Congress
Moolenaar, Cammack double down on opposition to TikTok-Oracle plan
Two Republican lawmakers, including the chair of the House China committee, stepped up their attacks Thursday against a potential White House deal to sell TikTok to Oracle that preserves a role for its Beijing-based owner.
“I’m here to make one thing clear: any deal that allows ByteDance to maintain control of TikTok is a grave threat to our security and a violation of U.S. law,” House Select China Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said, repeating the hard line he drew against the Oracle plan in an earlier op-ed. “ByteDance is trying to hold onto TikTok by pushing a licensing deal and maintaining control over its algorithm and staff.”
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) stressed “there has to be an absolute pure divestiture” and broke down what a compliant alternative would look like: “For me, it’s really important the source code, algorithm and data and servers are all completely separated from mainland China, from ByteDance.”
Moolenaar and Cammack were speaking at an event hosted by the TikTok Coalition, founded by former lobbyist and CEO of Iggy Ventures Rick Lane. About 20 people attended the event, which convened in a House meeting room.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
The White House is seriously discussing the deal and has accelerated talks with Oracle ahead of President Donald Trump’s April 5 deadline for a sale, even as China hawks and legal experts say it would violate the law Congress passed last spring to force TikTok’s sale or ban in the U.S.
Lawmakers said Thursday they expect that latest tactic by TikTok to backfire, pointing to it as evidence of the app’s hold over its users — a would-be asset to a foreign rival like China.
“They’re running a massive PR campaign across the U.S. to sway public opinion and distract from the core issue: ongoing Chinese control of the app,” Moolenaar said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the Capitol meeting with holdout GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiania as he tries to lock down their support for his confirmation as permanent leader of the Justice Department.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) declined to respond directly Wednesday to Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to denounce his former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller over abuse accusations leveled by Moreno’s daughter: “These aren’t accusations in my world,” he said.
“In my world, this is the reality,” Moreno told reporters at the Capitol. “This is not something that is theoretical to me. This is my lived reality of my daughter and my family every single solitary day.”
In an interview with Dasha Burns for Blue Light News’s The Conversation, Johnson declined to take sides in the dispute between Miller (R-Ohio) and Emily Moreno. He called for a House Ethics probe to “play out.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s expected choice for Army chief of staff faces resistance that could imperil his confirmation, according to the chair of the panel that needs to approve it.
Senate Armed Services head Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said Wednesday that he was aware of “some opposition within the committee” to acting Army chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve taking the job on a permanent basis.
LaNeve, previously Hegseth’s senior military aide, was confirmed as Army vice chief of staff in January. But he has also served as acting chief of staff since April when Hegseth forced out popular Gen. Randy George, a move that drew widespread criticism from lawmakers in both parties.
Wicker said he was “not able to predict right now” if lawmakers could address concerns about LaNeve. He did not specify whether the concerns were raised by Republicans, but GOP resistance is likely given that nominees could advance through the committee on a party-line vote.
LaNeve has only held the position of four-star general for six months, an anomaly for the the senior most Army officer.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about Republican opposition to LaNeve, citing Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) concerns about his lack of experience at the four-star rank.
Ernst, in an interview, did not dispute that she was the source of the holdup. But she called it a moot point as President Donald Trump has not yet formally nominated LaNeve to the position. And she disputed reports that LaNeve’s lack of experience was the sticking point.
“I don’t think that time and grade has anything to do with leadership ability, so I don’t know how that came about, honestly.” she said. “That’s not what I’ve told anyone.”
If the opposition continues, Trump could decide to leave LeNeve in the acting position indefinitely.
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