Trump Requests Supreme Court Intervention to Pause TikTok Legislation for Negotiations to Preserve the Platform

December 27, 2024 TruthUSA

The president-elect expressed concerns regarding the law, suggesting it may infringe upon executive powers.

President-elect Donald Trump is urging the Supreme Court to intervene and prevent a law that could potentially lead to a TikTok ban in the United States. He aims to engage in negotiations to address various concerns and preserve the platform.

Oral arguments in the Supreme Court are scheduled for Jan. 10, occurring just nine days before a deadline requiring TikTok’s parent company to divest from the platform in the U.S. or face an effective ban.

This deadline falls on Jan. 19, which is also the day prior to Trump’s anticipated inauguration for a second presidential term.

“President Trump uniquely possesses the comprehensive dealmaking skills, a strong electoral mandate, and the political determination necessary to negotiate a resolution that preserves the platform while tackling national security issues,” his amicus brief dated Dec. 27 stated.

In his brief, Trump highlighted the urgency of the situation and implored the court to provision him with greater opportunities to manage the dilemma as the incoming chief executive.

“This timeline restricts the incoming Administration on a critical concern regarding national security and foreign policy, raising essential questions under Article II,” the brief noted.

Article II of the Constitution grants the president executive authority, and Trump’s brief emphasized that the law raises concerns about legislative overreach into this authority.

“The responsibility for national security, foreign policy, and strategic relationships with geopolitical adversaries primarily rests with the Executive, not Congress,” his brief asserted.

The controversial law received bipartisan support and was signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year. TikTok challenged the law in federal court, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed that it met stringent scrutiny under the First Amendment.

While the Supreme Court has agreed to examine the First Amendment aspect, Trump stated he refrained from commenting on the merits of the fundamental issue.

Nevertheless, he raised concerns regarding the law’s implications for TikTok’s 170 million users, cautioning that upholding the law could lead to a “slippery slope towards global government censorship of social media expression.”

Trump’s brief criticized the law for mandating that the president navigate an interagency process rather than exercising his individual discretion over the Executive Branch’s deliberative processes.

In a move similar to Trump’s, TikTok requested that the Supreme Court suspend the law, citing the potential for intervention from Trump’s incoming administration.

On the day TikTok submitted its Supreme Court application on Dec. 16, Trump held a press conference expressing his support for the platform.

“We’ll consider TikTok,” he remarked, indicating that he felt a “warm spot” for the app, attributing part of his support among young voters in the election to it.

Although TikTok requested the D.C. Circuit to suspend the law, their appeal was denied.

“The petitioners have not identified any case where a court has enjoined the enforcement of an Act of Congress after bypassing a constitutional challenge,” stated a December 13 order from the court.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, who TikTok sued in the D.C. Circuit and is the respondent before the Supreme Court, defended the law in a filing by the Department of Justice on Dec. 27. The filing asserted that the law “addresses the significant national security threats posed by the Chinese government’s governance of TikTok—a platform that collects sensitive data from millions of Americans and could serve as a powerful mechanism for covert influence from a foreign opponent.”

Many organizations, including the Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union, submitted amicus briefs on this case. Both organizations supported TikTok. Conversely, a group of former national security officials endorsed the decision made by the D.C. Circuit.

Andrew Moran contributed to this report.

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