Mnuchin tried to force a sale of TikTok. Now he’s a possible bidder.

Emily Kilcrease, a former CFIUS coordinator at the Commerce Department, said she could not comment on the TikTok probe. But Kilcrease, who now serves as director of the energy, economics and security program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank, said the secretary serves in the “most critical position” in the federal review and would “absolutely be involved” in such a “really highly sensitive case.”

CFIUS ultimately recommended in 2020 that the U.S. government unwind the TikTok merger, a decision that — in the words of Mnuchin — federal officials had reached “unanimously.” But the finding came as Trump made clear that he planned to force ByteDance to divest the app through an executive order. That process also largely involved Mnuchin, who engaged in talks with potential buyers including Microsoft, Oracle and Walmart.

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