Before President Donald Trump took office, Senate Republicans were clear about TikTok: Whether he liked it or not, Trump had to enforce the law, which forces the sale of TikTok or — if a sale is unsuccessful — outright bans the popular video app.
But on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order on TikTok that ostensibly buys more time to “consult with my advisors” and “pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”
Under the law, Trump already had 90 days to work out a deal, if the president thinks the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has made significant progress toward a sale. But Trump is simply directing the Department of Justice to not enforce the law, which was passed with large, bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress, signed by then-President Joe Biden and upheld by the Supreme Court as recently as last week.