Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he wants to help buy TikTok as the Chinese social media app faces a possible ban in the U.S.
“I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin said during a Thursday morning appearance on CNBC. He said he would organize a group to purchase TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance.
“It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” Mnuchin said.
Mnuchin said TikTok “should be owned by U.S. businesses,” and that China would never “let a U.S. company own something like this in China.”
The House passed legislation Wednesday that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance doesn’t sell its stake. The bill passed by a 352-65 vote and is now on its way to the Senate, where its fate remains unclear.
This is a developing story and will be updated.