Writing: Rep. John Moolenaar “faces the nation with Margaret Brennan,” Oct. 26 26, 2025

The following is the transcript of the interview with the rep. John Moolenaar, Republican of Michigan, who was full “face the nation with Margaret Brennan” on Oct. 26, 2025.

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Margaret Brennan: And joining us now is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Michigan Republican China representative John Moolenaar. Welcome, Congressman.

Rep. John Moolenaar: Thank you, Margaret, good to have you.

Margaret Brennan: There’s a lot to get to you. But right away, if the biggest enemy and threat to the United States is China and the Pacific is bringing them west- all the western military at full strength and focused on what to do?

Rep. Moolienaar: Yes, I think we are sending an important message that we will no longer allow drug trafficking to enter and destroy American lives. And you know, China is very much behind the Fentanyl crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, so–

Margaret Brennan: – It comes out of Mexico, mainly.

Rep. Moolienaar: Yes, and I think the President is taking it very seriously, and finding drugs in our backyard, I think it’s an important step forward.

Margaret Brennan: In the committee’s work that you’ve been doing, I’m sure you’ve heard the Treasury secretary, the top secretary of the program, say that China has approved the TikTok deal. 170 million Americans use this Social Media app. Congress has passed legislation to enforce this transaction and designate it as a national security risk if it continues to operate as it has. Are your national security concerns about the app and the shopping method addressed?

Rep. Moolienaar: Yes, I think we noted that- The law requires separation from the Chinese acquisition algorithm, and it only allows ownership in 20% of the Chinese Entity Pettance. And for me, it is very important that that is done. We don’t know all the details of this, but we do know that American companies are very interested in participating. There is a proposal for a lease agreement, but how to find the algorithm completely in Chinese Control will be for the experts. You know, there are 6 pieces of code in this algorithm, and we need to make sure it’s secure for the American people.

Margaret Brennan: So an algorithm is a data tracking system drawn from user habits. And so the accusation was that this was that these were consumers looking closely in terms of what they were able to see. So that algorithm will be maintained, and will only be developed, for example, by American engineers?

Rep. Moolienaar: That would be my recommendation because ultimately, we don’t want a Chinese superstition effort affecting 170 million Americans. We also want to make sure that the data from the American people is kept safe, and as long as the Chinese are involved, I think there are grounds for mistrust, and

Margaret Brennan: Even with a 20% stake?

Rep. Moolenaar: I’m still worried about it. Basically, you know, China reports to the Chinese Communist Party, and they will improve all the benefits they get. But the President has set a goal of making this available to the American people, following legislation passed in a BIPartisan way and I hope they do that.

Margaret Brennan: The President was not following the letter of the law he voted for. You know that.

Rep. Moolienaar: Yes, I think – I think the goal has always been to agree to the agreement, so that we can deal with it, and they’ve worked hard to do that. But when you have a Chinese Communist, XI Jinping, who is very specific about this in terms of what he will do, what he will not do, it is very difficult to continue doing that. But I hope the people who discuss that, realize that we have to control the algorithm away from the Chinese Communist Party, the operating system, and make sure that the identity is controlled by America, not China.

Margaret Brennan: So let’s talk about that identity. The President said that investors will include Michael Dell, Laclan Murdoch, whose family owns Fox News, and Larry Ellison, whose son owns CBS News. Do you have any concerns that the people who impeach the President will own the social media in this way?

Rep. Moolenaar: You know, I think–

Margaret Brennan: – As there is great power.

Rep. Moolienaar: Well there are others, I’m sure they are investors. Not everyone is a supporter of the President, but I believe that in this case, the conference has an oversight role, and we will meet with the bargaining structures. And we’re going to have a hearing on this, because at the end of the day, we want this to be controlled by American companies, regardless of their political affiliation. We do not want it to be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Margaret Brennan: But the Bestent secretary said that he got the Chinese to say yes, on Thursday, he used the word “go away”, that the process will be released between the XI and Trump. So your just hearing the truth? Or, you know, what impact do you hope they will have?

Rep. Moolenaar: well, supervision. Congress has a formal oversight role. We passed the law–

Margaret Brennan: – Which means you think the money has been made. That this transaction is happening, and you will be able to just look?

Rep. Moolenaari: I would think that if the president comes to an agreement, he is charged with doing it under the Act, and if that happens on Thursday, then it will go forward. And there may be challenges to that law or its implementation, but Congress has an oversight role to ensure that the law is followed.

Margaret Brennan: The Wall Street Journal reported that XI jiinping is called Tiktok, Quote Oppium in spirit, and saw this as a chip that has changed on the ground for China. Do you think that- that happens here? That this is just a simple thing to offer–

Rep. Moolenaar: I believe it is a very addictive app. China has made a lot of money because of that, but they also use it in a way that allows you to know their information, their propaganda, will be spread. They control the algorithm, which is why we passed that bipartisan legislation. So I believe that XI jinping views this as a strategic asset. That’s why he didn’t want to sell to other American companies that were interested in buying them. So as long as they are involved, I think we should be aware that TikTok, even the American version can still be open to influence from the Chinese Communist Party.

Margaret Brennan: Or whoever owns it.

Rep. Moolenaar: Whoever owns it.

Margaret Brennan: The algorithm.

Rep. Moolenaar: algorithm.

Margaret Brennan: Congressman, thank you very much, and we will be looking at those calls.

Rep. Moolenaar: Thank you.

Margaret Brennan: We’ll go back.