Trump pushes $175 billion 'Golden Dome' missile defense plan | The Excerpt
On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new missile defense system plan. Paste BN National News Reporter Eduardo Cuevas discusses findings that dozens of men sent to an El Salvador prison by the Trump administration entered the country legally. A fifth inmate has been captured after last week's New Orleans jail break on the same day a maintenance worker was arrested in connection with the case. Paste BN Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire tells us about some fired federal workers who are considering running for public office. George Wendt, known by many as Norm on 'Cheers,' has died at 76. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com.
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 Wednesday, May 21st, 2025. This is The Excerpt. Today, what's in Trump and Hegseth's Golden Dome plan. Plus what we're learning about how dozens of men the Trump administration sent to a prison in El Salvador entered the US legally. And some fired federal workers are considering running for public office.
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President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a $25 billion initial investment in a so-called Golden Dome to shield the country from missile threats.
Donald Trump:
Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space.
Taylor Wilson:
The Golden Dome plan aims to cover the country with three layers of air defenses according to written Senate testimony by Northern Command Leader, Air Force General Gregory Guillot. Sensors will let the military see incoming threats. Ground-based interceptor missiles and future systems will target incoming ballistic missiles. And additional systems will deal with lower-altitude threats like hypersonic missiles and enemy drones.
The funding is included as part of the Trump-endorsed tax cut mega bill currently working its way through Congress the President said. Military officials, experts, and intelligence agencies warn, the US homeland is vulnerable to strategic attack. Many of the Golden Dome's projected capabilities remain on the drawing board though, and its cost will depend on its desired scale. Trump said the system will cost $175 billion, though details about that estimate remain unclear.
The plan is not without its skeptics. Independent Senator Angus King pressed top military missile defense officials in a congressional hearing last week asking whether we could deny a substantial missile attack from Russia or China.
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At least 50 of the Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to a prison in El Salvador entered the US legally according to a libertarian think tank. I spoke with Paste BN national news reporter, Eduardo Cuevas, to learn more.
Thanks for joining me, Eduardo.
Eduardo Cuevas:
Thanks for having me, Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
So Eduardo, what have we learned here about the legal status of some of these Venezuelan men sent to a prison in El Salvador?
Eduardo Cuevas:
We learned the Trump administration sent at least 50 Venezuelans with legal status in the United States to a prison in El Salvador. And that's according to the Cato Institute, which is a libertarian think tank that favors limited government, it's not some democratic or liberal bastion at all.
And researchers there authored this report on what we know of around 240 people sent to El Salvador's prison called CECOT. Now Taylor, I want to break down some of the numbers, and before that I should note that information we have on people sent to CECOT is very limited. Most of what we know comes from families coming forward, journalists gathering facts and outside organizations doing research on this.
But back to the numbers, Cato has records for about 90 people who had known routes of entry into the country. That's 9-0. 50, 5-0, of the men entered the country legally. And just a little breakdown of that, one person had a tourist visa, four people entered as refugees, and the big group, 45 people, were permitted entry through CBP One app. So if you remember that, CBP One was an app created by the Biden administration that allowed migrants to seek asylum outside of the country and present themselves to American immigration officials. For reference, the Trump administration has turned that into a self-deportation app.
But big picture, this means that according to Cato Institute these people were vetted and screened and had advance permission to enter the country. The study's author, David Bier, said they didn't violate immigration laws, but the Trump administration sent them to El Salvador anyway.
Taylor Wilson:
Right. So startling findings, these Cato findings, how do they differ really from some of what the Trump administration has repeatedly said, Eduardo, about these folks?
Eduardo Cuevas:
The Trump administration has asserted that all of around 240 men that they sent to CECOT are gang members living in the country illegally. But the findings for these 50 men contradict the administration's assertion there. Instead, the report author told me that they've, 'effectively turned legal immigrants into illegal aliens'. But we don't know the numbers for many of the other men sent there. But even for this story, the White House has continued to say that the people sent to CECOT were 'illegal aliens who were dangerous criminals'. To be clear, they didn't respond directly to Cato's findings. And the White House deferred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, but we didn't get a response back before publication.
Taylor Wilson:
Right. And just specifically on that point that these allegations that they're criminals and members of even Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, there's no public information confirming that, correct Eduardo?
Eduardo Cuevas:
That's correct. For one, we just don't have a lot of information about the people sent there. And even Cato's review notes, their information is limited because of the administration not releasing that much information about them.
But of the information that's been collected, including by us at Paste BN, that just hasn't borne out in terms of criminal or gang ties for most of the people. So let's take the criminal side. There was a list of names reported by CBS News. And of those CBS couldn't find criminal records in the country in the United States or abroad for 75% of those people. And again, that's around 240 people. But when it comes to gangs, the administration has pointed to tattoos as evidence of ties to gangs like Tren de Aragua, which is a Venezuelan gang. But experts have told us tattoos aren't a great indicator of ties to that gang or Venezuelan gangs in particular.
Taylor Wilson:
It's been, in some cases, a few months with these men in a foreign country that they don't know well, in a facility that has been controversial, the CECOT facility, as you mentioned. What do we know at this point about these men and their statuses, I guess, Eduardo, in El Salvador, does anyone have contact with them?
Eduardo Cuevas:
We don't have that much information. They've been detained since March. Secretary Kristi Noem of Homeland Security had visited in late March. Kilmar Ábrego García, Democratic Senator Van Hollen of Maryland had visited him, he has been put in a different prison in El Salvador. But for these Venezuelan men sent to CECOT, we just don't know that much.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, so lots to come. Eduardo Cuevas covers national news for Paste BN. Thanks, Eduardo.
Eduardo Cuevas:
Thanks for having me, Taylor.
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Taylor Wilson:
Hundreds of law enforcement officers are searching for inmates who escaped a city jail in New Orleans last week. The search has spilled into the city's famed French Quarter where a few of the escapees were seen on video while on the run. One inmate was even found hiding under a car in the garage of one of the city's swankiest hotels.
After the jailbreak officials urged the public to remain vigilant but not panicked. A total of 10 inmates escaped from the jail and five have been recaptured according to Louisiana authorities. A maintenance worker has also been arrested in connection with the escape.
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Some fired federal workers are considering running for public office. I spoke with Paste BN senior national political correspondent Sarah D. Wire for more. Hello, Sarah.
Sarah D. Wire:
Hi.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for hopping on. So let's just start by talking about Tony Ruiz, one of the folks you outline in this piece. What can you tell us about him and his story?
Sarah D. Wire:
He is a disabled veteran who had spent a long career helping people get the benefits they needed. And he joined the VA and worked there for almost a full year and was laid off as a probationary employee just days before he was supposed to become permanent. And he was angry. He was very angry when I spoke to him. He felt betrayed and that no veteran should be treated that way. And he said as he spent time trying to get over it, he had a realization that he was looking for a job and new people needed to be in office. And so he decided to run for public office.
Taylor Wilson:
Right. I mean, we really have seen similar stories. How did we see this surge in people signing up to run for public office, especially in those days after federal firings began earlier this year?
Sarah D. Wire:
I've been talking to Democratic and progressive groups that help recruit candidates for office, and that's been one thing I've heard over and over, is every time something big happens within the Trump administration there's a surge of people who approach them. And when the probationary workers were laid off in February, it was just overwhelming the number of people who approached them.
And they said they're not actively going after these people, they're not finding federal employees, federal employees are coming to them. In the three days after federal firings began in February, a thousand people signed up to run for office with Run For Something, which is a progressive group that focuses on low-level offices like city council and mayor. These aren't the people who want to run for Congress.
Taylor Wilson:
Sarah, you mentioned progressives and Democrats. Are we seeing this across the political spectrum or is this really more for those who are fired who have political views on the left?
Sarah D. Wire:
I spoke with over a dozen federal workers for this story, many of whom were either still working for the government or worried about retribution or maybe getting hit by layoffs in the future. And they really crossed a broad spectrum. I spoke to Republicans and centrists and Democrats. For this story in particular, only the Democrats were willing to go on the record and give us real names. But in the groups I spoke with, said they're mostly being approached by Democrats, but at the same time they're hearing from people across the spectrum as well. Just happens to be that these groups focus on Democrats and progressives.
Taylor Wilson:
And Sarah, as you heard in reporting this story, running for public office really is a logical next step for public servants in a lot of ways, how so?
Sarah D. Wire:
Yeah, a lot of the federal workers I spoke to said that they're still looking for ways to serve the public. As federal employees they're already making less than they would in the private sector. And they do it because they love what they're doing and they want that to continue. They're proud of the work they do. They know how the systems work on the inside, they know what it's like to work with constituents, they know what it's like to work with other federal agencies, and so they feel like they go in with a particular set of skills that someone off the street might not have.
Taylor Wilson:
As you said, these are folks who largely care really about this type of work. What else stood out to you in speaking with some of these folks? I know anger, I'm sure, was a pretty common thing.
Sarah D. Wire:
They seemed really realistic about the way federal workers are being portrayed by the administration. They were weighing whether it would be a strength or not to run as a former federal employee. And a lot of them said they're running in part to explain to the American public the importance of the work they were doing and to help rebuild the federal government to what it was before Trump took office and started some of these broad cuts.
Taylor Wilson:
You can read more about some of these stories with a link in today's show notes. Sarah D. Wire is a senior national political correspondent with Paste BN. Thanks, Sarah.
Sarah D. Wire:
Thanks for having me.
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Taylor Wilson:
Actor George Wendt best known for his beloved role as Norm on the iconic NBC comedy Cheers has died. Wendt earned six consecutive best supporting actor Emmy nominations for the role. He spent six years in Chicago's renowned Second City improv troupe before auditioning for Cheers. And originally, his character only appeared in the final scene of the pilot with just one line, beer. But the role turned pivotal and Wendt appeared as Norm in every Cheers episode through 11 seasons.
He was also a frequent Saturday Night Live guest and was in a number of big comedy movies from The Little Rascals to Airplane II: The Sequel. The actor's death came on the 32nd anniversary of the final Cheers episode that aired on May 20th, 1993. George Wendt was 76.
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And coming up later today, for decades Johnson & Johnson has been a cherished American brand. Its baby products and pain medications like Tylenol are household names. But investigative journalist, Gardiner Harris, says their products aren't nearly as safe as they've claimed they were.
Gardiner Harris:
Johnson & Johnson has been responsible for contributing or causing more than 2 million American deaths over the last 50-odd years. And that's more deaths than have died in all of America's wars combined.
Taylor Wilson:
Gardiner joins my colleague, Dana Taylor, today, beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern to discuss his new book, No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson. Catch it right here on this feed.
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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. If you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. As always, you can email us at podcasts@usatoday.com. I'm Taylor Wilson, I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.