The Trump administration will handle TikTok’s future by the original deadline set in the President’s January executive order, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
Hours after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order giving TikTok’s parent company ByteDance until April 5 to either divest or be banned from American app stores.
Now, Lutnick tells Fox Business that Trump “doesn’t like to ask for extensions” and wants to “get it done in the timeframe that he has.”
Yet Trump said last week he will “probably” extend the deadline if a deal isn’t reached in time. On Sunday, he added that the administration is in talks with four different groups about a potential sale.
“We have a lot of interest in TikTok,” Trump said. “China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal. But they’re going to play a role.”
Trump’s executive order marked an extension from the original January 19 deadline, which then-President Joe Biden said he wouldn’t enforce as it was his last full day in office.
“To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisers, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” Trump’s order read.
The app still went dark for a few hours, however, as the law went into effect. TikTok came back online after Trump promised to extend the divestment deadline, later showing users a pop-up message thanking the president.
“Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support,” the pop-up read. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
Still, Lutnick warned Thursday that Trump might not broker a sale by the deadline, which is now just weeks away.
“He is going to try his best,” Lutnick said. “He doesn’t control everything, but he is going to try his best.”