Senate warns of unprecedented foreign election interference | The Excerpt

On Thursday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer talks about lawmakers' concerns over foreign election interference. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agree to a debate schedule. USA TODAY Congress Reporter Ken Tran talks through the dysfunction of the 118th Congress. The Department of Justice says Boeing may be criminally liable in 737 Max crashes. The FDA approves self-tests for cervical cancer, as an alternative to pelvic exams. A miniature poodle claimed Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Thursday, May 16th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today, lawmakers warn of foreign election interference. Plus, Biden and Trump agreed to a debate schedule. And we look at whether the chaos is in the rearview mirror for the 118th Congress.

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The Senate Intelligence Committee held a hearing yesterday where lawmakers talked through warnings of unprecedented foreign interference in this year's election. I spoke with USA Today Domestic Security Correspondent, Josh Meyer, to learn more.

Josh, thanks for hopping on.

Josh Meyer:

Thanks for having me, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So Josh, what did the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing center on yesterday?

Josh Meyer:

So this was designed to be the first of several hearings that the Senate Intelligence Committee is holding on election threats to the United States, especially foreign election threats. And this was the kickoff by Senator Mark Warner, the chairman of the committee, who said in his prepared remarks and during the hearing, that this could be the most hacked and penetrated election in US history. And he's concerned about a variety of threats, including Russia, possibly China, Iran, but also artificial intelligence-induced deep fakes and all sorts of other threats.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. I want to hear a little bit more about some of the foreign players that this hearing focused on. Was Russia really the main concern here, Josh?

Josh Meyer:

Yeah, it was. I mean, so that's not exactly new. I mean, the US intelligence community has concluded that the 2016 presidential election, that Russia interfered with that very aggressively in an effort to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. They've since meddled in more recent elections, and according to the chairman, Mark Warner, the ranking minority member, Marco Rubio, and also three top intelligence officials, Russia remains the most aggressive and most pervasive threat to the upcoming elections as well.

Taylor Wilson:

And which factors have really worsened the threat of foreign election interference in recent years?

Josh Meyer:

First of all, let me say one thing about Russia itself. So, Marco Rubio said that the Russians are the best at it. They've been doing it a long time, and they know what to do and how to perfect it. And they said, but in every election cycle, more and more characters are joining the parade here in terms of getting into this business. And by this business he means election interference. And one of the things that's really changing the game with regard to this is this artificial intelligence-generated content, deep fakes, fake videos, fake audio, fake robocalls, and things like that that weren't possible even just a couple of years ago, given the advances in technology.

Taylor Wilson:

And Josh, how does a relative distrust of institutions play into this conversation?

Josh Meyer:

I think that that's a problem when you have a candidate like Donald Trump and a former president, and they were very careful not to really single out any particular person, including Trump. But when you have somebody like Trump who's attacking the media, attacking the FBI, the CIA, other institutions of government, and especially attacking the integrity of the US election system, that makes people less trustful of it. They don't know who to trust. They don't know whether to believe Trump or others. And so this lack of trust in the US election apparatus makes the problem even worse, because people don't really know what to believe.

Taylor Wilson:

And Josh, there's this bipartisan coalition in Congress that has worked since 2016 to protect US elections from foreign threats. Remind us, what exactly does this work consist of, and what else is being done to push back against these threats?

Josh Meyer:

Yeah. So there was a lot of talk about that at the hearing yesterday. One of the things that's been really beefed up is the Department of Homeland Security. They have a critical infrastructure and security agency within DHS, called CISA, which plays a lead role in this. The FBI is doing the same thing. The Justice Department has an election threats task force. I mean, everybody is really trying to get together and exchange information, make each other aware of the threats, push the information down to local and state officials, and really try to get ahead of whatever efforts there are to meddle in the election.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Josh Meyer covers domestic security for USA Today. Thanks, Josh.

Josh Meyer:

Sure.

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Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed yesterday to debate each other twice, first in June and again in September. CNN announced it will host a debate in Atlanta on June 27th, and ABC announced a second one on September 10th. Biden began the day challenging Trump to two debates under his terms, bucking the format of the Bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, the traditional host of the televised events. Trump agreed to both debates in social media posts, and his campaign called for additional debates in July and August. The agreement sets up the earliest televised general election debate since the tradition started in 1960, and it does not include any debates during the home stretch of the campaign in October when people in many states are already voting.

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Current and former lawmakers know the 118th Congress has been a dysfunctional one, but is the chaos over until this fall's election? I spoke with USA Today Congress Reporter, Ken Tran, for more.

Ken, it's good to talk, as always. Thanks for hopping on.

Ken Tran:

Yeah, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So Ken, current and former lawmakers told you that this Congress has been the most dysfunctional in recent history. What do they point to?

Ken Tran:

There are a lot of moments in the 118th Congress that we can point to as a sign of dysfunction. Most notably, probably, would be when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted last year. Just a handful of conservative rebels successfully ousted him and left a leadership vacuum that resulted in a whole crisis for three weeks where the House was left leaderless and unable to do anything. One former lawmaker I spoke with, a Republican from Michigan, Fred Upton, who served in the House for a long time, 36 years, he left before this Congress started, the 118. So he left just before Republicans took control. And he told me that every day someone asks him, isn't he glad that he left when he did? And the answer is, without a doubt from him, yes, because things have just gotten so much worse on Capitol Hill.

Taylor Wilson:

How does this Congress compare with past iterations when it comes to actually passing measures that then gets signed into law?

Ken Tran:

When it comes to productivity, this Congress pales in comparison to its predecessors. As of today, only a little more than 60 bills passed by this Congress have become law. That's compared to past Congresses where we've seen hundreds of bills passed become law. That's partly because of just one divided government, but also because the Republican-controlled House, where there's such a narrow majority, it's hard to get anything done because just a handful of members seem to not be interested in compromising or working with Democrats.

Taylor Wilson:

So Ken, we know Congress is not always the most popular group of folks among Americans, but how do Americans feel about this Congress and the work, or lack thereof, they've done?

Ken Tran:

Compared to past approval ratings, it's not good. Congress has always garnered low approval ratings. That's just a historical trend. Americans tend to not be a fan of the institution in general. But this one, with the dysfunction and also just the productivity, also is in a league of its own when it comes to just general approval ratings from Americans. According to a Gallup survey last year, the 118th Congress has just a 13% approval rating, which is a record low. It hasn't been that low since 2017. So that goes to show right now how things are going up on Capitol Hill.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah, that is astoundingly low. So, going forward the rest of this year, Ken, what's on lawmakers radar, and is this chaos we've been talking about now behind us, at least for the next few months?

Ken Tran:

Yeah. A lot of the lawmakers feelings and sense on Capitol Hill is that a lot of the controversial legislation is over. The government's been funded for the remaining of the fiscal year. Foreign aid, aid to Ukraine, which a lot of lawmakers are saying that needs to be done, that's wrapped up. So a lot of the big ticket issues that really was controversial within both Democrats and Republicans, that's all about wrapped up now. We have less than six months before the election, so a lot of the bills that are going to go to the floor that Congress is going to vote on are more so messaging bills aimed at getting members on the record about where they stand. Nothing that can really have a real chance of becoming a law.

Taylor Wilson:

You mentioned the election. Is there a sense on Capitol Hill that this fall's election will bring any clarity or more dysfunction? And just generally, how are lawmakers talking about November at this point?

Ken Tran:

Republicans currently control the House with just a one seat margin. So all it takes is just Democrats to flip just a few seats to regain control. And Democrats have really honed in on the dysfunction and chaos that's happened under a Republican-controlled House on the campaign trail. And there are plenty of GOP lawmakers that say that these past few months where the House has been frozen, there's been infighting, there's been intra-party bickering. There is acknowledgement that that is going to reflect poorly on the campaign trail.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Ken Tran covers Congress for USA Today. Thank you, Ken.

Ken Tran:

Thanks.

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Taylor Wilson:

The Justice Department told a federal judge in a court filing this week that Boeing has violated a 2021 agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution after two of its 737 MAX planes crashed, killing 346 people overseas. According to the Justice Department, Boeing failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations." The government has not yet decided whether it will pursue prosecution of Boeing, but lawyers representing the families of the victims who died in the crashes said they hoped to see further action.

The plane manufacturer has been under increased scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers this year after the latest grounding of its 737 MAX jets. In January, an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX lost a door plug during a flight. The incident caused no serious injuries or deaths, but the Federal Aviation Administration quickly grounded the fleet of 737 MAX planes that had the same kind of door plug, and regulators began new inquiries into Boeing's production practices.

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The FDA this week approved a new way for people to screen for signs of cervical cancer. Patients using the new method will self-screen with a swab at the doctor's office to test for the HPV virus, bypassing the need for doctors to perform invasive, often uncomfortable, pelvic exams. Jeff Andrews, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs at BD, one of the makers of the new method, said it's to reach women who traditionally have not been reached. While the first tests are expected to be reserved for clinic use, BD plans to eventually offer an at-home option, Andrews said. Roche, another provider whose product was approved, also plans to consider an at-home option. The new test could be conducted in a doctor's office, a mobile clinic, or a retail pharmacy, with the sample then sent to a lab. Both are expected to be available this summer.

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Sage, a miniature poodle, claimed Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this week. Her competition included Mercedes, a German Shepherd who placed second, Louie, an Afghan Hound, Comet, a Shih Tzu, and three other finalists. Sage became the fourth miniature poodle to take top honors at Westminster. Check out pictures and more from the dog show with a link in today's show notes.

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Be sure to stay tuned later today as my co-host, Dana Taylor, is joined by Vaile Wright, the Senior Director of Healthcare Innovation at the American Psychological Association, to talk about how having depression is not one-size-fits-all. She discusses how those dealing with high-functioning depression are coping to live a normal life. You can find the episode right here, beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

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And today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a day meant to encourage discussion, debate, and education on how we can increase digital accessibility and inclusion for those with disabilities. In an effort to provide equal access to our audio content, we here at The Excerpt post transcripts of every episode on our website and link those in our show notes. If you have an idea for how we can expand accessibility even further, send us an email at podcasts@usatoday.com.

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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate warns unprecedented foreign election interference | The Excerpt