Trump found one issue Republicans won’t just go along with him on: TikTok

In the years since Donald Trump took over the Republican Party, elected officials have almost never crossed him. The cost of doing so has always been too high.

They didn’t cross him when he broke GOP orthodoxy on free trade. They elected not to buck him when transcript of a phone call revealed he wanted to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dig up dirt on Joe Biden. Many still voted to object to the election results after Capitol riot. And just last month, they torpedoed a bill that swapped restrictions on immigration for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

But on Wednesday, Republicans found a line they were willing to cross with the once and potentially future president: TikTok. On Wednesday, the House voted overwhelmingly on a piece of legislation that would require the video app’s parent company Bytedance to divest from the company or have it banned.

WASHINGTON, DC — MARCH 13: (L-R) Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Rep. Mike Gallager (D-WI) talk with reporters after the House of Representative’s voted on legislation they co-sponsored to ban TikTok at the U.S. Capitol on March 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to ban TikTok in the United States due to concerns over personal privacy and national security unless the Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance sells the popular video app within the next six months. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

And the vote was not even close. While 50 Democrats voted against the legislation, only 15 Republicans voted against it, allowing it to pass with 352 votes. Given the tight margins in the House these days and how the House often only has legislation