TikTok creators, left to right, Steven King, Paul Tran, Chloe Joy Sexton and Topher Townsend speak out against a law that could ban the platform at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., following U.S. Supreme Court arguments on Jan. 10, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Republicans Thursday for blocking a last-ditch effort to extend TikTok’s lifespan in the U.S. — even as the video platform’s CEO is expected to be among the tech moguls at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Sunday marks the deadline set by bipartisan lawmakers and President Joe Biden for the social media app’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell it or have TikTok banned from U.S. app stores.
Schumer said on the Senate floor 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.”
TikTok estimates 170 million Americans use the platform.
“That’s why, last night, Senate Democrats tried to pass a bill that would extend the deadline to give everyone more time to come up with a workable solution. But Senate Republicans blocked our bill, which is stunning because time is running short,” Schumer continued.
Late Wednesday, GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska objected to the deadline extension bill brought forward by Democratic Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Cotton said ByteDance and TikTok “had plenty of additional warning for years about the possibility of such action, long before Congress set this firm Sunday deadline. The Trump administration, in 2020, attempted to shut down TikTok.”
“We didn’t pull the rug out from under TikTok, and we didn’t ban it. Instead, Congress simply demanded that the app could no longer be owned and controlled by our nation’s worst enemy, communist China,” Cotton said.
Citing warnings from intelligence officials that the app poses national security risks, lawmakers crossed the aisle last April to pass the legislation and Biden signed it into law. An initial vote in the U.S. House in March garnered overwhelming bipartisan support at 352-65.
However, according to NBC News, Biden is seeking ways to keep the platform available beyond Sunday’s deadline. The White House did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for confirmation.
Trump, who signed an executive order in 2020 banning TikTok unless it broke from ByteDance, reversed his position last year.
A source familiar with Trump’s inauguration plans confirmed to States Newsroom Thursday that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will be seated on the dais as Trump takes the oath of office Monday.
TikTok sued to block the law, eventually appealing to the Supreme Court.
Justices heard arguments Friday but have yet to issue their decision on whether to block the law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok.
The company maintains it is not owned by China. TikTok’s lawyer Noel Fransico said in a press conference following Supreme Court arguments that ByteDance is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, though 21% is owned by a Chinese national who lives in Singapore. Francisco also said TikTok’s source code for the algorithm is stored on servers in Virginia.