Trump鈥檚 pick for national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Wednesday that the president-elect is exploring options to 鈥減reserve鈥� TikTok.
Waltz made the comment when Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked him about a report from The Washington Post that said Trump was considering an executive order to suspend enforcement of a federal law that could ban the popular platform nationwide by Sunday.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute brought by TikTok, its China-based parent company ByteDance, and users of the app. The Justices seemed likely to uphold the law, which requires ByteDance to divest TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban in one of its biggest markets.
鈥淚f the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he鈥檚 going to protect their data,鈥� Waltz said.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a deal maker. I don鈥檛 want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we鈥檙e going to create this space to put that deal in place," he added.
Separately on Wednesday, Pam Bondi, Trump鈥檚 pick for attorney general, dodged a question during a Senate hearing on whether she鈥檇 uphold a TikTok ban.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral. He pledged to 鈥渟ave TikTok鈥� during the campaign and has credited the platform with helping him win more youth votes.
The Associated Press
