The Dictatorship
Trump promised to ‘save’ TikTok, but he doesn’t have a lot of options

Unless the Supreme Court temporarily blocks a federal law requiring TikTok be sold to a non-Chinese entity or else be prohibited in the U.S., a ban on the app will go into effect on Jan. 19 that could affect millions of users and is likely to upend content creators’ livelihoods.
Indications during oral arguments on Friday suggested that the court is inclined to uphold the lawwhich President Joe Biden signed in April. If the ban is in effect on Jan. 19, the popular social media platform may be removed from app stores, but it probably won’t disappear from users’ phones immediately. User experience could deteriorate over time, as security patches and updates won’t be available to download, CNN reported.
However, if the court decides not to block the law or to delay the Jan. 19 deadline, the app’s fate may lie with President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Trump has said he opposes the ban and that he would “save” TikTok. Last month, he asked the Supreme Court to pause the law so that he can “pursue a political resolution” after he takes office. If the court acquiesces, Trump could grant a 90-day extension to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to continue seeking a buyer.
But ByteDance has long insisted that it is not interested in selling TikTok, and the Chinese government has indicated that it would block any sale that includes the app’s valuable algorithm. There has been at least one U.S.-based offer to buy TikTok without its algorithm, from “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary and billionaire entrepreneur Frank McCourt. TikTok did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
As president, Trump could also take the more difficult route of trying to reverse the law. He might try to pressure Congress to repeal the legislation, which seems unlikely to succeed, considering it passed with strong bipartisan support. Such a move would also be a major test of his influence over his party, which currently has slim majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Otherwise, Trump could direct his Justice Department simply not to enforce the ban and decline to penalize companies that continue to make the app available on their app stores. However, ABC News has reported that some experts are skeptical that companies would be willing to open themselves up to such a risk.
In any event, TikTok’s future in the U.S. hangs in the balance for now. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a preliminary decision prior to the deadline.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
The Dictatorship
The Fed cuts interest rates by quarter-point after Trump’s pressure campaign


The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates for the first time this yearwith policymakers opting for an expected quarter-point cut to the Fed’s benchmark rate.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump has been pushing for rate cuts while attempting to assert more control over the historically independent central bank. He has sought to fire Biden appointee Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a move that an appeals court temporarily blocked Monday night but could ultimately be resolved soon at the Supreme Court. The Trump administration had argued for kicking her off the board ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting that started Tuesday, at which rates and other important matters were discussed.
The Republican-led Senate just this week confirmed a new board governor appointed by Trump, Stephen Miran, who has said he would not resign from his economic adviser position in the Trump White House. Miran replaced Biden appointee Adriana Kugler, who abruptly resigned last month before her term’s expiration in January.
Another”https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20250917a.htm” target=”_blank”>disagreed with Wednesday’s actionas he preferred a larger cut.
The New York Times previously reported that the projected quarter-point rate cut “won’t have a significant effect on consumers’ financial lives, but it may provide a tiny bit of relief for people carrying credit card debt, while savers may see slightly less generous yields.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro,” a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined BLN, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
The Dictatorship
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