Mnuchin had talked several times to Microsoft’s senior leaders and was confident that he had rallied support within the administration for a sale to the tech giant on national security grounds.

Navarro pushed back, demanding an outright ban of TikTok, while accusing Mnuchin of being soft on China, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions freely.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that the administration “is committed to protecting the American people from all cyber related threats to critical infrastructure, public health and safety, and our economic and national security.”.

Treasury Department spokeswoman Monica Crowley said in a statement that the department does not comment on the specifics of meetings with the president, although she confirmed that the secretary did participate in a meeting with the president to update him on national security recommendations.

“One of the great strengths of the Trump administration is the president’s reliance on strong, often opposing views, to reach decisions which are invariably in the best interests of the American people,” Navarro said in a statement.

TikTok was first identified as a potential national security threat in summer 2019, when U.S.

That turned into a formal national security investigation this year.

It was led by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that screens foreign investment transactions for national security risks and recommends to the president on security grounds whether certain proposed acquisitions should be rejected or completed acquisitions reversed.

That information is potentially available to the Chinese government under a national intelligence law that requires any Chinese company to “support, assist and cooperate with state intelligence work.”.

Global managing partner Doug Leone took the lead on advocating for TikTok with the Trump administration, telling people he could use his influence with Trump to help the company, according to a person familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.

Sequoia spokesperson Natalie Miyake said in a statement it remains supportive of TikTok and the service it provides for millions of people, and looks forward to the company reaching “a win-win solution for all parties” involved that is acceptable to the U.S.

Meanwhile, TikTok hired roughly a dozen lobbyists this year, one of whom ran Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania and has been described by the president as a good friend, according to a person familiar with the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss company matters.

company with knowledge of technology as a contractor to assure the security of TikTok.

That plan involved bringing in another technology company as an investor to ensure security, the people said.

Zhang at one point considered relocating ByteDance’s headquarters to London, and moving there personally, to showcase ByteDance as a global company that was not controlled by Beijing, according to another person.

But this summer, as it became increasingly possible that administration hard-liners could prevail in breaking up the company, Zhang grew disappointed with how the process was playing out and approached Microsoft about a sale, according to the people.

Trump issues executive orders against TikTok and WeChat, citing national security concerns?

As the election approaches, Trump has increasingly lashed out at China, blaming it for the novel coronavirus and national security issues.

During the Oval Office meeting, the debate turned into a “vicious” fight, with Trump looking on, one of the people said.

“The expectation at Microsoft and at TikTok was the president was going to sign off on what CFIUS said, and off we go,” the person said.

By Sunday, Microsoft announced it had persuaded the president and would continue talks with a deadline of Sept.

The real reason Microsoft wants to buy TikTok.

15 if it is not sold to Microsoft or another U.S.-based company.

If that sale goes through, the president said, part of the proceeds should be paid to U.S.

“A very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the treasury of the United States,” Trump said of the potential TikTok sale.

After Trump changed his mind to support a sale to Microsoft, Navarro on Monday accused the tech giant in a CNN interview of being too close to China, citing its prior cooperation with the government and the use of Bing and Skype in the country.

transactions for TikTok parent ByteDance, citing national security concerns

An acquisition by Microsoft of TikTok during that period would still be allowed