JD Vance ‘Quarterbacking’ Sale Of TikTok Ahead Of April Deadline
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump tapped Vice President JD Vance Friday to lead the charge on the high-stakes sale of TikTok ahead of the looming April deadline that would see the app shut down, cutting off 170 million American users and countless businesses reliant on the platform.
TikTok’s troubles began with a bipartisan 2024 law mandating the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, sell the app to a US entity or be shut down. Having failed in that the app faced a ban which was set to begin just as former President Joe Biden’s term ended. At that stage Trump swooped in, signing an executive order on his first day in office to pause enforcement for 75 days — a grace period that expires April 5.
Now, Vance will be “quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok” alongside National Security Advisor Michael Waltz to find a buyer, a source told PunchBowl News.
According to the outlet, the claim was ratified by multiple sources on Capitol Hill and the White House who said that Vance’s role will involve managing tech negotiations while weighing national security concerns.
Complicating matters, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been vocal about his hardline stance. Cotton expects “any deal for TikTok to result in a complete break from Communist China in accordance with the law,” according to his spokesperson.
Cotton claims to have “received more bipartisan support over the last three weeks from senators and representatives on the TikTok issue than perhaps any issue he’s ever seen.”
Potential buyers include Microsoft, Elon Musk, and a duo of businessman Frank McCourt and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary. McCourt, who’s actively lobbying on Capitol Hill, pitches a complete severance from Chinese control, aligning with Cotton’s demands.
Meanwhile, Trump has also floated the idea of the federal government taking a stake in TikTok via a sovereign wealth fund — and even hinted at allowing some Chinese firms to retain interest.
