Lutnick is referring to the potential deal to sell the majority of TikTok to U.S. investors, which President Trump recently said was all but done, with the buyer being "secured" on the U.S. side. Trump did say at the time that China has to approve such a deal, and now it seems his administration is running out of patience.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC on Thursday that TikTok must be taken out of Chinese control and that Washington should oversee the social media platform's algorithm.