Trump says TikTok deal still 'on the table' as deadline looms, China tensions simmer

President Donald Trump on Wednesday reignited speculation about the fate of TikTok’s U.S. operations, saying a deal to spin off the video-sharing app’s American assets remains possible even after being paused earlier this month.

“We have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies that would do a great job with it, but we’re going to have to wait and see what’s going to happen with China,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. “It’s on the table, very much.”

The proposed deal involves creating a separate U.S.-based entity for TikTok, majority-owned by American investors, and diluting the control of China-based parent company ByteDance. Trump has set a new deadline of June 19 for ByteDance to divest its U.S. holdings or face a nationwide ban of the app, which is used by roughly 170 million Americans.

The divestment effort has been subject to repeated delays since the ban was first proposed, with Trump extending enforcement deadlines twice since January.

Despite Trump’s latest remarks, resistance to the deal is mounting in Congress. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton warned investors that any involvement with TikTok would invite regulatory and legal risk unless Chinese ownership is completely severed.

“To any American who wants to invest in some half-assed TikTok deal, Congress will never protect you from going into business with Communist China,” Cotton said on Wednesday.

Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Ed Markey have also voiced opposition. Warner argued that the deal under discussion does not satisfy the legal requirements laid out in previous legislation. Markey attempted to extend the divestiture deadline to October through a new bill, but the motion was blocked.

The fate of the TikTok deal may now depend on broader geopolitical negotiations. One source close to ByteDance’s U.S. investors told Reuters that work on the agreement continues, but said its finalisation is likely tied to the resolution of ongoing U.S.-China tariff tensions.

While the law originally required TikTok to cease operations by January 19 unless a divestment occurred, the Justice Department informed Apple and Google that it would not enforce the restriction, allowing the app to remain available for download.

ByteDance and TikTok have yet to comment on the latest developments.