A group of Democratic senators is calling on the White House to seek congressional approval to extend the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok, warning that failure to do so could lead to an unnecessary ban on the popular social media platform.
Senators Ed Markey, Chris Van Hollen, and Cory Booker urged President Donald Trump to support legislation that would push the current April 5 deadline to October. They argued that extending the timeline through congressional action is the best path forward, stating, “The path to saving TikTok should run through Capitol Hill.”
Under a law passed last year with bipartisan support, ByteDance must divest a majority stake in TikTok to U.S. owners or face a nationwide ban. Trump had already extended the original January 19 deadline but has suggested he may delay it further to allow more time for negotiations.
Discussions led by the White House are reportedly centering on a proposal for non-Chinese investors in ByteDance to increase their stakes and acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. One potential deal under consideration would involve Oracle purchasing a stake in the company while overseeing the security of American user data. Reports indicate the Trump administration is in talks with multiple unidentified groups about a possible agreement.
Lawmakers and officials in Washington continue to express concerns that TikTok, which has 170 million users in the United States, could be exploited by the Chinese government for influence operations. The Democratic senators have pressed the president to clarify whether he intends to extend the deadline again and on what legal grounds.
The White House and TikTok have yet to respond to the senators’ request, leaving the app’s future uncertain as the deadline approaches.
