WASHINGTON: A Bill that would force the sale of TikTok by its Chinese owners or see it banned in the United States could get a big push as divestiture legislation has been tabled with a raft of foreign aid Bills for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that will come up for votes in the House of Representatives on Saturday (Apr 20).
The House will have its long-awaited votes on aid Bills for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, paving the way for their possible passage despite fierce objections from the right wing of his conference.
Johnson said the House Rules Committee would also post a fourth national security measure that would ban TikTok if ByteDance does not sell its stake in the popular video app. The Bill will also include sanctions on the likes of Iran and Russia.
While the TikTok Bill sailed through the House last month, the US Senate had declined to fast-track it, with key senators saying they would put the proposed law through the usual legislative process, which can take months.
Concerns over civil liberties have also been raised regarding the potential ban.
But according to the Financial Times, if the House approves the Bills on Saturday, they would be bundled into a single package and sent to the Senate.
Both Bloomberg and the Financial Times say that the Senate is expected to quickly take up the measure.
Referencing Iran’s drone attack on Israel over the weekend, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass the foreign aid legislation, which has been stalled for months.
He has also signalled his intention to sign it immediately, saying on X: “The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.”
