On the first day of his new administration, President Donald Trump followed through on his pledge to keep TikTok in service via an executive order. But in doing so, Trump may be setting up one of the first high-profile disagreements with congressional Republicans, who overwhelmingly approved a ban of the app into law.
Because Trump was inaugurated just one day after the ban took effect, the order instead directed the Justice Department to not prosecute over the law.
“I am instructing the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today,” the executive order said. “During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Act”
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the extension would give him the leeway to cut a deal with ByteDance, possibly splitting TikTok’s ownership in half with an American company. During the conference Trump also threatened to impose tariffs on China if it decided to block the sale.
“I think he’ll probably like it,” Trump said of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. “Because he has nothing, they really have nothing, and we’ve got 90 days to reach that decision.”
Shou Zi Chew was a prominent VIP guest at the inauguration earlier in the day.
Despite Trump’s attempts to reassure tech companies that they would not be liable for making TikTok accessible for U.S. users, it is unclear if the extension can be legally triggered after the initial deadline and if Trump’s executive order meets the initial qualified divestiture requirements in the law.
Senate Republicans told NOTUS on Friday they had expected Trump to simply follow the law then-President Joe Biden signed, which the Supreme Court unanimously upheld earlier that day. By Monday, after it was clear Trump would give TikTok an extension, many of them said they were OK with one so long as the end result was the same.
“If they want to sell it, then that’s fine. And if the president wants to broker a sale, that’s great, just so long this is not to another entity controlled by Beijing,” Sen. Josh Hawley told NOTUS.
The fact that extension was enacted after meeting the initial deadline means that it might face legal challenges. Still, Senate Republicans told NOTUS, they believe Trump was entitled under law to repeal the ban for 90 days even after Jan. 19, if there was a viable divestiture deal in the works.
“He does have the authority — if there is a pending deal — for up to 90 days. They’ve expressed interest, that they think that they can put together a deal. If that’s the case, they’re entitled to their 90 days,” Sen. Mike Rounds told NOTUS.
“Look, we all want the same thing,” Sen. John Kennedy said. “The former president signed the bill into law. Now the burden is on TikTok. I think giving them a reasonable period of time — like 30 days [to] fish or cut bait, piss or get off the pot.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, disagreed and said in a statement Sunday that there was no legal way for TikTok to be online prior to a sale actually happening.
“Now that the law has taken effect, there’s no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date,” he said.
Cotton added: “For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law’s qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China. Only then will Americans be protected from the grave threat posed to their privacy and security by a communist-controlled TikTok.”
TikTok shut down its services briefly on Saturday for U.S. users, warning them that content would be unavailable following American law. The blackout would only last 14 hours, as Trump publicly said he would back a delay of the ban.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok said in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans,” the company said on Sunday.
Under current legislation, TikTok providers risk fines of $5,000 per user illegally accessing the app. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google have kept the app off of their stores after the deadline, while Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s data, restored the app’s availability.
Oracle’s leadership has long kept close ties with Trump. On Sunday, Trump said he would seek to reach a deal with ByteDance allowing them to split the ownership of TikTok with another American company, a deal that would go against current legislation.
TikTok is still unavailable to download in Apple and Google app stores. In official support documentation, Apple says that TikTok and 10 other ByteDance-owned apps will remain unavailable in their stores following U.S. law.
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Samuel Larreal is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
Violet Jira, a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow, contributed to this report.