Trump announces deal to put TikTok under control of US investors
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 23, 2025 in New York City. World leaders convened for the 80th Session of UNGA, with this year’s theme for the annual global meeting being “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.” (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced an agreement that will pave the way for social media giant TikTok to come under the control of a group of U.S. investors.
The move comes months after a ban on the China-based app was set to take effect at the outset of this year. Instead, Trump delayed the ban multiple times and appears poised to secure the popular platform for domestic ownership.
Scrutiny has centered on the fate of TikTok’s algorithm, a proprietary formula that fuels the attention-grabbing social media platform. Vice President J.D. Vance, who stood alongside Trump during the Oval Office announcement, said the agreement would bring the algorithm “under the control of American investors,” adding that further details would be unveiled over the coming days.
“This deal really does mean Americans can use TikTok but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is secure and it won’t be used as a propaganda weapon like it has in the past,” Vance said.
The U.S.-based version of TikTok will be valued at $14 billion, Vance said.
The agreement received approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said. As of Thursday afternoon, China had not publicly confirmed the terms issued by the Trump administration.
Trump said tech giant Oracle would be among the U.S. investors in TikTok, but he did not disclose the full roster of new owners.
Congress passed the ban last spring with overwhelming bipartisan support, granting TikTok a 270-day window to cut its ties with China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban.
Instead of initiating a sale, TikTok pursued a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds that failed in the Supreme Court.
The unanimous ruling from the nation’s highest court found merit in national security concerns regarding potential user data collection or content manipulation that the Chinese government might undertake.
The app became temporarily unavailable in January, before the Trump administration assured app store owners Google and Apple that law enforcement would not pursue potential violations of the law.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is set to visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday, ratcheting up pressure on the central bank after his repeated calls for lower interest rates.
It marks the first official trip to the Fed taken by a sitting president in almost 20 years.
The extraordinary move comes roughly a week after Trump said he had discussed with a group of Republican lawmakers the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, before walking back such plans, calling them “highly unlikely.”
This episode sent stock prices tumbling and bond yields climbing, until Trump’s disavowal restored calm to the markets.
Since Trump took office, he has sharply criticized Powell and frequently urged the Fed to cut interest rates.
“We have a man who just refuses to lower the Fed rate,” Trump said of Powell last month. “Maybe I should go to the Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself? I’d do a much better job than these people.”
The Fed is an independent agency established by Congress. Trump is legally barred from appointing himself the head of the central bank.
Trump also slammed Powell for alleged overspending tied to the central bank’s $2.5 billion building renovation project.
The Fed attributes spending overruns to unforeseen cost increases, saying that its building renovation will ultimately “reduce costs over time by allowing the Board to consolidate most of its operations,” according to the central bank’s website.
Federal law allows the president to remove the Fed chair for “cause” — though no precedent exists for such an ouster. Powell’s term as chair is set to expire in May 2026.
The Fed has held interest rates steady for seven consecutive months, taking up a wait-and-see approach as it observes potential effects of Trump’s tariff policy.
Earlier this month, Powell said he would not rule out a potential interest rate cut as soon as the Fed’s next meeting on July 29 and 30.
“I wouldn’t take any meeting off the table or put any on the table,” Powell told the audience at the European Central Bank forum in Sinatra, Portugal. “It depends on how the data evolve.”
Trump is the first president to visit the Fed since President George W. Bush attended the swearing-in ceremony of Fed Chair Ben Bernanke in 2006. That ceremony marked only the third visit of a president to the Fed, Bernanke noted in his remarks on the day.
Franklin Roosevelt visited when he dedicated the building in 1937 and Gerald Ford visited in 1975, according to Bernanke. He served in the role until 2014.
(WASHINGTON) — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his move to fire her, saying she should retain her position as a top policymaker at the central bank.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, describes Trump’s effort as “illegal and unprecedented,” claiming Cook’s ouster violates the independence of the Fed, a cornerstone of the nation’s economy.
Trump’s action violates Cook’s constitutional right to due process, as well as her right to notice and a hearing under the Federal Reserve Act, the lawsuit says.
Hours after Cook filed the lawsuit, a judge granted a hearing for Friday morning. The case has been assigned to Judge Jia M. Cobb, who was nominated to the court in 2021 by former President Joe Biden.
Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board “for cause,” though no president has attempted such a removal in the 112-year history of the central bank.
In a letter posted on social media earlier this week, the president moved to fire Cook over allegations lodged by a Trump administration official, who claimed she had committed mortgage fraud. Trump pointed to a “criminal referral” from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte. Cook has not been charged for the alleged misconduct.
In a previous statement, Cook’s attorney rebuked Trump’s social media post.
“President Trump has taken to social media to once again ‘fire by tweet’ and once again his reflex to bully is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority. We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”
Cook has not directly addressed the substance of the allegations against her. In a statement last week, Cook said she would seek out her financial documents to answer “any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
The move came after Trump railed for months against the Federal Reserve and its Chair Jerome Powell for declining to heed his call for lower interest rates.
In the lawsuit, Cook’s attorney rebuked the allegations as a pretext aimed at removing her for political reasons. Cook has repeatedly voted against interest rate cuts, the lawsuit notes.
“That the President says he has found (or created) some basis for removing a Governor does not magically make such a basis grounds for a ‘for cause’ removal,” the filing says. “The President had no ’cause’ to remove Governor Cook.”
“President Trump has indicated his desire to impede the independence of the Federal Reserve since he assumed office in January 2025,” the lawsuit adds.
The lawsuit names Powell and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as co-defendants. The Federal Reserve Board, its governors and Powell are sued in their official capacities “to the extent that any individual Governor has the ability to take any action to effectuate President Trump’s purported termination of Governor Cook,” the lawsuit says.
Cook’s lawsuit urged a judge to find her attempted firing “unlawful and void,” adding that Cook seeks “immediate declaratory and injunctive relief to confirm her status as a member of the Board of Governors.”
The lawsuit also asked the judge to issue a declaration outlining the definition of “cause” — which Cook’s lawsuit says includes only “instances of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or comparable misconduct.”
In a statement to ABC News, the White House rebutted Cook’s claims, saying Trump’s move to fire Cook is permitted under federal law.
“The President exercised his lawful authority to remove a governor on the Federal Board of Governors for cause under 12 U.S.C. 242. The President determined there was cause to remove a governor who was credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions. The removal of a governor for cause improves the Federal Reserve Board’s accountability and credibility for both the markets and American people,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.
The Federal Reserve declined to comment. In a previous statement, the Fed affirmed the independence of the central bank and vowed to abide by a court ruling on the matter.
“The Federal Reserve will continue to carry out its duties as established by law,” the Fed said. “The Federal Reserve reaffirms its commitment to transparency, accountability, and independence in the service of American families, communities, and businesses.”
Two Fed governors appointed by Trump — Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller — already sit on the seven-member board. A third appointee — Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors — has been nominated as a replacement for Adriana Kugler, who retired this month. If Trump were to replace Cook, his appointees would make up a majority of the Fed board.
Five meetings and eight months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank faces a “challenging situation” as a hiring slowdown coincides with tariff-driven price increases, putting pressure on both sides of the Fed’s dual mission to maximize employment and control inflation.
Powell said the Fed would “proceed carefully” but he hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut, appearing to indicate greater concern for flagging employment growth than rising prices.
The policy shift may align the Fed with Trump’s desire for lower interest rates, though the central bank is expected to opt for a modest quarter-point reduction rather than the larger cut Trump has sought.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a 12-member body responsible for setting interest rates, is made up of the seven members of the Fed board as well as a rotating set of five Federal Reserve bank presidents.
In February, the members of the Fed board will oversee the appointment of presidents of the Federal Reserve banks, meaning a potential Trump-appointed majority on the board could aim to install allies.
(WASHINGTON) — Private spaceflight is transforming from joy rides for billionaires into a gateway for nations to establish their space presence, one expert says, as the latest Axiom Space mission returned to Earth on Tuesday.
The mission marked a historic moment for India, Poland and Hungary, who sent astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in decades. Rather than waiting for traditional space programs, these nations booked private flights through Axiom Space, which aims to build the world’s first commercial space station, and SpaceX, which provided the spacecraft the astronauts traveled on.
“This is huge,” said ABC News contributor and astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi. “These nations didn’t go through NASA or wait for Russia. They booked the private flight and brought their own experiments. That is a global power flex.”
The mission serves as more than just a demonstration of private space capabilities, Oluseyi said. With NASA planning to decommission the ISS by the end of 2030, Axiom Space, headquartered in Houston, is positioning itself to become “the new landlord of low Earth orbit,” according to Oluseyi. The company has already secured agreements with multiple countries for its own planned space station.
However, the increasing privatization of space access raises questions about America’s future role in space exploration. While another private company, SpaceX, currently provides the only means for launching astronauts from U.S. soil, Oluseyi emphasized the importance of maintaining both public and private investment in space.
“We perform best when there is a combination of both public and private investment,” Oluseyi said, noting current federal budget pullbacks in space and science funding. “Strategically, America needs both public and private to maintain leadership… This is a time not to pull back, but to invest ever more aggressively.”
As space becomes more accessible to new participants, Oluseyi said continued investment and innovation are crucial for maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration — even as private spaceflight takes off.
“You can’t stop that cat out of the bag, but you can maintain leadership, you can be the one to innovate and take us to the next level,” he said.
