Mnuchin says he’s assembling group to buy TikTok

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he is putting together a group to buy TikTok after the House passed a bill that would require the app’s China-based parent company to divest or face a U.S. ban.

“I think the legislation should pass, and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” adding, “It’s a great business, and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok.”

Mnuchin, who served as Treasury secretary under former President Trump, noted that Trump signed an order requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok’s U.S. operations while he was in office. The order was later overturned in court.

“This should be owned by U.S. businesses,” Mnuchin said. “There’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a U.S. company own something like this in China.”

Trump, however, has come out against the House bill that could ban TikTok, arguing it would help Facebook and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The former president was banned from Facebook in 2021 in the wake of the Capitol riot for spreading false claims about the 2020 election in the lead-up to Jan. 6, 2021. His account was reinstated last year.

Trump also confirmed meeting with top GOP donor Jeffrey Yass, a major investor in ByteDance, but said the issue of TikTok did not come up.

Despite the former president’s opposition, the legislation easily passed the House in a 352-65 vote Wednesday. It would require ByteDance to divest from TikTok within 165 days or face a ban on U.S. app stores and web hosting services.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act now heads to the Senate, which is facing growing pressure to pass the legislation. The White House urged the upper chamber to take “swift action” on the bill Wednesday.

“We are glad to see this bill move forward,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding, “We will look to the Senate to take swift action.”

Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET