President Trump will host a meeting with top aides Wednesday to discuss potential investors for acquiring TikTok ahead of the April 5 deadline, according to a source familiar with the meeting plans.
Trump will meet with Vice President Vance and national security adviser Mike Waltz, who were tasked with spearheading a divestiture deal that could prevent the popular video-sharing app from shutting down, a source familiar with the plans of the meeting told The Hill.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are also expected to attend the meeting, the source added.
Potential investors for a TikTok divestiture deal could include Blackstone and Oracle, the source familiar said, along with “blue chip private equity firms, venture capital firms and major investors in the technology industry.”
Another White House official confirmed the meeting, adding a deal will be presented to the president at that time.
It comes just days ahead of the April 5 deadline, which requires TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the platform or face a ban in the United States.
Trump signed an executive order in January that gave ByteDance an additional 75 days past the initial Jan. 19 deadline to divest from the video-sharing app amid national security concerns.
A law banning TikTok was passed by Congress and signed by former President Biden last year. Under that law, the ban went into effect on Jan. 19, the day before Trump was sworn into his second term.
The platform went dark for a few hours but was swiftly brought back online after Trump pledged to issue an executive order once back in office to give the company an extension.
Trump said earlier this week he expects to reach a deal on TikTok ahead of the Saturday deadline.
When asked aboard Air Force One whether he would extend the deadline if necessary, the president said, “There’ll be a deal with TikTok,” adding “we would,” seemingly in response to the extension question.
“We’re working on TikTok,” Trump said. “We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok.”
“We’re dealing with China also on it because they may have something to do with it. And we’ll see how that goes,” he added. “But it’s something I think you’re going to have, I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
The New York Times reported Wednesday morning Amazon made a last-minute bid to purchase TikTok in the United States. A source familiar confirmed the reporting to The Hill.
Alex Gangitano contributed reporting.
