President Trump will consider a final proposal for TikTok on Wednesday, sources familiar with the planning tell CBS News.
The administration is finalizing plans for potential investors that could include Blackstone and Oracle, as well as a long list of other investors that will likely involve blue chip private equity firms, venture capital firms, and major investors in the technology industry.
A meeting in the Oval Office will involve key administration officials on the deal, including Vice President JD Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. It’s unclear if Mr. Trump will approve the strategy or not.
Mr. Trump set a deadline of Saturday, April 5 for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app or potentially face a ban in the U.S. market. Lawmakers passed a bill last year setting a Jan. 19 deadline for the sale, but Mr. Trump signed an executive order granting a 75-day extension for a potential deal.
In remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One over the weekend, Mr. Trump said of TikTok, “We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s a lot of interest in TikTok. The decision is going to be my decision.” He said, “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.” And he reiterated the comments in the Oval Office on Monday, saying that there is “a lot of enthusiasm for TikTok.”
