Republicans on Capitol Hill expressed disappointment on Friday that President Donald Trump one again punted on enforcing a ban on TikTok.
This week marked the third deadline extension Trump has granted for TikTok's sale or ban since returning to office. The most recent action pushed the deadline to Sept. 17.
Last year, Congress passed a law requiring the popular social media platform to be sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the United States. Lawmakers have expressed serious national security concerns. The law allowed for one 90-day extension under certain conditions.
Republican lawmakers this week expressed displeasure over the move, with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) telling Politico, "Not my favorite thing."
Hawley, in March 2024, cheered after the House overwhelmingly passed the legislation. His office called him a "leader" against TikTok, which he said is linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Hawley previously introduced legislation to ban TikTok on all American devices, but his No TikTok on American Devices Act was repeatedly blocked in the Senate. He has repeatedly called TikTok a "spy app for the Chinese Communist Government" and criticized it for hosting antisemitic and pro-Hamas content.
Additionally, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), a member of the House Intelligence and China committees, told Politico that his "national security concerns and vulnerabilities are still there, and they have not gone away."
"I would argue they’ve almost become more enhanced in many ways," he warned.
Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), meanwhile, told the outlet, “No more extensions. It’s time to follow through.” Nunn sits on the House China Committee.
He was joined by fellow committee member Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), who wrote on X, “I was proud to support the ban of TikTok and believe the law should be implemented as written.”
