On April 24, 2024, US President Biden delivered a speech after signing the foreign assistance bill at the White House in Washington, DC.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed legal measures to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and force China’s TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a nationwide ban.
Biden officials Agree The end of six months of tense political battles on Capitol Hill that led to a deadlock on foreign aid.
“The road to my desk was a hard road. It should have been easier and it should have gotten there earlier,” Biden said Wednesday after signing the bill. “But ultimately we did what America always does and we got to this moment.”
Biden had signaled his intention to sign the bill into law after the House passed it on Saturday. The Senate approved the bill in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 79-18 on Tuesday night, sending it to Biden’s desk for his signature.
The law earmarks approximately $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8 billion for Taiwan and Indo-Pacific security.It also requires ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months, and within a year if Biden invokes the 90-day extension, or face a nationwide ban in the United States
TikTok has vowed to oppose the measure.
“This unconstitutional law is a ban on TikTok, and we will challenge it in court,” the company wrote in a statement on Wednesday. statement Biden signed on X. “This ban will destroy 7 million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew posted a video response TikTok called the bill a “disappointing moment” and reiterated the company’s commitment to legal challenges to the law.
Although Biden officially supports the TikTok bill, his 2024 re-election campaign It told NBC News on Wednesday that it will continue to use social media platforms to reach voters for at least the next year. Notably, Byte jumped nine months to a year-long deadline to allow it to maintain ownership of TikTok ahead of the November election.
In addition to the TikTok boycott, the bill has come under fierce political attack, including threats from hardline Republicans such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to oust Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The threats were part of the reason Johnson halted foreign aid even as the Senate passed a similar $95 billion version of a bill to provide funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in February, although it did not include a TikTok provision.
But last week, with pink slips still looming, Johnson’s decision to end a foreign aid impasse in the House of Representatives following Iran’s April 13 attempt to attack Israel sparked new bipartisan pressure on the United States to help its allies.
In the coming days, Johnson will bring four separate bills to the House for votes, three of which would provide foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and a fourth that would include other foreign policy proposals such as the TikTok bill.
Despite the career risks of Johnson’s move, the spokesman has so far maintained his stance, with public support from former President Donald Trump.
“I know history will judge it very well,” Johnson said in a radio interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” Wednesday morning. “It’s the right thing to do.”
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