The deadline for TikTok to split from its Chinese-owned parent company—extended once by President Donald Trump on his first day in office—is fast approaching, and congressional Republicans want him to enforce the law.
Upon taking office, Trump issued an executive order delaying the enforcement of a law signed just less than a year ago that would ban TikTok if its owner, ByteDance, a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), refused to divest from the popular social media platform. That extension expires Saturday, and with a deal being considered but not yet finalized, Trump may either need to delay the ban further or enforce the law designed to address national security concerns about ByteDance’s ties to the CCP and the safety of Americans’ data. Republicans on Capitol Hill are hoping for the second option.
“Unless he has authority to, then he shouldn’t [issue an extension],” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, who sits on the House’s Select Committee on the CCP, told The Dispatch. “It’s a law we passed. It’s bipartisan in nature. I think TikTok is a security concern and an issue for the United States of America, and if they can’t sell it to an American company, then it should be banned.”
Although the law signed by former President Joe Biden took effect the day before Trump took office, it gave the president authority to grant a one-time extension for its enforcement of no more than 90 days, provided there were binding legal documents in place to execute the transfer. None were present then, nor are any now. Neither did Trump’s order make use of the extension power. Instead, he directed the Justice Department to not enforce the ban for 75 days. He also said last week he would issue another extension if he does not have a deal by Saturday.
Some Republicans acknowledged to The Dispatch back in January that the initial delay did not comport perfectly with the law. They argued, however, that if Trump could get a deal done, that would fulfill the law’s intention. Now, they are sounding more emphatic that he needs to follow the law’s letter as well as its intent.
Various concerns exist about the potential for TikTok remaining under ByteDance’s control even after a sale. Rep. John Moolenaar, who chairs the Select Committee on the CCP, has named two circumstances he says would be unacceptable under the law—having TikTok still run on ByteDance’s algorithm and keeping it staffed with employees beholden to ByteDance.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, echoing comments he made about the first extension, said Trump should “enforce the law as written” if there is no sale of TikTok. “We’re a nation of laws,” he told The Dispatch. Asked whether he was concerned that Trump might not enforce the law, he replied: “You’re asking me theoreticals. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, another House China committee member, said a “short extension” might be appropriate if progress is being made toward reaching a sale but called for the law’s enforcement, absent steps toward a deal.
“We did pass a law,” he said. “ByteDance has to be out of the picture. That’s the way I see it.”
Sen. Mike Rounds made similar comments. “I do know the law is very clear, that they will have to basically terminate operations, and I expect that they will follow the law,” he told The Dispatch.
Although Trump during his first term favored banning TikTok, he has since changed his mind on the issue, nodding to the app’s popularity among young people. To work out a sale and comply with the law, he tasked Vice President J.D. Vance and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz with finding U.S.-based buyers.
Moolenaar said another extension “could be an option,” but he did not say whether that would be in compliance with the law.
“I’m more interested in getting the deal done so ByteDance is no longer the owner of TikTok, and I trust that the White House is working on it,” he told The Dispatch. “And there are a number of good offers, and my hope is that that deal would close. I think President Trump’s a great negotiator, and he can pull this together.”
It was clear from speaking with congressional Republicans that few have been closely following the sale negotiations. News broke Tuesday that Andreessen Horowitz—a venture capital firm whose co-founder, Marc Andreessen, is a vocal supporter of Trump—could be an investor in TikTok under new ownership. CBS News reported that Trump will consider a final proposal on Wednesday, and mentioned Blackstone and Oracle as potential investors, among others.
Bilirakis said he did not know the status of the negotiations but said he trusted Trump.
“I believe the president. The president says they’re negotiating, that there’s a lot of potential there for a deal—which I have no access to,” he told The Dispatch.
