Exclusive: House China Committee Chairman John Moolener tells Fox News Digital that President-elect Donald Trump is the “perfect leader” to negotiate and deliver the “deal of the century” to make TikTok available in the United States. ”
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold oral arguments on January 10, 2025, on legislation that would require the divestment of TikTok from the control of a foreign enemy. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
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The bill, signed into law this spring, requires ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19th. If ByteDance doesn’t sell by the deadline, Google and Apple will be unable to list TikTok in their U.S. app stores.
The Supreme Court justices announced that they will hold a special session on January 10 to hear oral arguments in the case. This provides an expedited timeline that allows the case to be heard just nine days before the ban is scheduled to go into effect on January 19th. The law allows the president to extend the deadline by up to 90 days if ByteDance is in the process of being sold.
John Moolener, a Republican from Mississippi, currently chairs the House Select Committee on China. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Moolenaar, Michigan, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that he has met with leading investors and has “full confidence” that Trump “will make a significant contribution to the United States.” Ta.
“This is going to be the deal of the century,” Moolener said, noting that the sale “could happen in stages.”
“First it’s an acquisition, then it’s a big IPO, probably the biggest IPO in history,” he said. “And I believe President Trump is the best leader to negotiate and deliver this victory.”
He added: “By leveraging the TikTok bill passed by Congress, President Trump has the opportunity to make the deal of the century.”
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Moolener predicted that the sale of TikTok could be completed as soon as the appeal is exhausted and the U.S. Supreme Court rules. He said a “major” IPO could happen “later” “as part of the solution.”
“I think TikTok and ByteDance are holding us back,” Moolenaar said. “I believe this will move fairly quickly once they realize they need to follow U.S. law.”
Earlier this month, TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency motion with the high court asking the justices to temporarily block enforcement of the law while they appeal the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s ruling.
Lawyers for TikTok argue that the law passed earlier this year violates the First Amendment, and in the Supreme Court’s request that it “singles out applicants and shuts down one of the country’s most important speech platforms.” “This is an unprecedented attempt by Congress to prohibit the operation of…” “Significant constitutional questions are being raised that this court will likely not be able to withstand.”
But Moulenard warned that without divestment, the Chinese Communist Party could try to “manipulate perceptions in the United States,” and said the party has “access to Americans’ data” through TikTok.
“This is very profitable, very popular, and a major foray by the Chinese Communist Party into influencing American culture,” Moolener said.
However, when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party’s access to U.S. citizens’ data, TikTok has created a “Project Texas” initiative dedicated to addressing U.S. national security concerns.
On Thursday, March 23, 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew spoke to reporters before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing about the platform’s consumer privacy and data security. talk about the practice and its impact on children. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said “Project Texas” will create a standalone version of the TikTok platform for the US, isolated on servers in Oracle’s US cloud environment. It was developed by CFIUS and cost approximately $1.5 billion to implement.
Although Chu maintains that TikTok is not beholden to any particular country, executives have said in the past that even when U.S.-based TikTok officials did not have access to Americans’ data, Chinese authorities admitted that a person had accessed data on Americans.
TikTok claims the new initiative will keep U.S. user data safe, telling Fox News Digital that the data is controlled “in the United States by American persons.”
But Moolener says even Project Texas is “not really enough.”
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“TikTok’s algorithms are very different in the U.S. and China, given ByteDance’s affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party and their control over TikTok,” he explained. “There needs to be a divestment, and we need to know that an American company or a company that partners with like-minded and friendly countries, not adversaries, is in charge of this app.”
He added: “Only that can meet the law and protect 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 during a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 16, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“But things have changed. President Trump knows from experience that the only language the Chinese Communist Party speaks is hardball,” Moolener said. “He is a great negotiator, and our laws give him the leverage he needs to make this historic deal.”
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However, President Trump has signaled support for TikTok. Earlier this month, he met with Thieu at Mar-a-Lago and told reporters at a press conference ahead of the meeting that the next administration would take a look at TikTok and its impending U.S. ban. Ta.
“I have a warm spot for TikTok,” President Trump told reporters.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
