Senators Say China’s TikTok Lobbying Efforts Could Backfire

The bill forcing a TikTok sale is getting tacked on to what many see as a must-pass foreign aid package.

TikTok
The House will vote on whether to force the sale of TikTok as part of a package of foreign aid measures. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Senators hope the news of Chinese officials lobbying on behalf of TikTok influences iffy colleagues to pick a side — preferably theirs — after a bill to force the sale of the social media giant passed the House this weekend.

“I’m not surprised,” Majority Whip Dick Durbin told NOTUS of the recent Politico report that the Chinese embassy held meetings with multiple congressional staffers and discussed TikTok. “It’ll open people’s eyes to reality.”

“I had assumed that,” Sen. Joe Manchin said. “Hell, they want all our information. It’s crazy.”