Latest news with #executiveorders
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump considers extending TikTok deadline. Is third time a charm?
Will the third time be the charm for TikTok's future? With another extension deadline in two weeks, the social media platform's future lies in the hands of President Donald Trump. In January, TikTok went dark for 12 hours in the United States when China-based ByteDance failed to divest the app's U.S. assets, as required by law. Since coming into office on Jan. 20, Trump issued two executive orders to extend the ban's deadline, hoping to acquire the short-form video app used by 170 million Americans. But so far, a deal has yet to be struck. The next deadline is June 19. A plan had been in the works that would spin off TikTok's American operation into a new firm owned and operated by U.S. investors, but was put on hold, according to Reuters, after China would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on its goods. During an NBC News interview in May, Trump said he would extend the deadline a third time if a deal isn't made by the June 19 deadline. 'I'd like to see it done,' Trump said during the interview. The president added that he has a 'little sweet spot' in his heart for TikTok, which he claims helped him win votes during the 2024 presidential election. 'It'll be protected. It'll be very strongly protected. But if it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.' The White House declined to comment about a potential TikTok sale. It is unclear. If ByteDance does not divest TikTok by Thursday, June 19, the platform could be banned in the United States again. However, Trump has said that if the sale isn't finalized in time, he will extend the deadline again. This, too, is unclear. Under federal legislation that put the TikTok ban in place, the president can implement a 90-day extension on the deadline to sell. But Trump didn't take this route in January or April. Instead, he signed executive orders delaying the ban by 75 days. If Trump wishes to sign another executive order ahead of the June 19 deadline, he can. While it's within Trump's discretion to sign executive orders to delay the ban, there may be a time when Congress sees it fit to pass a law ordering a firm deadline, John Acevedo, Emory University School of Law professor, told Spectrum News in April. But just because the executive orders are within Trump's authority doesn't mean everyone is happy with his decisions. 'The deadline for Trump to follow the law passed 135 days ago. It is shocking that a bipartisan-backed law, signed by the former president and upheld by the Supreme Court, is being treated like a mere suggestion by the White House,' said Stephen Kent, Consumer Choice Center media director, in a news release. Former President Joe Biden signed federal legislation in 2024 that gave ByteDance until Jan. 19, 2025 to divest TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. Some politicians see TikTok as a national security threat, expressing concern that ByteDance may be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government. ByteDance has denied these claims, which remain unsubstantiated. However, ByteDance did not divest in time. In January, TikTok went dark for a little more than 12 hours in the U.S. after the app was effectively banned. U.S. internet hosting services made TikTok unavailable to access, and app stores removed the app for download. During the short-lived shutdown, Trump promised internet hosting services and app stores that they could restore TikTok and not face legal penalties. Under the federal legislation, companies could be fined $5,000 per user they help access TikTok. For companies like Google and Apple, this could mean a $5,000 fine for each user who downloads or updates TikTok. Internet hosting services like Oracle didn't waste time rebooting the app, but it wasn't until Feb. 13 that TikTok became available again in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to decide Tiktok's fate no later than June 19
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The shocking date of Biden's first use of the autopen exposed... and it's earlier than previously known
During an explosive Republican-led hearing on Joe Biden 's rapid decline over the course of his four-year presidency, shocking details emerged about the extensive use of an autopen by the former president. One of the witnesses called by the Senate Judiciary committee was Theo Wold, currently a Visiting Fellow for Law and Technology Policy at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, DC - based conservative think tank. Wold is also a board member of the Oversight Project, an independent, nonprofit organization previously a part of Heritage. The Oversight Project's research discovered that the first time President Joe Biden used an autopen was five days into his presidency, Wold stated as part of his sworn testimony. "The autopen is a device that signs the president's signature to a document. The Oversight Project, of which I am a board member, has discovered that the Biden White House deployed an autopen to affix President Biden's signature to pardons, prison commutations, executive orders, and presidential proclamations,' Wold noted. "The Oversight Project's research has found that the Biden White House first deployed the autopen to affix President Biden's signature to a proclamation on day five of his administration and that there were at least three different autopen signatures in use throughout president Biden's tenure in the White House,' Wold continued. He added: 'In June 2022, the Biden White House began deploying the autopen to sign clemency warrants and executive orders. Autopen use skyrocketed from there. We found that of the 51 clemency warrants issued during the Biden presidency, over half, 32 in total, were signed with an autopen.' Another eyebrow-raising revelation Wold shared was that after a review of the president's public schedule, and publicly available media, the Oversight Project was not able to find evidence of Biden 'personally approving these actions, such as a statement.' Were legally binding documents signed without President Biden's knowledge or consent? The American people deserve to know whether unelected bureaucrats usurped presidential power via autopen. @ItsYourGov @RealTheoWold — Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) June 18, 2025 Wold additionally disclosed that many of the days the autopen was used were days that the President was in Washington, DC for at least part of the day. Wold was formerly the Acting-Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice and Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the first Trump Administration. Before that, he served as Deputy Chief Counsel to United States Senator Mike Lee on the Senate Judiciary Committee, before which he testified Wednesday. Echoing Wold's concerns about evidence of Biden personally approving the times his autopen was used, Senator Josh Hawley called up the former president to release documents. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on former President Biden and the autopen: "If you want an answer to the question 'Did Joe Biden actually assent to the use of the autopen?'... There should be a record of it. This is a binary question...I call on President the documents." — CSPAN (@cspan) June 18, 2025 Hawley's fellow Missouri colleague Eric Schmitt doubled down on he claims that nameless and faceless staffers were in control during the course of the Biden Presidency. Schmitt brought a graphic with him to Wednesday's hearing which showcased blacked out silhouettes, underneath which '46th, Liberal Staffers, 2021-2025' was written. . @SenEricSchmitt / @Eric_Schmitt calls out faceless nameless staffers as being truly in control during the Biden Presidency in today's Senate Judiciary Hearing titled Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-Up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution. Here for @DailyMail! — Victoria Snitsar Churchill (@snits_churchy) June 18, 2025 Earlier in the hearing, Democrat Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) tried to flip the script on his Republican colleagues. In his opening statement, Durbin attempted to paint Donald Trump, 79, as the one who is not fully mentally competent, not his predecessor Joe Biden. To prove his point, Durbin brought up the recent incident of Trump saying the UK was the same thing as the EU. A clip of Trump announcing the signing of the US/UK trade deal with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 meeting in Canada earlier this week quickly went viral. 'Now, I'd like you to see a short video that includes some other examples of cognitive ability,' Durbin stated, prior to showing a video compilation of what he said were gaffes, not by Biden, but Trump. After the video, Durbin asked 'do any of these statements raise the question of cognitive ability?' Standing alongside Starmer, Trump said on Monday: 'We signed it and it's done', before mistakenly announcing the deal was with the European Union, rather than the UK. He added: 'It's a fair deal for both. It'll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.' And as Trump attempted to open a black folder with the signed agreement inside, several papers spilled out on to the floor, prompting Starmer to quickly bend down and intervene. 'Oops sorry about that,' the president said, before Starmer tried to brush off the gaffe by quipping: 'It's a very important document.' A majority of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee did not show up to take part in Wednesday's hearing. Senate Republicans are doubling down on the efforts of Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, which has called former top Biden White House aides to appear for transcribed interviews. A number of these former aides were subpoenaed last C ongress, and had their subpoenas blocked by the Biden White House. Joe Biden's former White House Physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor has been issued a formal subpoena to appear before the House oversight committee, after not agreeing to appear before the committee voluntarily. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer announced earlier in June that he was issuing a formal subpoena to Biden's former White House Physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor. The move was the latest escalation as the top Republican-led committee ramped up its investigation into the 'cover-up' of former President Joe Biden's mental decline. Chairman Comer ordered O'Connor to appear for a deposition on June 27 before his committee. Commenting on the importance of his investigation, Comer told members of the media earlier in June that the 'American people deserve full transparency and the House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation to provide answers and accountability. The cover-up of President Biden's mental decline is one of the greatest scandals in our nation's history.' Comer's subpoena comes on the heels of President Donald Trump's recent announcement via executive order, demanding a federal investigation into former President Biden's staff. 'This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.' 'The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts,' Trump said in the order. Under Trump's order, all of the pardons, clemency grants, executive orders, presidential memoranda, and other presidential policy decisions issued by Biden will be investigated. Actions under review would include Biden's pardons for son Hunter and other family members and orders related to a variety of areas including education, immigration, health care, climate change and more. Trump has argued the use of the autopen invalidates Biden's orders. If his administration can get the courts to agree, it could undo thousands of actions taken by the former president. It's unclear which documents from the Biden administration were signed by the then-president and which may have been signed by an electronic pen. Biden hit back at Trump hours after the executive order was signed, accusing the president of seeking out distractions to avoid criticism over bad legislation making its way through Congress. 'Let me be clear,' he said. 'I made the decisions during my presidency. 'I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false. 'This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans,' Biden stated. Biden added at the time that Trump and his allies 'are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.' During his time in office, Biden was pictured signing some orders while in office, including ones on the use of AI and on gun safety issues. Biden's allies have pushed back on reports his mental and physical health were on the decline during his tenure.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Canada said it would stand up to Trump. Instead, it's taking cues from him
Steve Bannon calls it 'flooding the zone'. Donald Trump demonstrated it in his first weeks back in office, when he introduced over 100 executive orders. Regardless of their legal viability, the sheer volume of policy changes is the point. It is a political strategy to overwhelm institutions, courts and social groups, preventing effective opposition. In Canada, we are witnessing our own version of 'flooding the zone' from our new prime minister, Mark Carney, in coordination with provincial and territorial premiers. Carney is the former governor of the Bank of England. Prior to that, he was the governor of the Bank of Canada. He recently won the federal election by defeating a rightwing opponent Canadians feared would steer them too far towards Trump policies. Yet Carney's 'negotiations' with Trump have so far involved gentle reminders that Canada would never become the 51st state, as threatened by the US president, and capitulations to Trump's demand to strengthen our border security and increase defense spending. In reality, Canada is moving much closer to the authoritarian rule of Trump. Under the guise of 'elbows up' – a hockey reference calling on Canadians to fight back against Trump – massive corporate giveaways are taking place across the country. Characterizing Trump's tariff war as an emergency that demands drastic action, the province of British Columbia has passed Bills 14 and 15, expediting resource extraction and development. In Ontario, Bill 5 was whipped through the legislature in recent weeks, creating Special Economic Zones that the premier says will fast-track mining in the 'Ring of Fire' – a vast region of boreal peatlands rich in critical minerals. Federally, Carney has introduced an equally authoritarian legislative proposal called the Building Canada Act, which will grant to cabinet the extraordinary power to waive the application of almost any federal law in respect of projects it deems to be in the 'national interest'. He has also introduced omnibus legislation called the 'Safe Borders Act', which will weaken refugee protections and terminate potentially thousands of pending immigration permits and applications. Moreover, it is likely to be twined with the beefing up of police and border forces. Finally, the defense minister announced tens of billions of dollars in spending on new security infrastructure in line with Trump's new Nato priorities. These so-called 'emergency' levers being pulled in the national interest are a complete stunt. Besides a couple of thousand new security recruits – and a small surge of workers for an extremely short period of construction – there is no job creation here, no reduction in cost of living, no difference to Canadians at the grocery store. As ever, almost none of these dollars will 'trickle down' to the vast majority of people across the country. Moreover, the fast-tracking of resource extraction involves not only an assault on Indigenous jurisdiction and environmental regulations, but also on workers' rights and protections. Instead, let's look at who really gains from this concentration of new power in the executive branches, and who loses. In British Columbia, it's the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line and Ksi Lisims LNG that's on the docket for approval at the moment. Its financial investors include Wall Street companies deeply embedded in Trump's inner circle. The Sisson Project in New Brunswick is operated by Northcliff Resources, which is mostly owned by the Todd Corporation based in New Zealand. New Brunswick recently brought the Sisson Mine back from the dead thanks to nearly $30m in cash to the project from both the Canadian and US governments. In Ontario, the Ring of Fire has been 'explored' by a number of companies, but it is primarily the privately held Wyloo mining company that stands to benefit from Ontario's decision in Bill 5 to exempt its Eagle's Nest mine from environmental assessment entirely. This – when combined with Ontario's bankrolling of the new all-season road through the peatlands that is necessary to get the minerals out – is a huge public subsidy to the company, owned by an Australian billionaire – cynically promoted as shoring up our national autonomy. Indigenous peoples across the country promise that this legislative bullying will generate a backlash of blockades and direct action on the land. To attempt to stem the damage, the Ontario government announced a $70m contribution to the Indigenous Participation Fund for First Nations to supposedly have more input in regulatory processes, and a tripling of the Indigenous Opportunities Fund, which provides loan guarantees to First Nations seeking to access financing to become proponents of resource extraction projects. The federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program has also been expanded to these same ends, doubling to $10bn. A common thread in this onslaught of new legislation is the creation of 'legal black holes' and the dangerous centralization of discretionary power federally within the privy council office and in provincial cabinet offices. Neither equity stakes nor more 'consultation' alter the balance of power in these startling new arrangements. What happens when these projects are contested, even despite extensive consultation and the availability of financing? If history is any indication, the needs of federal and provincial governments – citing 'critical infrastructure' for securing national interests – will surely take precedence over Indigenous rights. It is not only the tactic of 'flooding the zone' that is being replicated here, but the content of how the political emergency is being defined and solved. Who needs to become the 51st state when our own governments are ready to implement all the same policies of pillage and oligarchic power themselves? Shiri Pasternak is an associate professor in criminology at Toronto Metropolitan University. Dayna Nadine Scott is a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change at York University. Both authors are members of the Infrastructure Beyond Extractivism research team, a collaboration between critical scholars and Indigenous land defenders across North America
New York Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Well, You Certainly Wouldn't Call It Presidential Underreach
Most everyone other than apologists and professional contrarians would agree at this point that President Trump aims to make the United States a personalist autocracy, where his whims are policy and his will is law. But the execution has been haphazard. Trump tried to overwhelm the public with a campaign of shock and awe. His executive orders targeted a broad swath of civil society, forcing states, localities, colleges, universities and law firms into a defensive crouch. His so-called Department of Government Efficiency — run, until recently, by Elon Musk, his billionaire ally — ransacked the federal government, fired thousands of civil servants, obliterated critical state capacity and destroyed entire agencies: including U.S.A.I.D., a move that may kill countless thousands of people worldwide. The president's most recent effort is an immigration crackdown in Democratic-led cities. In Los Angeles, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been conducting roundups of anyone who might lack legal status, Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines, citing riots and violence from protesters. He has threatened to do the same in Chicago and New York. Interestingly, the two states with the next largest populations of undocumented immigrants after California are Texas and Florida. But under the operating philosophy of the administration — a version of 'For my friends, everything, for my enemies, the law' — both states have received something of an exception from the White House deportation program on account of their Republican governors. Both the crackdown by ICE and the calling up of the military to suppress protests were supposed to rally the public to the administration, in opposition to alleged crime and disorder. The president's military parade — meant to mimic the ornate processions seen in Russia, North Korea and other dictatorships — was similarly meant to be a show of Trump's popularity: a demonstration of the almost-spiritual connection he is supposed to have with the American people. Except it's the opposite. Far from galvanizing the public to his side, Trump's ambitious effort to impose his will on the country has only generated discontent and backlash. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Utahns weigh in on Trump's job as president so far
President Donald Trump is nearing the five-month mark of his second term — a term marked so far by a frenetic pace of executive orders and action on issues related to culture as well as immigration and foreign policy. A major focus of the president more recently is pushing his 'big, beautiful bill' over the finish line in the Senate after it passed the House late last month. He also publicly enthusiastically embraced then fell out with his former close friend and adviser Elon Musk, who is opposed to the bill and left his position in the administration recently in a fiery spat. Trump is also trying to decide how much to involve the United States in Israel's effort to try to eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities. Trump has insisted that his tariff agenda will work in Americans' favor and celebrated immigration enforcement that has ramped up across the country. Also in recent days, Trump has engaged in a battle with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, after he deployed several thousand National Guard troops to protect federal workers and property in response to ongoing protests of his immigration practices in Los Angeles. The deployment has escalated tensions between political parties, with Republicans largely backing Trump's use of military force and most Democrats criticizing him for overriding state power. Voters have responded to all of these changes and others, riding a bit of a roller coaster since Trump's inauguration in January. In the latest poll from the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics conducted by HarrisX, Utahns were asked whether they approve or disapprove of Trump's job performance. A reliably red state, Utah voters generally approve of Trump's job performance, while a sizable minority still disapproves of his action. Among those surveyed, a majority, 56%, approve of Trump's job as president, which is up from 54% in an April survey. In the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, voters were also asked by HarrisX how well they think Trump is handling key issues. Trump still remains popular with Republicans in Utah. Nearly 80% of Utah Republicans approve of the job he's doing as commander in chief, with 47% of them who say they 'strongly approve' of his performance. The president performs best with white Utahns, males and with Utahns who are 35-49, the survey found. Jason Perry, the director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, said Utah's Republican base is still 'firmly behind President Trump.' Among the 42% of Utahns who don't approve of Trump's presidency so far, the largest share are Democrats. Among Democratic voters, 84% disapprove of his job performance so far, while 58% of independent voters in Utah also disapprove of Trump's leadership. Perry noted that the share of independent voters in the state who disapprove of Trump's job as president is interesting. 'That is a group that will need to be watched, that is a group that can impact a race,' he told the Deseret News. Utahns largely approve of most of Trump's actions on various issues, but the issue they most supported was the president's immigration-related actions. According to the survey, 61% approve of Trump's handling of immigration, while 35% disapprove. Republicans in the state overwhelmingly support Trump on immigration, while just 21% of Democrats approve. Independents were fairly split down the middle on Trump's immigration policy. Utahns also strongly approved of Trump's efforts to reduce the cost of government, with 59% job approval compared to 34% who don't approve, and of his administration of the government, with 55% approval compared to 40% who don't approve. On foreign affairs, 54% of Utahns said they approve of the job Trump is doing compared to 40% who don't approve. While Trump also campaigned on economic issues, Utahns weren't overwhelming in their support of the president's economic moves. Just over half, 51%, of respondents approve of Trump's work on the economy so far, with 44% disapproving. He received similar levels of support on inflation. The issue of tariffs and international trade, a matter he campaigned on, is the only issue Utahns disapprove of more than approve. The survey found 48% of respondents disapprove of Trump's trade and tariff policy, while just 46% approve. Perry argued that Trump's lower performance on economic issues in the state will need to be watched when its time to head to the polls. 'When you talk to voters, when it comes time to vote, those are the things that are highest on their list,' he said. 'His approval on things like immigration and reducing the cost of government, which is important, but in the end, the economy itself, soon as we start looking to midterm elections and to the next election cycle, that issue is going to come up high again.' The survey was conducted online from May 16-21 among 805 registered voters in Utah by HarrisX. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percentage points.
