RACHEL SCOTT (ABC): And David, just one more note about Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent. Today during his confirmation hearing, he said he would support tougher sanctions on Russia, amid its war with Ukraine. Some Democrats encouraged by those worlds. In the meantime, David, turning to the inauguration, just 24 hours after President Biden warned of an oligarchy taking shape in America, what he called a tech-industrial complex, tonight we have learned a growing list of tech CEOs plan to attend President-Elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday. That list includes Apple's Tim Cook, SpaceX and Tesla's Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai, and TikTok CEO Shou Chew. All of them, David, will have prominent seats for Donald Trump’s swearing-in, David.
NANCY CORDES (CBS): CORDES: Now the Trump team is looking for ways to buy TikTok some time, with a U.S. ban on the app set to take effect this Sunday. Chew will be seated Monday alongside other tech titans including Tesla's Elon Musk, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos. Those three alone have a combined net worth close to a trillion dollars.
JOE BIDEN: An oligarchy is taking shape in America...
CORDES: In his farewell address last night,President Biden issued a warning about what he described as the tech-industrial complex and the rich men who run it.
BIDEN: And that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people.
CORDES: Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is a billionaire himself, was asked about that at his confirmation hearing today.
BERNIE SANDERS: When so few people have so much wealth and power, do you think that that is an oligarchic form of society?
SCOTT BESSENT: I think it depends on the ability to move up and down the income…
SANDERS: No, that's not really the answer.
SAVANNAH SELLERS (NBC): SELLERS: It all comes just days before Mr. Trump's inauguration. According to three sources, TikTok's CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend, along with the world's three richest men: tech titan Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg. Just last night President Biden took aim at Big Tech, and what he called the dangerous concentration of power among a select few.
