NEW: Trump creates first national sovereign wealth fund to invest in America

"We're going to stand this thing up within the next 12 months. We're going to monetize the asset side of the US balance sheet for the American people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the press. "There'll be a combination of liquid assets, assets that we have in this country as we work to bring them out for the American people."

Trump has reportedly been in talks with multiple US businesses, including Oracle, to take control of TikTok. This comes after a ban on the app was made into law that was contingent on Chinese company Byte Dance divesting from the company. The ban was supported in a ruling by the Supreme Court right before Trump took office.

The president told reporters in the Oval Office, "We have tremendous potential," as he signed the order. He also said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick would be spearheading the effort behind the wealth fund, according to Bloomberg. During his campaign for president, Trump said a fund of this kind could be funded through tariffs and "other intelligent things."

TikTok is used by around 170 million Americans, and when the ban law went into place, TikTok sued the federal government, accusing the US of violating First Amendment protections. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the ban did “not violate the petitioners' First Amendment rights.” After Trump's inauguration, he signed an executive order to delay the ban on TikTok for 75 days so that a resolution could be met.

Aside from the potential stake in TikTok with the wealth fund, it can be used to invest in infrastructure such as highways, medical research, airports, and more, Trump said in his comments on Monday.