TikTok ban: Tech VC Keith Rabois threatens Republicans with funding halt ahead of House vote

• A Republican megadonor threatened to cut off campaign contributions to Republicans in Congress unless they support a bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S.
• "Will never fund any Republican candidates or leadership PACs (or the NRSC) run by Republicans who vote against the TikTok legislation," venture capitalist Keith Rabois wrote on X.
• "Support for the TikTok bill is an IQ test" for members of Congress, Rabois told CNBC.

A Republican megadonor on Tuesday threatened to cut off campaign contributions to members of Congress unless they vote for a bill that could effectively ban TikTok in the United States.

"Will never fund any Republican candidates or leadership PACs (or the NRSC) run by Republicans who vote against the TikTok legislation," venture capitalist Keith Rabois wrote on X.

On Wednesday, the House is expected to pass a bill to force TikTok's parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell off the social media platform. Supporters of the bill say ByteDance's continued ownership of TikTok and its troves of user data pose a national security threat to the United States.

"Support for the TikTok bill is an IQ test" for members of Congress, Rabois wrote in an email to CNBC.

In February, Rabois gave $500,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee that backs House Republican candidates, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

Rabois' threat could have significant sway over those Republican lawmakers still on the fence about whether to support the bill.

More on the TikTok ban bill

• Trump says a TikTok ban would empower Meta, slams Facebook as ‘enemy of the people’
• Biden says he’ll ban TikTok if Congress passes bill, but he’s campaigning on it until then
• TikTok creators look for