Trump orders creation of new 'sovereign wealth fund' that could acquire TikTok

On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered his secretaries Scott Bessent (Treasury) and Howard Lutnick (Commerce) to initiate a process for the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

The Republican signed an executive order to create a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, suggesting it could partially own the popular TikTok app.

"It’s a very exciting event. We’re going to have a sovereign wealth fund, which we’ve never had,” the president said. “We have a lot of things that create wealth and you’re seeing that over the last two weeks, I think we’ve created more wealth," The Hill media outlet noted.

The Treasury secretary called the fund "very exciting" and said that a fund will be created in the next 12 months, noting that it will aim to monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet and "put assets to work."

Similarly, Margo Martin, communications advisor to the Republican president published a video where the president is seen accompanied by his team making statements about this new executive order for the creation of the sovereign wealth fund.

"We have tremendous potential in this country. You can already see what happens in a short period of time. One example of this is TikTok, we're going to be doing something. Maybe with TikTok, maybe not, if we do the right deal, we will. Otherwise we won't do it, but I have the right to do that," Trump emphasized in the video.

The move comes at an almost watershed moment for the platform with more than 17 million U.S. users after its use in the U.S. was briefly disrupted on Jan. 19. Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, had already signed an executive order to delay the U.S. ban on TikTok for 75 days on the grounds that the administration needed more time to assess the most appropriate course of action.