Ricketts Calls on Xi Jinping, CCP to Allow TikTok Sale: “We Need to Keep the Pressure On” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) called on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners.
Call on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners.
Occurrences
Evidence
Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in TikTok Inc v. Garland. In the ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a law passed overwhelmingly by Congress requiring Bytedance, a Chinese company and TikTok’s parent company, to sell TikTok.
Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) voted for bipartisan legislation that bans the Chinese Communist Party’s ownership of TikTok.
Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts issued a statement commending U.S. companies for removing TikTok from their app stores in accordance with the bipartisan law passed by Congress.
Senator Ricketts emphasized the dangers of TikTok and the necessity for ByteDance to divest from the platform to protect American users.
On April 10, 2025, Senator Pete Ricketts called on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners, emphasizing the need to maintain pressure to ensure the sale.
On January 17, 2025, Senator Ricketts supported the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling upholding the law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok, stating that America's national security comes first.
On April 24, 2024, Senator Ricketts voted for bipartisan legislation banning the Chinese Communist Party's ownership of TikTok, supporting Israel, and sanctioning Iran.
On January 19, 2025, Senators Ricketts and Cotton commended companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft for removing TikTok from their app stores in compliance with the law.
On April 24, 2024, Senator Ricketts criticized TikTok as a Chinese Communist Party-controlled news platform, emphasizing the need to prevent CCP influence in the U.S.
On July 25, 2025, Senator Ricketts introduced the THINK TWICE Act to assess and counter Chinese arms sales, reflecting his ongoing efforts to address national security threats posed by the CCP.
On July 31, 2024, Senator Ricketts co-led the 'Kids Online Safety Act' to protect minors from harmful online content, including concerns related to platforms like TikTok.
On April 10, 2025, Senator Ricketts called on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners, emphasizing the need to maintain pressure to ensure the sale.
The Senate office said Ricketts called on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners and said that TikTok needs to be sold to an American owner to continue operating.
In Senate floor remarks, Ricketts said he would soon introduce legislation to extend the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban, and he urged the Senate to adopt his approach.
Assessments
The promised action was to call on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners, not necessarily to complete the sale. Evidence from Ricketts' Senate office shows he publicly made that call on April 10, 2025 while serving as U.S. Senator, and his related votes and statements on TikTok divestiture further support same-term delivery.
The promised action was to call on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners. Evidence shows Senator Pete Ricketts did exactly that publicly on April 10, 2025 while serving in the U.S. Senate, and also supported related divestiture legislation and enforcement actions during the same Senate term. Because the promise was about making the call rather than completing the sale, the direct public statement satisfies the commitment.
Multiple pieces of direct evidence confirm that Senator Ricketts publicly called on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners on the Senate floor and through press releases. He also supported and voted for related legislation, co-led and endorsed bills targeting CCP ownership of TikTok, and commended Supreme Court decisions upholding relevant laws. These actions were taken during the same term when the promise was made, demonstrating robust legislative and executive advocacy aligned with the campaign claim.
Multiple sources confirm that Senator Pete Ricketts took direct, documented action by publicly calling on the Chinese Communist Party to allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners, supporting relevant legislation, commenting on and endorsing the Supreme Court upholding the law requiring divestment, and voting for bipartisan bills explicitly banning CCP ownership of TikTok. There is strong, repeated evidence of both legislative effort and public advocacy during the same term as the promise. This record fully satisfies the conditions of the original campaign promise.
Multiple pieces of evidence confirm that Senator Pete Ricketts supported, advocated for, and voted in favor of legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok and prohibiting Chinese Communist Party ownership. He also publicly praised the law's enforcement and Supreme Court decision upholding it. The campaign promise specifically called for action in this area, and all key legislative and public advocacy efforts were undertaken and achieved during the same term.