$95.3 Billion of Aid, TikTok, and Trump’s Trials
Welcome back to another week of Politics Explained! This week was busy with President Joe Biden signing two internationally significant pieces of legislation - a ban on TikTok and aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. We’ll also cover some updates on Trump’s criminal trial. Lastly, if you haven’t already, go check out our Instagram page @PoliticsExplained1776! Let’s get started.
This past Wednesday (4/24) President Biden signed a bill that gives ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of social media app TikTok, a year to find a buyer for their app. If they fail to do so, TikTok will be banned from the U.S. This bill comes from concerns that ByteDance is giving information of United States citizens to the Chinese Government, making TikTok a national security threat. Stay tuned for updates on this issue!
Also this past Wednesday (4/24) President Biden was finally able to sign a $95.3 billion aid bill to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. If you’ve been staying up to date with our blogs, you know that we’ve been following this aid bill for a while. This comes after months of gridlock* in Congress with House Republicans mainly opposing this bill due to the desire for more focus on domestic immigration issues. The bill passed the House on Saturday, the Senate on Tuesday, and was signed by Biden on Wednesday. Biden stated about signing the bill, “It’s a good day for world peace” and “It’s going to make America safer, it’s going to make the world safer, and it continues America’s leadership in the world.”
Finally, some quick updates on the Trump trial:
Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to help him in the 2016 presidential race
Jurors have been chosen
Former publisher of the National Enquirer David Pecker is currently being questioned about efforts to hide negative stories to protect Trump for the 2016 election
In an entirely different case, hearings in the Supreme Court are being held on Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race
*Definition of the Week (Gridlock): a situation when there is difficulty passing laws; political stalemate
