House Republican allies of former President Donald Trump are set to ignore his plea to vote against legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if the company doesn’t get new owners.
Mr. Trump decried the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act last week, arguing that a possible ban of the Chinese-owned video-sharing app could better position Meta, and by extension Facebook and other platforms under the company’s umbrella, in the social media landscape.
But even his most ardent supporters in the House Republican Conference are going against him to vote in favor of the legislation on Wednesday, contending that the risk is too great to ignore from the company, which critics say poses a national security threat because it is linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican who plans to support the bill, said he would speak to Mr. Trump about it and hoped to change his position.
“I think President Trump, the greatest leader in my lifetime, he’s probably looked at this,” Mr. Nehls said. “I think there’s a majority, even Congress bipartisan support, to rein in some of these abuses that we’ve seen with TikTok.”
Rep. Ralph Norman, South Carolina Republican, said that he did not understand Mr. Trump’s opposition to the bill.
“I don’t understand that, as good as he is on security,” Mr. Norman said. “We got 20,000 Chinese nationals in this country. I mean, it’s controlled by China. China is not our friend. And we’re gonna fight this.”
The Washington Times reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Other House Republicans said were taking a more measured approach to the bill in the wake of Mr. Trump’s comments.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican who rose to prominence as a social media influencer, said she would meet with Meta executives to gain a better understanding of what a TikTok ban would do.
She agreed with Mr. Trump’s concern about consolidating power in one social media company such as Meta.
“But remember, I think we’re at a very dangerous part, especially with our positioning with China right now,” Ms. Luna said. “And this app has the potential of being a mass surveillance tool against the American people.”
The TikTok ban bill by Rep. Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin Republican, drew rare bipartisan support in the House Energy and Commerce Committee when it passed on a unanimous vote. The full House is expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday.
Mr. Gallagher said that he was not concerned about Mr. Trump’s opposition to the bill, saying the bill squares with the former president’s comments.
“The bill doesn’t shut down TikTok and force all of TikTok’s users onto Facebook,” he told reporters. “What we’re after is a separation from TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, and by extension, the CCP.”
The bill would require ByteDance to divest from TikTok or else face the possibility of the platform being banned from app stores in the U.S.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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