Trump Administration Poised to Pocket $10 Billion Fee for Brokering TikTok Deal
Donald Trump’s administration is set to pocket around $10 billion for brokering the recently completed TikTok deal, which helped keep the social media app active in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, finalized a January deal to create a majority American venture to manage the app’s U.S. data, sidestepping a ban that would affect hundreds of millions of users.
The new venture, named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, is made up of investors like Oracle, MGX and Silver Lake, among others, who previously paid $2.5 billion to the Treasury Department following the deal’s closure in January. However, it’s said the investors will continue to make additional payments until $10 billion is hit.
The Trump administration has defended the fee, saying it is justified given the president’s role in keeping TikTok in the U.S., including combatting lawmakers’ concerns over the deal and overseeing negotiations with China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In September, Trump noted he had “a good talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping before signing an executive order that declared TikTok’s sale was ready to happen, with Vice President JD Vance valuing the company at $14 billion.
Shortly after this, China’s foreign ministry expressed a similar sentiment, noting the government “respects the will of enterprises and welcomes them to conduct business negotiations on the basis of market rules to reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and achieve a balance of interests.”
The Trump administration’s unspoiled victory was short-lived, however. In March, Zhaocheng Tan and Garrett Reid, two investors in rival social media companies, sued Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, claiming they failed to enforce a law requiring TikTok to either separate from its China-based owner or face a U.S. ban.
“The law was clear, but it was never enforced,” the lawsuit stated. “Shortly after the deadline to divest passed, President Trump issued an executive order purportedly granting an extension for TikTok to find a domestic owner and directed his Attorney General not to enforce the law.”
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