Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) claimed a previous vote to ban the social media platform TikTok was a “mistake” in a new op-ed on Wednesday.
“Admitting a mistake can be challenging for anybody, particularly for a politician. Today, I express my regret for voting to ban TikTok,” Hunt wrote.
The Texas congressman said he joined TikTok after witnessing President Donald Trump‘s success and has communicated with constituents through the platform.
TikTok shut down for less than one day last month after a law requiring the company to divest from its Chinese ownership ByteDance went into effect.
On the same day as his swearing-in, Trump moved quickly to issue an executive order giving TikTok a 75-day extension to divest of Chinese ownership.
One day later he appeared interested in the idea of Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, buying the social media platform. He also called for the United States to gain 50% control of the app in a joint venture. “What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it and give half to the United States of America,” Trump said.
On Monday, Trump directed the departments of Treasury and Commerce to create a sovereign wealth fund that could potentially buy ownership of TikTok from ByteDance.
“We’re going to do something, perhaps with TikTok. … We might put that in the sovereign wealth fund,” Trump said to reporters.
Congressional lawmakers, however, have said that despite the 75-day extension little can be done to skirt federal law requiring the divestment.
“I think we will enforce the law,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC News’s Meet the Press.
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Citing Meta and Twitter’s previous efforts to censor Trump and the public, Hunt opposes the TikTok ban now claiming it would infringe upon free speech rights.
“The government should NOT be in the business of picking winners and losers, especially when it comes to the right to free speech,” Hunt said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The federal government can—and should—walk and chew gum at the same time. We can protect free speech while also addressing personal data concerns.”