional, energetic, and graceful way in which you engage at the state level and every time we send a call to action from D.C. Thank you!
Let me give you the historic numbers. I am writing to you as the U.S. Senate has adjourned for the Christmas break and has just confirmed 13 judges in a row to make the total of judges confirmed in 2019, 102. That is the second-highest number for confirmations in one year in U.S. history. All total, we have confirmed 187 under President Trump.
Some of the highlights for this year where you shined through CWA include the recently confirmed Lawrence VanDyke to the liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Van Dyke is a Christian conservative with an incredible track record of support for the Constitution as written. Neomi Rao to the D.C. Circuit was also an important nomination that could not have happened without CWA’s influential voice. Let me also mention the important nomination of Attorney General William Barr, just to highlight the fact that your work has been important in the confirmation of important officials beyond judges. As you have probably seen, AG Barr’s contributions to the impeachment battle are becoming more and more important as he exposes the frightening abuse of power at the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) against then-candidate Donald Trump.
But back to judicial confirmations. Fifty of the 187 confirmations for President Trump have been to the Appellate Court, which given the small percentage of cases the Supreme Court takes, end up being more influential in the day to day administration of justice. These confirmations are important.
Three Circuits were totally “flipped” to have more judges appointed by Republican presidents than Democrats: the second, third, and eleventh. That is significant, but progress was made in all circuits.
Eighty were confirmed in district courts and seven more to other specialty courts. Compare that with just six confirmations to the district court in 2017 and 47 in 2018. No Supreme Court battle and an important rule change limiting the time for debate on district court nominees made that historic gain possible.
To compare President Trump’s 187 confirmations so far, consider President Barack Obama had 124, President George W. Bush had 169, President Bill Clinton 166, and President George H.W. Bush had 128 at the same time in their presidency.
But no discussion of President Trump’s legacy when it comes to judges is complete without mentioning Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. These justices are serving with honor and distinction in the highest court in the land, and your involvement through CWA was instrumental to their confirmations.
CWA’s CEO and President, Penny Nance, penned the following opinion piece for The Washington Examiner about Christianity Today’s recent editorial opining that President Trump should be removed from office.
“The recent Christianity Today editorial calling for President Trump’s impeachment was beneath the institution founded by Billy Graham.
The magazine, frequently accused of a leftward drift, proved every critic correct with its misleading attack on fellow believers. It was sad to read.
In order to make the case for impeachment — a constitutional and legal matter that is being contested at every turn — Mark Galli, the author, concludes that it “is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.” Unfortunately, Galli chose to do something that evangelicals involved in public policy are accused of doing all the time.
The organization I lead, Concerned Women for America, the largest public policy organization for women in the nation, is opposed to this impeachment. We believe it is a sham because the facts presented do not meet the high bar set by the Constitution. But you have not and will not hear us say that if you do not believe as we do on impeachment, then you are opposing “the Creator of the Ten Commandments.” How silly would that be? How pompous, arrogant, prideful, pharisaical, and un-Christian would that be?
No one is arguing that Trump or his administration or his policies are perfect. I have been blessed to meet and even dine with Trump. Like most of us, he is on a complicated spiritual journey that he began with little understanding of the Gospel. Only God knows what’s in his heart. And in order to share God’s word, wise counsel, and encouragement of his “better angels,” I have made a conscious choice to praise his administration publicly and correct it privately. Christianity Today prefers to stand on the outside and cast aspersions, while even condemning those who fail to take the same approach.
Galli decided his assertion that one cannot be both Christian and a Trump supporter needed to be in the pages of Christianity Today. Yet his silence about all other politicians has been deafening. I suspect that his “remember who you are and whom you serve” has brought embarrassment enough to the publication already.
In fact, its president and CEO, Timothy Dalrymple, has already felt the need to come out with an explanation of the disastrous editorial. Regrettably, it was just as dubious as the original piece. Dalrymple would have us ignore the way Galli wrote as speaking for the institution. “CT does not have an editorial board,” he wrote. “Editors publish under their own names.””
Read the Entire Article by Penny Nance in The Washington Examiner, here:
Washington, D.C.— The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to pass articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump. Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the largest public policy organization for women in the nation, had this to say:
“CWA women from around the country are praying for our nation and for those who voted to impeach President Trump. Our members know it must be incredibly hard and frustrating for these representatives to see a president they despise so much succeed in such historic ways.
Liberals have tried everything to bring President Trump down, and yet he continues to deliver for the American people. Our country is thriving under a strong economy with historic low unemployment rates. The president has delivered on life, religious liberty, support for families, prison reform, support for Israel, and, our favorite, the appointment of constitutional judges, among so many other accomplishments.
Meanwhile, the impeachment machine opposing him has been reduced to a sad display of the most venomous and disingenuous political theater, as we saw in the House vote today. This maliciously partisan impeachment process is the perfect example of everything that is wrong in our politics. It has been a travesty of justice, and it will forever be a stain on the record of the members who turned a blind eye to truth for political gain.
House Democrats have just voted to impeach a duly elected president with zero evidence of a crime or misdemeanor being committed—let alone a “high crime or misdemeanor.”
But their efforts will not succeed. The constitutional checks and balances set up by our Founding Fathers were put in place to prevent just this type of abuse of power and perversion of justice. Bipartisan opposition standing for truth should be commended. History will remember kindly their heroic efforts to preserve our constitutional standards.”
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Today, the House Judiciary Committee approved both articles of impeachment against President Trump.
Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America LAC, has this to say:
The 23 members approving of this malicious partisan impeachment vote have done great damage to our country today. Concerned Women for America (CWA) supporters from around the country are praying that enough Democrats would stand up to this disingenuous, politically motivated abuse of power to remove a duly elected president without proper justification. They have sought out any and every justification to impeach President Trump since the very moment he took his oath of office. Each and every time they have come up empty. The American people will not forget their disgrace.
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Right at the top of the list of President Donald J. Trump’s legacy is his amazing work on judicial nominations. In just under three years, the U.S. Senate has confirmed the most circuit court judges in a president’s first term since 1980. With several confirmations this week, one out of every four circuit court judges are now a Trump nominee.
The Senate has confirmed a total of 159 judges with more ready to be confirmed at any moment. Forty-five of those are circuit court judges, 112 to the district court, and, of course, two Supreme Court justices.
This week, the President took some time to celebrate the great work their team has been doing on this front. Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) Vice-President of Government Relations Doreen Denny was at the White House to mark the occasion.
CWA supporters have been crucial in the Trump Administration’s success through our support of the many judicial nominees. The two Supreme Court nominees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, were most prominent, of course.
Which brings us to the most important point about the Trump legacy. It is not about the numbers. It is not about being a Republican or a Democrat. The fact is CWA’s support and the President’s success is worth celebrating because of the type of judges the president has nominated. His commitment to nominating constitutionalists who refrain from interjecting personal policy preferences into the judicial decision has been unwavering. That is why his number will have such a great impact for all Americans, regardless of political persuasion.
When judges are committed to the text of the Constitution and the laws as written, everyone wins. Remember, the danger of the “living, breathing constitution” is not that the Constitution is amended (the Founders indeed provided a way for the Constitution to be amended, since they knew this must happen—that’s what the Bill of Rights is), it is how it is done. For unelected judges to simply amend the Constitution at their pleasure breaks the most fundamental tenets of our Republic. It is “we the people” who are the “supremes” under our Constitution, not unelected judges.
Therefore, with judges who abide by the text of the Constitution and the laws as written, everyone should feel empowered. They are free to persuade their fellow citizens of their preferred policy positions and work through the legislatures to see that those changes are made. To continue to allow judges to implement one side’s preferred policy changes by judicial fiat is to live under judicial tyranny.
President Trump noted this in his remarks this week saying,
“This system was designed to protect citizens against the unjust concentration of governmental power … [but] when judges assume the role of a legislature, the rights of all citizens are threatened. … When judges write policy instead of applying the law, they impose sweeping changes on millions of Americans without the benefit of legislative debate, public rulemaking, or the consent of the governed. As a result, these highly political rulings inflict painful damage on our security, society, and economy—imposing unworkable edicts on businesses, workers, families, and law enforcement.”
That’s music to my ears.
President Trump also noted that the average age of his circuit judges is less than 50 years old—10 years younger than the average age was for President Obama. This means that this legacy will have a lasting effect on the judiciary. We simply cannot overstate how important this is for the protection of our freedoms.
This success should also highlight for us how important the next election will be. Part of the reason for the president’s success was the rule change made by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who opened the door to get rid of the filibuster of judicial nominees. That reality will benefit whoever is in office. If someone committed to judicial activists is elected President, he too would be able to confirm judges at a faster pace, especially if the same party controls the Senate, as President Trump has enjoyed.
This issue must remain at the top of our minds as we consider our choices for the next election.
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Mario Diaz, Esq. is CWA’s general counsel. Follow him on Twitter @mariodiazesq.
The Trump Administration is exhibiting unprecedented international leadership from the United States on behalf of life at the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The U.S. delegation’s message is cohesive and consistent from President Trump’s address to the UN General Assembly to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Azar’s statements on behalf of the U.S. Government and the joint statement by 21 nations on Universal Health Coverage.
Below are some quotes from these momentous addresses. Never before has the U.S. used its sway to promote life so strongly.
President Trump’s Address to the 74th UNGA:
Americans will never tire of defending innocent life. We are aware that many United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, right up until the moment of delivery. Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life. Like many nations here today, we in America believe that every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.
HHS Secretary Azar:
U.S. Government Statement at the UN High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage
Because we recognize that each nation has its own needs but shares the common goal of health, the United States deplores that some countries politicized the negotiation over this declaration by including language that has been used to promote abortion as healthcare and promote sex education that diminishes the protective role of the family in improving health.
This morning the United States was joined by 18 other nations, representing more than 1.3 billion of the world’s population, in issuing a joint statement respectfully calling on member states to join us in concentrating on topics that unite rather than divide on the critical issues surrounding access to healthcare.
We do not accept the terms “sexual and reproductive health” and “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights” in this Declaration and note that only documents approved by the General Assembly may inform their understanding and implementation.
These terms must always include language, which some countries blocked, to remind U.N. agencies that each nation has the sovereign right to implement related programs and activities consistent with their laws and policies, and that these terms in no way imply that there is an international right to abortion.
Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Azar Joint Letter Results in 21 Countries Standing for Life:
The joint statement referenced above is the result of a joint letter by Secretary of State Pompeo and HHS Secretary Azar, the first of its kind, asking member nations to join with the United States in standing for life.
An excerpt of the July 2019 joint letter reads: The United States appreciates our longstanding partnership in many global health areas. As a key priority in global health promotion, we respectfully request that your government join the United States in ensuring that every sovereign state has the ability to determine the best way to protect the unborn and defend the family as the foundational unit of society vital to children thriving and leading healthy lives. We remain gravely concerned that aggressive efforts to reinterpret international instruments to create a new international right to abortion and to promote international policies that weaken the family have advanced through some United Nations fora…
Joint Statement on Universal Health Coverage at the UN:
Secretary Azar read the joint statement that resulted from the above letter. Thanks to the joint efforts of Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Azar, 18 nations joined the U.S. in a joint statement on Universal Health Coverage and a stance against abortion as an “international right”.
After hearing Sec. Azar, two more nations were moved to ask if they could join the joint statement, bringing the total number of countries to 21.
We are here before the opening of the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage to present a joint statement, agreed to by 19 countries representing more than 1.3 billion people…
We believe that health of women, men, children and adolescents supports and improves the overall health of our families and communities, and that the family is the foundational institution of society and thus should be supported and strengthened…
We do not support references to ambiguous terms and expressions, such as sexual and reproductive health and rights in U.N. documents, because they can undermine the critical role of the family and promote practices, like abortion, in circumstances that do not enjoy international consensus and which can be misinterpreted by U.N. agencies.
Such terms do not adequately take into account the key role of the family in health and education, nor the sovereign right of nations to implement health policies according to their national context. There is no international right to an abortion and these terms should not be used to promote pro-abortion policies and measures.
Thank you, President Trump, Secretary Azar, and Secretary Pompeo for bringing life to the forefront of the U.S. UN delegation’s mission.
