Trump Eyes Executive Order to ‘Save TikTok’ From Ban, WaPo Reports
President-elect Donald Trump is considering signing an executive order to stop the congressional sale-or-ban law of TikTok once he enters the White House.
According to Washington Post, Trump’s potential executive order would suspend enforcement of the law for up to 60-90 days. The nationwide ban of the app is currently scheduled for Sunday, but Trump is considering unraveling the Biden administration’s efforts against the popular Chinese-owned social media company.
Last year, President Joe Biden signed a law demanding ByteDance, a Chinese-owned company, sell the app by Jan. 19 or the app would be banned in the country. Although the company is challenging the law, the Supreme Court is likely to uphold the ban.
Previously, Trump has said on his own TikTok account that he will “save” the platform. He added, “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.”
Per the Post, Trump wants to “make a deal” even though the ban will be enforced one day before his inauguration. However, using an executive order to save TikTok from a ban may be difficult according to legal experts who spoke with the Post.
Trump, one of the people said, is eager to be seen as “making a deal,” and signing an executive order soon after the deadline’s passing — just one day before his inauguration — would give the proceedings a cinematic flourish.
But the strategy of using an executive order, which Trump dashed off in rapid fashion at the start of his first presidential term, has fueled doubts among some legal observers, who argue the president’s word can’t entirely overcome a law Congress passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Executive orders “are not magical documents. They’re just press releases with nicer stationery,” said Alan Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department now at the University of Minnesota. “TikTok will still be banned, and it will still be illegal for Apple and Google to do business with them. But it will make the president’s intention not to enforce the law that much more official.”
