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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 US
The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on January 10, 2025 on the law requiring TikTok to divest from the control of a foreign adversary. TikTok it 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 the sale of ByteDance’s TikTok by January 19. If ByteDance does not divest by the deadline, Google and Apple will no longer be able to list TikTok in their US app stores.
Supreme Court justices said they will hold a special session on Jan. 10 to hear oral arguments in the case, an accelerated deadline that will allow them to consider the case just nine days before the Jan. 19 ban takes effect. The law allows the president to extend the deadline up to 90 days if ByteDance is in the process of divestment.
John Moolenaar, a Republican from Mississippi, is now the chairman of the House Select Committee on China. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Moolenaar, R-Mich., said he has met with major investors and has “full confidence” that Trump “will be able to do 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 biggest IPO ever,” he said. “And I think President Trump is the perfect leader to negotiate and achieve this victory.”
He added: “President Trump has an opportunity to make the deal of the century because of the leveraged TikTok legislation passed by Congress.”
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Moolenaar predicted that the sale of TikTok could be completed quickly after its appeals are exhausted and the US Supreme Court decides the case. He said a “massive” IPO could happen “later, as part of the solution.”
“I think TikTok and ByteDance have been dragging their feet,” Moolenaar said. “Once they realize they have to follow American law, I think that will move pretty quickly.”
TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency appeal at the high court earlier this month asking judges to temporarily block enforcement while it appealed a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals to in the District of Columbia Circuit.
Lawyers for TikTok have argued that the law passed earlier this year is a violation of the First Amendment, noting in their Petition of the Supreme Court that the “unprecedented attempt by Congress to identify the applicants and bar them from operating one of the most important speech platforms in this nation” and “presents serious constitutional problems that this court will probably not allow to stand.”
But Moolenaar warned that without divestment, the CCP could try to “manipulate perceptions in America” and said they have “access to Americans’ data” through TikTok.
“It’s very profitable, very popular, and it’s a big step for the CCP to influence American culture,” Moolenaar said.
But regarding the CCP’s access to US citizens’ data, TikTok created its “Project Texas” initiative, which is dedicated to addressing US national security concerns.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew speaks to reporters ahead of a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the platform’s consumer data security and privacy practices and the impact on children, Thursday March 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says “Project Texas” creates a standalone version of the TikTok platform for the United States isolated on servers in Oracle’s cloud environment. It was developed by CFIUS and cost the company approximately $1.5 billion to implement.
Chew has argued that TikTok is not beholden to any country, although executives in the past have admitted that Chinese officials had access to Americans’ data even when US-based TikTok officials didn’t.
TikTok claims the new initiative keeps US user data safe and told Fox News Digital that the data is managed “by Americans, in America.”
But Moolenaar says even the “Texas Project” is “really not enough.”
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“When you consider that ByteDance is affiliated with the CCP and they make the TikTok decision, the TikTok algorithm is very different in the US than in China,” he explained. “There has to be a divestment and we have to know that an American company or a company affiliated with like-minded nations, friendly nations, not adversary nations, is in charge of this application.”
He added: “Only this will satisfy the law and protect our national security.”
Moolenaar said that, until now, the Chinese Communist Party “had no reason to allow the sale of TikTok.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on December 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“But that has changed, and President Trump knows from experience that the only language the CCP speaks is tough,” Moolenaar said. “He’s an incredible negotiator, and our legislation is giving him the leverage he needs to make this historic deal.”
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However, Trump has supported TikTok. Earlier this month, he met with Chew at Mar-a-Lago, telling reporters during a pre-meeting press conference that his incoming administration will “take a look at TikTok” and the impending ban on united states
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump told reporters.
