The unorthodox maneuver could expedite the crackdown’s path through Congress, where negotiations had slowed after an earlier attempt hurtled through the House last month. With growing support in the Senate, the legislation appears more likely than ever to become law.
The move represents one of the most significant threats to the U.S. operations of the wildly popular app, which is used by roughly 170 million Americans, but whose China-based parent company ByteDance has long sparked national security fears in Washington.
TikTok is “a spy balloon in Americans’ phones” used to “surveil and exploit America’s personal information,” Rep. Michael McCaul said Saturday as he introduced the measure for debate.
The House voted 360 to 58 to approve legislation authorizing new sanctions against Russia and Iran, and requiring that TikTok divest from ByteDance or face a prohibition, one of several measures considered alongside the $95 billion foreign aid bills.
House lawmakers overwhelmingly advanced an earlier version of the legislation targeting TikTok last month, but by tying the issue to the aid package, which has broad bipartisan support in both chambers, the new effort could trigger swift consideration in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Friday he hopes the House passes the foreign aid bills “without further delay” and that the “Senate will move expeditiously to send it to the president’s desk” if passed.
President Biden said last month he would sign the TikTok bill if passed by Congress, and on Wednesday he endorsed the House foreign aid package, saying, “The House must pass the package this week, and the Senate should quickly follow.”
