With both parties eager to demonstrate a willingness to be tough on China, bipartisan legislation to force the Chinese owners of the platform to divest or face a ban was moving forward.
House Republican leaders are moving this week to pass legislation that would force the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the platform or face being barred in the United States, even after former President Donald J. Trump came out against targeting the popular social media app he once vowed to ban.
Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and the majority leader, said on Monday that the House would try to speed the bill to passage under special procedures reserved for noncontroversial legislation, which require a two-thirds majority for passage. The approach reflected the bill’s growing momentum on Capitol Hill during an election year in which members of both political parties are eager to demonstrate a willingness to be tough on China.
“We must ensure the Chinese government cannot weaponize TikTok against American users and our government through data collection and propaganda,” Mr. Scalise said in his weekly preview of legislation to be considered on the House floor.
The 13-page bill is the product of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which has served as an island of bipartisanship in the polarized House. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously last week to advance the legislation, which would remove TikTok from app stores in the United States by Sept. 30 unless its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, sold its stake.
But Mr. Trump, who as president issued an executive order that did exactly that, has now changed course and is vocally opposing the bill, a move that will test his ability to continue tanking bipartisan legislation in Congress from the campaign trail.
Mr. Trump on Monday offered a rambling explanation for his reversal, saying that he did not want to alienate young voters or imbue Facebook, which he considers a mortal foe, with more power.