EXCLUSIVE: House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar told Fox News Digital that President-elect Donald Trump is the “perfect leader” to negotiate and deliver the “deal of the century” to keep TikTok available in the U.S.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on Jan. 10, 2025 on the law that requires a divestment of TikTok from foreign adversary control. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing and connected to the Chinese Communist Party.
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That legislation, which was signed into law in the spring, requires a sale of TikTok from ByteDance by Jan. 19. If ByteDance does not divest by the deadline, Google and Apple are no longer able to feature TikTok in their app stores in the U.S.
Supreme Court Justices said they will hold a special session on Jan. 10 to hear oral arguments in the case — an expedited timeline that will allow them to consider the case just nine days before the Jan. 19 ban is slated to take effect. The law allows the president to extend the deadline by up to 90 days if ByteDance is in the process of divesting.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Moolenaar, R-Mich., said he has been meeting with top investors, and that he has “full confidence” that Trump “will be able to make a great deal for America.”
“It will be the deal of the century,” Moolenaar said, noting that the divestment “could happen in phases.”
“First with a buyout and then a massive IPO—probably the largest IPO in history,” he said. “And I believe President Trump is the perfect leader to negotiate and deliver this win.”
He added: “President Trump has the opportunity to make the deal of the century because of the leverage of the TikTok legislation passed by Congress.”
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Moolenaar predicted that the sale of TikTok could be completed quickly after it exhausts its appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court decides the case. He said a “massive” IPO could occur “later, as one piece of the solution.”
“I think TikTok and ByteDance have been dragging their feet,” Moolenaar said. “Once they realize they’re required to follow U.S. law, I believe this will move forward fairly quickly.”
TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency application to the high court earlier this month asking justices to temporarily block the law from being enforced while it appealed a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Lawyers for TikTok have argued that the law passed earlier this year is a First Amendment violation, noting in their Supreme Court request that “Congress’s unprecedented attempt to single out applicants and bar them from operating one of the most significant speech platforms in this nation” and “presents grave constitutional problems that this court likely will not allow to stand.”
But Moolenaar warned that without divestment, the CCP could attempt to “manipulate perceptions in the United States,” and said they have “access to Americans’ data” through TikTok.
“It is very profitable, very popular, and it is a major inroad for the CCP to influence American culture,” said Moolenaar.