House Republicans defy Trump to take down TikTok

On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that could result in the banning of social media app TikTok.

Despite Donald Trump declaring earlier this week that TikTok should not be banned, 197 Republicans—including Speaker Mike Johnson, usually so eager to do Trump’s bidding—joined in a lopsided 352-65 vote to do just that. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate, where it may not have the necessary support. Some Democrats, such as Virginia’s Mark Warner, who chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence, support it. However, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet scheduled the issue for debate.

If passed, the bill would give Chinese company ByteDance six months to divest itself of the TikTok app. Failing that, TikTop would be banned in the United States. With 170 million Americans reportedly using the app, the potential for political pushback seems high.

But the biggest story about the vote may be Trump’s last-minute turn in favor of TikTok, and just how few Republicans were willing to follow his lead.