Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser, Florida Representative Mike Waltz, on Wednesday (Jan 15) said the US president-elect was reviewing prospects to “preserve” TikTok.
Waltz's comments came in response to a Fox News anchor's question about a Washington Post report, which claimed that Trump was mulling an executive order to suspend the enforcement of a federal law that could potentially lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok by Sunday (Jan 19), affecting around 170 million users in America.
“If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favour of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he’s going to protect their data,” Waltz said.
“He’s a deal maker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place," he added.
Last week, the Supreme Court gave a January 19 deadline to ByteDance that the company should either sell TikTok or face a ban in the country on the grounds of national security.
Also read: China considers selling TikTok US to Elon Musk amid ban threat: Report
Trump urges US Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban ahead of inauguration
Trump had earlier urged the Supreme Court to delay its decision around the short video platform. In a legal brief, Trump's team argued for "more breathing space".
"In light of the novelty and difficulty of this case, the court should consider staying the statutory deadline to grant more breathing space to address these issues," Trump's legal team wrote, urging the court to give him "the opportunity to pursue a political resolution."
In his filing, Trump's attorney emphasised that the president-elect is not taking a position on the case's legal merits but is seeking flexibility for his administration to address the matter politically.
"President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute," wrote John Sauer in the amicus curiae brief.
"Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump's incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case."
(With inputs from agencies)