Jagged Little Pill

This morning, the Supreme Court heard arguments in cases challenging FDA approval of abortion drug mifepristone. 

The fact that many of the justices, including conservatives, were calling out the issue of standing and the plaintiffs’ legal ability to bring the case is a welcome sign for abortion rights advocates.

The court is considering whether the FDA overlooked safety in easing prescribing rules around the medication and whether a Fifth Circuit Court ruling rolling back the agency’s regulation should be allowed to stand. Advocates for the drug argued if that ruling did stand, future petitioners could file litigation to second-guess any of the FDA’s expertise in previous approvals of other drugs and therapeutics, setting a new precedent for federal judges to review any medication. 

The case also bears on reproductive rights across the country, as abortion bans in 21 states have led to an increased dependence on telemedicine and mifepristone prescriptions. Allowing medication abortions to move forward without an in-person medical visit has increased access, allowing for women, particularly in rural areas, to receive care from home. 

Justices Alito and Thomas seemed poised to uphold the Fifth Circuit Court opinion. Justices Barrett and Kavanaugh are expected to be swing votes on the case, with Barrett’s notable questioning of the plaintiffs’ standing specifically raising questions about how she might vote. It is not clear exactly when the Court will release its decision, but it is likely to come at the end of the court’s term in late June or early July.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced yesterday he will appoint Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) to replace resigning Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) as Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. 

As Chairman, Gallagher aggressively led the Select Committee on the CCP, which was formed at the start of the 118^th Congress in January, 2023, in a hawkish China posture. That posture consisted of a flurry of hearings, oversight investigations and letters to corporations and government agencies, calling out what he viewed as positions and policies that were weak on China. 

Moolenaar has been a vocal supporter of Gallagher’s agenda. He has been a leading voice opposing the Chinese company Gotion Inc.’s plans to build a battery component factory in his own congressional district in Michigan, which would generate hundreds of jobs and considerable economic activity. He has introduced legislation to prevent Inflation Reduction Act subsidies and tax credits from benefitting Chinese companies and led a bill to require greater public disclosure by foreign owners of American farmland. 

It’s likely the focus of the Select Committee under Moolenaar’s leadership will not diverge significantly from Gallagher’s. We may see greater emphasis on the automotive sector and impact of foreign ownership of farmland given Moolenaar’s Michigan interests. Moolenaar does not have a deep history of studying or working on China, national security, or foreign policy-related issues so it’s unclear whether he will seek a similarly high-profile presence as Gallagher did on these issues. 

Even before Gallagher’s surprise resignation, there was speculation about the future of the Select Committee, which was only authorized for the duration of the 118^th Congress. Before Gallagher announced his early departure, there were questions about whether the Select Committee would be reauthorized in the next Congress.  

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Election officials and experts are raising alarms about the risk of AI-generated content to proliferate disinformation and otherwise sow chaos ahead of the 2024 elections.

Earlier this month, nonprofit The Future US gathered dozens of former senior U.S. and state officials, civil society leaders and industry leaders for a simulated experiment to explore the damage AI-generated disinformation campaigns can cause to U.S. election systems. The results were “sobering” according to reports, with former senior Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who helped organize the exercise, saying “It was jarring for folks in the room to see how quickly just a handful of these types of threats could spiral out of control and really dominate the election cycle.”

The AI Democracy Projects recently released a survey finding that AI chatbots delivered false information in response to basic voting questions – such as the location of polling stations or voter registration requirements – more than half of the time. 

But without new federal laws, AIcompaniesare implementing their own policies to combat malicious election and foreign influence threats.