Closing summary
In theory, TikTok faces a ban that starts Sunday, after the supreme court upheld a law requiring its Chinese owner to sell the popular social media app’s US business in order to remain accessible in the country. But the story is far from over. Joe Biden’s outgoing administration said they’ll leave the decision on whether to enforce the ban to Donald Trump, who responded to the supreme court’s decision by saying he has not made up his mind yet about whether to do so. Meanwhile, Mother Nature has disrupted Trump’s hopes for a well-attended inauguration in its usual spot on the Capitol’s west front. The president-elect announced the swearing-in ceremony will be held indoors on Monday due to dangerously cold temperatures that are forecast for Washington DC. The last president to take the inaugural oath inside the Capitol was Ronald Reagan, at the start of his second term in 1985.
Here’s what else happened today:
Biden said the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered part of the US constitution, though he did not order the government archivist to add it to the document.
Progressive groups condemned Democrats who voted to advance the Laken Riley Act, which targets undocumented immigrants accused of theft. It may be the first piece of legislation Trump signs upon taking office.
The inaugural parade will be held inside the Capital One arena in downtown Washington DC, Trump said. It typically goes down Pennsylvania Avenue, from the Capitol to the White House.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the supreme court’s decision upholding the TikTok sell-or-ban law is “incredibly disappointing”.
TikTok’s peril is the gain of RedNote, another Chinese social media app that American users have flocked to in recent days.
Updated
Prior to her nomination, Kristi Noem was not seen as a key player on immigration, though her record as South Dakota’s governor reflects a hardline Trumpian approach.
During the hearing, Noem repeatedly touted her decision to deploy South Dakota national guard troops to Texas’s border with Mexico in 2021. She has faced criticism from her constituents for failing to send those same troops to assist with disaster relief in the wake of catastrophic floods that ravaged parts of her state last summer. As head of the department, she would oversee the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In one exchange, the newly elected New Jersey senator Andy Kim, a Democrat, referenced reports that Trump intends to rely on advisers like Stephen Miller and “border czar” Tom Homan – who do not need Senate confirmation – rather than the DHS secretary to carry out his mass deportation plans.
“If [Homan] is going to be making decisions, then he should come before this committee as well,” Kim said.
Noem insisted that securing the border which she described as a “war zone” and under “invasion” would be a priority.
Noem also pledged to end the CBP One app, which was launched by the Biden administration as a way to create a more orderly system for claiming asylum. Since Biden’s asylum crackdown, the app is one of the only ways for migrants to claim asylum.
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