President Trump is set to announce a deal that could keep TikTok running in the U.S. by moving the social media app’s operations into a joint venture owned by American companies.
The president will sign an executive order on Thursday, a White House official confirmed to The Washington Times, that will close the deal.
The app’s American operations will be in the hands of a joint venture among a majority of American investors, owners and board of directors. Tech giant Oracle is expected to oversee the security of the app, including the algorithm, according to the White House.
Mr. Trump signaled this week that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, along with tech founder Michael Dell, could also be involved.
“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News that aired Sunday. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”
The U.S. government won’t have a board position or take equity in the joint venture, the White House said.
The president said last week that he spoke positively with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the TikTok deal.
“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media after the call Friday.
While both countries have indicated they agree on the deal’s outline, regulatory approvals are expected.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said over the weekend on Fox News that the administration is “100% confident that a deal is done.”
“Now, that deal just needs to be signed, and the president’s team is working with their Chinese counterparts to do just that,” she said.
She added, “This deal does put America first. And let me just be very clear. This deal means that TikTok will be majority-owned by Americans in the United States. There will be seven seats on the board that controls the app in the United States, and six of those seats will be Americans.”
Congress passed legislation last year that said the app, owned by ByteDance, was supposed to be banned in the U.S. by Jan. 19 if it wasn’t sold to an American company after President Biden signed the law in April 2024. The concern was over the national security aspect of Americans using the Chinese-owned app.
On his first day back in office, Mr. Trump extended the deadline for its sale by 75 days and did so multiple times since, most recently until Dec. 16.
Mr. Trump, who was once an advocate for banning TikTok, changed his tune after receiving the votes of the younger generation — the biggest demographic on the app — in the November election.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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