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Chuck Schumer, TikTok

Democrats’ TikTok dilemma

Democrats thought they’d be able to back the Chinese government into a corner with legislation forcing the sale of TikTok, dodging national security concerns as well as any backlash from their political base.

Their gambit may have backfired.

Top Hill Democrats are engineering an eleventh-hour push to stave off the looming shutdown of the popular social media platform, despite having largely backed the 2024 law that gave Chinese-owned ByteDance until Sunday to divest from TikTok.

In an unusual alliance, Democrats are siding with President-elect Donald Trump while congressional Republicans have no qualms about letting TikTok go dark.

President Joe Biden threw lawmakers a lifeline late Thursday following reports that the administration would kick the issue to Trump by declining to enforce the law on Sunday, the day before Trump’s inauguration.

Still, there’s no long-term certainty. Trump and his national security aides have said they want to try to keep TikTok available in the United States, but they haven’t provided specifics.

Intense lobbying: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appealed directly to Biden to invoke a provision in the law that allows the president to extend the deadline by 90 days if there’s evidence of “significant progress” toward a divestiture deal. Schumer spoke with Biden on Thursday.

“It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, while also acknowledging the national security risks.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told us billionaire Frank McCourt’s bid to buy TikTok and rumors around Elon Musk also having an interest in acquiring the app show there’s movement toward a deal.

The White House said Biden won’t grant the 90-day extension because ByteDance hasn’t shown there’s a credible plan for a sale in the works. NBC reported Thursday night that the Biden administration won’t fine TikTok’s U.S. business partners under the law. If the companies are willing to accept informal assurances they won’t face steep fines, they could let the app remain available on Americans’ phones or maintain user data.

The Supreme Court could also step in and delay the ban — a potential escape hatch that could come as soon as this morning. The justices are planning an unusual public release of opinions.

If the White House and Supreme Court decline to act, Democrats are staring down the consequences of a TikTok ban, namely the public backlash likely to come from getting rid of one of the most popular apps with young voters.

Hindsight is 20/20: TikTok has 170 million U.S. users, and it’s home to 7 million businesses, according to the app. The potential ban is one of the hottest topics on TikTok.

“No matter how people feel about it, whether they were in support or opposition to it, this is going to have a cultural effect,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a regular social media user with broad appeal among young voters.

The TikTok bill got a standalone House vote last year and was later included in the massive foreign aid package in April. But the TikTok measure didn’t get nearly as much attention as tens of billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine, the most contentious issue among congressional Republicans.

What made Schumer’s posture Thursday even more extraordinary was the fact that he was practically radio-silent on TikTok as it was being debated last year, deferring to his caucus’ national security hands like Warner.

Partisan lines blurred: Some Democrats want the White House to see the shutdown of the app in political or economic — rather than national security — terms.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), an opponent of the ban based on free speech concerns, tried unsuccessfully to pass a bill granting a 270-day extension this week.

“My hope is that we can create the conditions where, even if the ban goes into effect on Sunday, it’s very clear that Donald Trump will do everything he can on Monday to revive it,” Markey said.

Top Republicans, meanwhile, continue to be supportive of the law as written despite Trump’s attempts to save the app.

Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.), the No. 3 Senate Republican and Intelligence Committee chair, blocked Markey’s bill on Wednesday, saying the Chinese government has had “plenty of time to make a deal.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who heads the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), chair of House Energy and Commerce, told us they support the law and the incoming ban.

Here’s Cruz when we asked what he thought of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s expected appearance at Trump’s inauguration:

Very few Republicans, however, are directly addressing Trump’s friendly posture toward TikTok. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump’s incoming secretary of state, has been Congress’ loudest critic of TikTok over the years. But Rubio told us last week that he’d defer to Trump.

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.