Congress is very close to passing a bill that would require the Donald Trump administration to more closely monitor foreign influence operations, including those by Iran. The annual defense authorization bill would require the US intelligence community to establish a Foreign Malign Influence Response Center tasked with monitoring Iranian, Russian, Chinese and North Korean efforts to sway US policy and public opinion.
Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., first spearheaded the idea in the House as a response to Russia’s efforts to influence US elections. Presidential hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., then joined forces to expand the scope of the legislation by including Iran, China and North Korea.