President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that he needs ‘time to review’ the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a federal law banning TikTok unless it divests from its Chinese parent company before Jan. 19 – the day before Trump is set to be sworn in.
Trump added that ‘everyone must respect’ the high court’s decision.
‘The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it,’ Trump said in a statement posted to Truth Social. ‘My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!’
The statement came moments after Trump reportedly told a small group of journalists by phone that the law banning TikTok ‘ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do’ after taking office.
‘Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision,’ Trump said, according to CNN, which first reported the remarks.
Trump’s Truth Social post appears to take a more deferential tone towards the nation’s highest court, including its decision to uphold the bipartisan divestiture law passed last April with wide bipartisan support.
‘There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,’ the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. ‘But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.
‘For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed.’
Trump has sought to delay the law from taking force. Attorneys for the president-elect filed a brief with the Supreme Court last month, asking justices to delay any decision until after Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20.
But lawmakers disagreed.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told the Supreme Court in a filing of his own that Congress explicitly set the Jan. 19 date for the divestiture clause to take force since it ‘very clearly removes any possible political uncertainty in the execution of the law by cabining it to an administration that was deeply supportive of the bill’s goals.’
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