Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Tuesday — with more than 20 Republicans defying former President Donald Trump who fervently spoke out against the bill, which now faces an uncertain future in the House.

The Senate voted 70-29 to approve the bill early Tuesday, with 22 Republican senators supporting it.

Trump, whose opposition to the initial national security supplemental led to its demise, criticized the foreign aid bill, saying in a social media post over the weekend that the United States should only loan money to foreign allies.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a national security hawk who once supported the foreign aid, voted no on the bill Tuesday and echoed Trump’s comments that any aid should be a loan — even though much of the money would go to American companies to replenish U.S. arms supplies.

The bill now heads to the House, however, Speaker Mike Johnson, in a statement Monday night, strongly suggested he may not take the Senate bill on the floor for debate or a vote because it does not address the southern border. The Senate agreement did not include any additional money for the southern border after an attempt to pair them collapsed last week.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Tuesday morning news conference that he hopes to impress upon Johnson how urgent it is for the House to act on the bill. Schumer said he hopes to speak to Johnson directly in the coming days.

“My message [to Johnson] is this is a rare moment where history is looking upon the United States and seeing if we will stand up for our values, stand up to bullies like Putin and do the right thing,” Schumer said. “I will say to Speaker Johnson I am confident that there’s a large majority in the House who will vote for this bill. I am confident there are many Republicans in his caucus, I know I’ve spoken to a whole bunch of them who feels strongly we ought to pass this bill and I will urge Speaker Johnson to step up to the moment and do the right thing.”

Schumer said House Republicans would be giving a “enormous gift to Vladimir Putin” if they do not act.

“The responsibility now falls on Speaker Johnson and House Republicans to approve this bill swiftly. And I call on Speaker Johnson to rise to the occasion. To do the right thing. Bring this bill to the floor. As I said, given the large majority, robust majority here in the Senate it is clear that if that bill was brought to the floor, our bill is brought to the floor, it will pass. But if the hard-right kills this bill, it would be an enormous gift to Vladimir Putin.”

Schumer was asked a number of questions about possible House amendments to this package. While he didn’t fully rule out considering a House-amended version of the bill, he did repeatedly state that he believes the House ought to pass the Senate version.

Asked if the he would view a House amendment to the national security supplemental changing the payments to Ukraine and Israel to loans as a non-starter — per Trump’s suggestion, Schumer said “we ought to stick with this bill.”

“I mean, no one even knows how this loan program would work. Because Donald Trump says something doesn’t mean Republicans should march in lockstep to do it,” Schumer said.

In a speech at the White House Tuesday afternoon, President Joe Biden said the House should “immediately” vote on the Senate bill.

“I urge Speaker Johnson to bring it to the floor immediately, immediately,” Biden said. “There’s no question that if the Senate bill was put on the floor in the House of Representatives, it would pass. It would pass. And the speaker knows that.”

Biden said it’s a “critical act for the House to move on” and must be done soon to show that America can be “trusted.”

“This bipartisan bill sends a clear message to Ukrainians, and to our partners and, to our allies around the world. America can be trusted,” the president said. “America can be relied upon. And America stands up for freedom. We stand strong for our allies, we never bow down to anyone and certainly not to Vladimir Putin. So, let’s get on with this.”

The White House warned Tuesday that failure by the House to pass additional aid for Israel and Ukraine would call into question American leadership on the world stage.

“It sends messages not just to allies and partners, but to potential adversaries as well, that the United States can’t be counted on. That we’re not interested in being a leader on the world stage,” National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told ABC News’ Mary Bruce.

Israel is in a fight literally for their lives and the Ukrainians are too for their democracy. So, I think it sends a strong signal to the whole world … that perhaps certain members of Congress aren’t willing to show and demonstrate the kind of American leadership on the world stage that President Biden has,” Kirby added.

After the vote, Schumer praised the bipartisan effort that led to the bill’s passage.

“These past few months have been a great test for the U.S. Senate, to see if we could escape the centrifugal pull of partisanship and summon the will to defend Western Democracy when it mattered most,” Schumer said in brief remarks on Senate floor. “This morning, the Senate has resoundingly passed the test.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to advance the bill, issued a statement praising the passage as an affirmation “reaffirming a commitment to rebuild and modernize our military, restore our credibility, and give the current commander in chief, as well as the next, more tools to secure our interest.”

“History settles every account,” McConnell added. “And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”

ABC News’ Lauren Peller, Morgan Winsor, Sarah Beth Hensley and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, setting up a showdown in the House of Representatives where Republican leaders have resisted such legislation.

The Senate voted 70-29 to approve the bill early Tuesday, with 22 Republican senators supporting the final passage. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the upper chamber of Congress for approving “one of the most historic and consequential bills to have ever passed the Senate.”

“These past few months have been a great test for the U.S. Senate, to see if we could escape the centrifugal pull of partisanship and summon the will to defend Western Democracy when it mattered most,” Schumer said in brief remarks on the floor of the Senate in Washington, D.C. “This morning, the Senate has resoundingly passed the test.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who voted alongside 21 of his GOP colleagues to advance the bill, issued a statement praising the passage as an affirmation “reaffirming a commitment to rebuild and modernize our military, restore our credibility, and give the current Commander-in-Chief, as well as the next, more tools to secure our interest.”

“History settles every account,” McConnell added. “And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”

The successful vote in the Senate follows months of wrangling over if and how to approve more overseas funding, with conservatives initially saying U.S. President Joe Biden’s request for that money had to be tied to an overhaul of border and immigration policy.

However, a deal in the Senate that was negotiated between Democrats and Republicans to seriously tighten border security along with the new aid was quickly criticized by some in the GOP as insufficient and weakened by loopholes. Instead, the Senate then moved forward with the current legislation, which removed the immigration provisions.

It’s unclear what fate the bill will face in the lower chamber of Congress, which recently tried and failed to pass stand-alone legislation just to send aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has suggested the Senate proposal is not likely to get a vote or even be brought up for debate in his chamber.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise plans to return to Capitol Hill this week in time to help his fellow Republicans try again on Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — after an embarrassing failed vote last week to impeach him over what they say is his failure to enforce the law on the southern border.

Scalise, who was undergoing treatment for blood cancer, was absent from last week’s vote to impeach Mayorkas — one of the reasons the GOP-led effort failed.

Scalise’s office said in a statement Thursday that he “successfully completed his autologous stem cell treatment and has been medically cleared to resume travel.” The Louisiana Republican is in “complete remission,” the statement said — clearing the way for Scalise to vote with the fellow Republicans to impeach Mayorkas, a historic move.

With Scalise, Republicans could finally have the votes they need to impeach Mayorkas, whom they accuse of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust” amid a surge in unauthorized migrant crossings, according to the articles of impeachment. The vote failed last week with a final tally of 214-216 — a crushing defeat for House Republicans.

The impeachment vote is scheduled for Tuesday night, but could change if member attendance is poor.

If the vote is put off, another potential curveball could come with Tuesday’s special election to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

If former Rep. Tom. Suozzi, D-N.Y., prevails over Republican Mazi Pilip for the seat and is sworn in before a second impeachment vote, the impeachment effort is likely to fail again, provided all lawmakers are present and vote the same as last week.

Last week, Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado voted against Mayorkas’ impeachment, telling ABC News’ Jay O’Brien that the secretary had “not committed a high crime or misdemeanor.”

“There is a policy difference,” he said.

Buck was joined by fellow GOP defectors Reps Tom McClintock and Mike Gallagher, who announced over the weekend he won’t run for re-election. They are still expected to vote against impeaching Mayorkas.

If the vote succeeds, it would mark just the second time in U.S. history a Cabinet official has been impeached. The issue would then have to go to trial in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where a two-thirds majority vote would be needed to convict.

On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Mayorkas repeated that the Republicans’ allegations to impeach him are “baseless.” He said the flood of migrants has been a problem for years and that legislative action is needed to fix the system.

“The system has not been fixed for 30 years. A bipartisan group of senators have now presented us with the tools and resources we need — bipartisan group — and yet, Congress killed it before even reading it,” Mayorkas said.

This past December, there were 302,000 encounters along the southwest border — the highest monthly total ever recorded.

Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Mayorkas on whether he bears the responsibility for the flood of migrants crossing the border — something President Joe Biden called a “crisis.”

“It certainly is a crisis, and, well, we don’t bear responsibility for a broken system, and we’re doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But, fundamentally, fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix that,” Mayorkas said.

Last week, the Senate’s vote to advance a bipartisan foreign aid bill with major border provisions failed — a blow to the Senate negotiators who worked for months with Mayorkas to develop the border deal.

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(WASHINGTON) — New York’s 3rd Congressional District is hosting the first closely watched contest of 2024, with political experts saying that the results of Tuesday’s special election could offer some early signs of how swing-seat suburban voters are feeling as the presidential race begins to ramp up.

Former Rep. Tom Suozzi, a well-known Democrat in the area who used to represent the district before leaving for a failed gubernatorial bid in 2022, is facing Republican Mazi Pilip, a Nassau County legislator with a smaller profile.

The race, which has attracted millions of dollars and major New York politicians, is playing out on Long Island, a key battleground for House control later this year and a barometer, experts said, for messaging on crime, immigration and more.

Who’s running — and how are they doing it?

Tuesday’s special election was triggered by disgraced Republican Rep. George Santos’ expulsion in December.

There wasn’t a primary, and Suozzi and Pilip were both essentially handpicked by their respective parties to run for the seat.

Suozzi, a former three-term representative, mayor and county executive, boasts broad name recognition in the district — an asset for him as he seeks to run on his own brand rather than that of a national party led by an unpopular president.

Pilip, meanwhile, is an Ethiopian-born Jew who served in Israel’s military, a high-profile resume given the current war against Hamas in Gaza. While a current officeholder herself, she cuts a lower profile than Suozzi and has made less campaign stops than him.

Suozzi has sought to distance himself from President Joe Biden, who has long been grappling with poor approval ratings nationwide. He’s especially cast himself as tough on illegal immigration, fighting back against attacks from Pilip that he supports more lax border controls. The issue has become a local flashpoint as New York City sees an influx of immigrants and asylum-seekers.

Suozzi has particularly hit Pilip for opposing a recent bipartisan immigration bill in the Senate that would tie foreign aid to heightened border security, noting he would have supported the legislation, which also won the endorsement of the union that represents front-line Border Patrol agents. (That same union is supporting Pilip over Suozzi.)

Suozzi has also gone after Pilip for, he said, dodging on abortion access in order to appeal to voters. The issue took on heightened importance in races across the country after the Supreme Court revoked constitutional protections for the procedure in 2022.

At their only debate, last week, Pilip described herself as “pro-life” but also said she opposes a national ban and maintained that “I’m not going to force my own belief on any woman.”

Suozzi is backed by abortion rights supporters.

Pilip has sought to center the race on local issues of public safety and immigration, arguing that she would be a vote for tougher restrictions on the southern border and address concerns over violent crime, which remain high despite dropping levels in New York.

She’s also worked to tie Suozzi to Biden, underlining Suozzi’s past voting record.

Why is this race happening?

The unusually timed race is taking place because former Rep. Santos was expelled from the House in a historic vote in the wake of various scandals over lies or fabrications about his background and after he was indicted on a slew of charges, including wire fraud and campaign finance violations. He has pleaded not guilty.

Santos hasn’t been brought up extensively in the race, but outside allies of Suozzi, including the House Majority PAC — House Democrats’ main political group — have highlighted past supportive comments of the disgraced former lawmaker by Pilip, whom Suozzi has labeled as a “Santos 2.0” because, he claims, she is “utterly unvetted” and “lying about her record.”

The current special election is being held to see who will serve out the few months remaining in Santos’ term — it will not decide who will serve a full two-year term starting in January.

What are the stakes?

While Tuesday will see results from just one local congressional race, it has attracted outsized attention from both parties and has real political consequences for Washington.

In the short term, the election will impact House Republicans’ wafer-thin majority, either adding a seat to their current three-vote cushion or helping Democrats cut into it further.

The narrow hold that the GOP has on the House has already been an obstacle to attempts at passing legislation.

Beyond that, operatives of both parties are looking to the race to discern what strategies work and don’t work to inform their playbooks for later this year, including gauging Biden and former President Donald Trump’s unpopularity, the issues of crime and immigration and where the winds are blowing in New York City’s suburbs — a region that alone could determine next year’s House majority.

Still, Democrats are hoping to implement an entirely new congressional map across the whole state — and given this race is just to finish Santos’ term, the seat could ultimately look very different when the next term starts in 2025.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Michael Whatley for Republican National Committee chair and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, for co-chair.

Trump announced his endorsement in a statement Monday night, citing Whatley’s commitment to “election integrity.” Whatley was an ardent supporter of Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump also endorsed one of his senior advisers, Chris LaCivita, for chief operating officer.

“This group of three is highly talented, battle-tested, and smart. They have my complete and total endorsement to lead the Republican National Committee,” Trump said in a statement to ABC News.

The news of Trump’s endorsements comes as Ronna McDaniel, the current chair of the Republican National Committee, and Trump have discussed the possibility of her resigning, according to multiple people familiar with their conversation.

However, the RNC issued its own statement following Trump’s endorsement of new party leadership, stating that Chairwoman McDaniel would not step down from her post or announce future plans until after the South Carolina GOP primary on Feb. 24.

“Chairwoman McDaniel has been on the road helping elect Republicans up and down the ballot and she will continue working hard to beat Biden this fall. Nothing has changed, and there will be no decision or announcement about future plans until after South Carolina,” the RNC spokesperson said.

Trump’s endorsements come amid the RNC’s slow fundraising ahead of the 2024 election cycle, entering January 2024 with just $8 million in the bank, while its Democratic counterparts had $21 million on hand.

This is partly because the Democratic National Committee has a fundraising advantage over the RNC due to its joint fundraising capability with the reelection campaign of the sitting president, Joe Biden.

During the 2020 election cycle, the RNC and the Trump campaign boasted a massive joint fundraising operation — raising more than $1.6 billion throughout the two years. Currently, the RNC and Trump raise funds separately.

Trump’s endorsement of his close allies to the national party leadership suggests that efforts to integrate the campaign and the RNC are imminent, which would allow them to raise money together.

Joint fundraising also means the RNC could potentially begin footing Trump’s legal bills, which it did for many years when he was president and after he left office until he declared his candidacy for the 2024 race.

Trump seemingly alluded to a potential joint fundraising operation in announcing his endorsements, stating, “Every penny will be used properly. New Day.”

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(WASHINGTON0 — House Republicans will seek testimony from special counsel Robert Hur in addition to requests made Monday for documents, including transcripts and audio recordings, stemming from Hur’s report released last week on the investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, multiple sources told ABC News.

On Monday afternoon, after ABC News reported the developments, the GOP-led House Judiciary, House Oversight and House Ways and Means committees released a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for the transcripts and audio recordings, saying they were needed for their impeachment inquiry into Biden, claiming that he, among other things, “may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.”

Although Hur decided that no charges against President Biden were warranted, the White House has forcefully pushed back on assertions made in the report related to Biden’s mental acuity.

White House counsel’s office spokesman Ian Sams did not give a definitive answer when asked last week about releasing the full transcripts of Biden’s interview with Hur, saying “its a reasonable question” while noting “there were classified stuff and we have to work through all that.”

When asked if Biden would support the release, Sams said, “We’ll take a look at that and make a determination.”

According to his report, Hur considered charging Biden’s ghostwriter who deleted audio files of interviews with Biden after the special counsel was appointed but ultimately decided against it. The FBI was able to recover the deleted files from the ghostwriter’s computer, according to the report.

However, some legal experts say it could be more difficult to obtain these records from the Justice Department, given there are no charges. The DOJ could also potentially claim it is investigative material as a reason not to disclose any audio recordings or transcripts.

Prior to the report’s release last week, Republican House Oversight Chairman James Comer sent Hur a letter last October seeking documents and information related to the investigation.

President Biden on Monday declined to answer reporter questions about he wanted the transcripts made public.

The special counsel’s office declined comment.

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(WASHINGTON) — Some of former President Donald Trump’s closest Senate allies were out in force on Monday defending his comments over the weekend that even further call into question Trump’s commitments to the United States’ NATO allies.

Multiple Republican senators backed Trump’s remarks on Saturday that he’d “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO-aligned countries that don’t meet their financial obligations to the alliance.

Trump’s remarks echo his long-standing criticism of the role the U.S. plays in providing security for other countries — including major allies. The former president’s comments also come as he attempts to squash a foreign aid bill in the Senate that would provide billions of dollars more in support to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a close Trump ally, said he’s “100% behind him” in his push to get NATO countries to pay more money toward their self-defense.

Asked how allied countries should feel about a potential invasion from Russia after Trump’s remarks, Tuberville doubled down.

“I would be worried. I would be very worried. Especially if they don’t have 2% of their GDP in defense. I mean you’ve got to be able to protect yourself — we can’t protect everybody,” Tuberville said to ABC News. “It’s their country, they’ve got to defend it. We would love to help, but if you’re not going to defend your own country, why should our taxpayers defend it for them?”

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said allied nations that are concerned about Trump’s comments need to “get over it.”

“They need to stand up and be tough. We need to secure our own border first. We need to take care of things here at home first. When we secure our own border and we take care of home, then great, let’s help other people as well,” Marshall said.

Marshall said it was important not to “overreact” to Trump’s comments.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, joined Marshall in saying Trump’s remarks ought to be taken “seriously, but not literally.”

But Cornyn did add that he believes the United States should remain committed to the alliance.

“The message should be that the United States will live up to its treaty obligations no matter who is president,” Cornyn said.

Some Senate Republicans had more aggressive rebukes for Trump.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called it a “mistake” for Trump to so pointedly encourage Russia to have its way with other countries, even as he backed calls for NATO nations to meet their financial obligations.

“So I think it was very important what Trump was saying that they need to pay their fair share and they need to pay their way,” Paul said. “I think it was a mistake to say he would encourage Russia to attack them. I think that was a careless remark and shouldn’t have been said.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said on Sunday that Trump’s comments were “uncalled for.”

While NATO allies need to uphold their end of the bargain, Murkowski said, there’s no need to be suggesting that the United States might throw its NATO allies “to the Russian wolves.”

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said on Sunday that he believes Trump often makes comments to “elicit media and applause and outrage” with “no intent” of action. But whatever his motives, casting doubt on the United States’ obligation to its commitments could have a cost, said Romney — an outspoken critic of Trump.

“Even if he did it just to get a rise from the audience and the media and the world at large, it has dangerous implications because people in other nations read it with concern and make their calculations accordingly — and that has an impact in our standing in the world,” Romney said on Sunday. “We’re going to lose friends if we go around saying that we’re not going to protect them under the obligations we have under NATO.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to stay last week’s appeals court decision that rejected his claim to absolute immunity from prosecution in special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case.

Trump, who in August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is seeking the dismissal of the case on the grounds that he has “absolute immunity” from prosecution for actions taken while serving in the nation’s highest office.

Last week a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected his claim of presidential immunity, clearing the way for Trump to seek to appeal the issue to the Supreme Court.

Trump’s attorneys argued in their application to the Supreme Court, filed Monday, that the high court should allow the appellate process to play out — and effectively delay any possible trial indefinitely — given the magnitude of the issues and the stakes for the upcoming presidential election.

The justices will likely ask for a response from Smith, the federal prosecutor overseeing the investigations of Trump, before acting on Trump’s application for a stay in the coming days.

Trump’s lawyers suggested that the former president intends to seek en banc review — done by the entire bench rather than a select panel — of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and, ultimately, Supreme Court review some time down the road.

“Allowing President Trump to pursue en banc review in the D.C. Circuit will provide an opportunity for similar thoughtful consideration in the lower court before this Court addresses the novel, complex, and momentous issues at stake in this appeal,” his attorneys wrote in the new filing.

His lawyers pushed back on the argument that a quick resolution was needed, with Smith having previously cited an “imperative public importance of a prompt resolution of this case.”

“The prospect that an … appeal of an immunity question might affect a pending trial date is commonplace and routine,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.

At the same time, they argued, Trump going on trial in the months before the 2024 election risks “irreparable injury” to him because it would affect his ability to campaign before the public.

In last week’s ruling, the appellate panel flatly dismissed Trump’s claims to legal immunity and said that affording him such protection “would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches.”

Trump’s trial had been scheduled to start on March 4 before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan postponed that start date while waiting for his immunity appeal to play out.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign released it first-ever TikTok on Sunday, during the Super Bowl, announcing it had joined the enormously popular app with a video featuring Biden — despite widespread data-security concerns in Washington over TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company.

In a 30-second video captioned “lol hey guys,” Biden was given a series of “this-or-that” prompts related to the Super Bowl, including “Chiefs or 49ers” and “Jason or Travis Kelce” (“Mama Kelce,” he said) before the final prompt: “Trump or Biden?”

“Are you kidding? Biden,” the president replied with a smile.

The video had garnered nearly five million views by Monday at noon, which the campaign touted in explaining the decision to launch an account.

Hey by the way, we just joined TikTok

Follow us: https://t.co/KbtdOh2O4a pic.twitter.com/vDeXUzhb9W

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 12, 2024

“The President’s Tik Tok debut … is proof positive of both our commitment and success in finding new, innovative ways to reach voters in an evolving, fragmented and increasingly personalized media environment,” Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Rob Flaherty, said in a statement to ABC News.

“I suppose you could say our ‘Roman Empire’ is meeting voters wherever they are,” Flaherty added, referencing a popular meme on TikTok referring to something someone thinks about very often.

However, Biden himself has previously expressed security concerns regarding whether ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, could share user data with China’s authoritarian government.

Chinese officials have said they would never do that and TikTok has defended itself by citing Project Texas, an initiative that the company said keeps all U.S. user data on servers within the country — “outside the reach or influence of any foreign government.”

Nonetheless, the president signed a law in 2022 banning TikTok from federal government devices — with officials later citing “ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy” — and his administration last year called for TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent company or risk getting banned in the U.S.

A TikTok spokesperson said at the time, in part, “The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting and verification, which we are already implementing.”

The White House has also announced support for bipartisan legislation that could be used to ban the app and Biden said in February 2023, “I know I don’t have it on my phone.”

But nine months out from a presidential election, which the campaign is contending will be the most consequential in American history, Biden can now be found on TikTok: @bidenhq.

White House spokesman John Kirby faced questions on Monday about where the administration stands on TikTok, in light of the campaign’s move, but said “I can only tell you that it’s not allowed on government devices. That policy remains the case, and I just can’t speak for the campaign or their decisions.”

He referred questions to Biden’s campaign team.

The campaign is taking advanced security precautions around devices using the app and incorporating a “sophisticated” security protocol, advisers said, though they declined to specify the precautions.

The new account will be managed by campaign staff, and there’s no decision at this time on whether Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris may also create personal pages in the future.

Until now, Biden had been tapping influencers and leaning on the Democratic National Committee’s TikTok page to spread his message on the app, as well as accounts like GenZ for Biden.

The choice to release the campaign’s first video during Sunday’s game came after Biden received some scrutiny for not participating in a pre-Super Bowl interview with CBS, but the campaign said it is intentionally working to target voters who don’t tune in to traditional media outlets.

Four months ago, Biden also joined Truth Social, the platform launched by former President Donald Trump.

The campaign’s profile pictures on both TikTok and Truth Social show Biden’s “Dark Brandon” meme, featuring the president in black and white, smiling, with red lasers shooting out of his eyes.

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(WASHINGTON) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed his Senate colleagues Monday to finally “finish the job” and get the $95 billion foreign aid bill across the finish line — however, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a vocal opponent of the bill, filibustered on the floor urging senators to consider the effect it could have on the national debt.

Schumer spoke Monday morning encouraging his colleagues to advance the bill, which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian assistance for Gaza. It does not include any additional money for the southern border after an attempt to pair them collapsed last week.

“By now, we have taken numerous procedural votes that prove beyond doubt that there’s strong support behind this bill. It’s time to finish the job and get this critical bill passed. If we want the world to remain a safe place for freedom, for democratic principles, for American prosperity, then elected leaders need to put in the work to make that happen,” Schumer said.

Schumer called the bill a “down payment for the survival of Western democracy and the survival of American values.” He said inaction in Congress would only serve to benefit Russia, who is at war with Ukraine.

“The entire world is going to remember what the Senate does in the next few days. Nothing — nothing, would make Putin happier right now than to see Congress waver in its support for Ukraine. Nothing would help him more on the battlefield,” Schumer said.

“The message if we fail, would be that America can’t be trusted,” he added.

Because of the objections of Paul, the Senate had to work through the weekend to advance the bill and they are now jumping through multiple procedural hoops to get the bill finished. The Kentucky Republican has vowed to withhold his consent and not let leadership speed the process up.

He filibustered Monday afternoon to express his opposition to the Ukraine-Israel aid bill and the effect such a bill would have on the national debt. Paul said other countries are being prioritized over the United States with this bill.

“Shouldn’t we try to fix our own country first?” Paul asked.

Former President Donald Trump, whose opposition to the initial national security supplemental led to its demise, spoke out against its latest iteration over the weekend.

Trump posted to this social media platform that the United States should only loan money to foreign allies.

“WE SHOULD NEVER GIVE MONEY ANYMORE WITHOUT THE HOPE OF A PAYBACK, OR WITHOUT ‘STRINGS’ ATTACHED. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SHOULD BE ‘STUPID’ NO LONGER!” Trump wrote.

On Monday afternoon, the Senate took a quorum call, which requested all senators to the floor to allow leadership to take attendance of all members who are in town.

At this point, the Senate will continue to bleed out the procedural clock until they can take a final vote on the bill in the coming days. While it appears the bill may pass in the Senate, its fate is still unclear in the House.

“I ask senators to stay close to the floor until we get this bill done,” Schumer said.

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