Sens. Ted Cruz and Mark Warner reacted with concern following a national security briefing on TikTok. (Getty Images)
The briefing followed the House's recent bipartisan passage of a bill that requires TikTok to either be sold to a non-Chinese company or see itself banned in the U.S.
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Chairman of the Intelligence Committee Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., remarked that it was "a very powerful briefing." He also said he hopes to declassify much of the material senators were able to review.
"I think there was a reason why, when this brief was given on the House side to the Energy and Commerce Committee, afterwards they voted 50 to nothing to move the legislation forward," he added.
Chairman Mark Warner speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing at the Capitol, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)
As for how quickly he expects the House's bill to move through the Senate, Warner said, "I don't have the foggiest idea."
Cruz, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said he urged Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to move "expeditiously" in scheduling a mark-up for the TikTok legislation, emphasizing its importance.
TikTok's CEO Shou Chew has spent time in the last couple of weeks meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, urging them against supporting the measure. (iStock)
The bill was referred last week to the committee, rather than being expedited for a vote in the upper chamber.
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Cruz explained his preference for the bill's trajectory through the committee, saying, "The precise language of this bill is still very much open to discussion. I think members on both sides may have amendments, may have suggestions for how to alter the language."
Cantwell's Commerce Committee office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital regarding the status of mark-up scheduling.
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