- Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok.
- The president-elect filed a brief urging SCOTUS to give him time to pursue a political resolution.
- Congress passed a law that requires TikTok’s Chinese owners to divest or be banned from US app stores.
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law that would ban TikTok in mid-January until after his inauguration.
Trump filed a brief on Friday urging the top court to give him time to “pursue a political resolution” before agreeing to ban the social media app.
In April, Congress passed a bipartisan law that established a nine-month deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest from the app or be barred from US app stores.
Neither TikTok nor Trump’s lawyers immediately responded to Business Insider’s request for comment. BI also reached out to the Supreme Court.
In the Friday filing, Trump’s lawyers highlighted the president-elect’s “consummate deal-making expertise,” suggesting Trump has the “political will” to negotiate a resolution that would simultaneously “save the platform” and address the national security concerns highlighted in the Congressional bill.
The nine-month deadline is officially up on January 19, which is one day before Trump assumes office for a second time.
Trump previously supported a TikTok ban but appeared to change his mind in recent months. He met with the app’s CEO earlier this month and said he had a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok.
Legal experts previously told BI that Trump has a couple of options to try to keep the app running in the US, including asking his Department of Justice to ignore the divest law or trying to rework strategic interpretations of the law.
Trump and his lawyers also argue that the president-elect has a mandate from American voters to protect their free-speech rights, including those who use TikTok.
“Moreover, President Trump is one of the most powerful, prolific, and influential users of social media in history,” the file said.
“Consistent with his commanding presence in this area, President Trump currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok with whom he actively communicates, allowing him to evaluate TikTok’s importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech,” lawyers added.
