WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S.

House of Representatives vowed on Tuesday to forge ahead with a

vote to ban the popular TikTok social media app, despite the

concerns of Donald Trump, who holds great influence over their

slim House majority.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is due to bring legislation to

the floor on Wednesday that addresses Chinese ownership of

TikTok, which Republicans and Democrats say poses a national

security risk to the United States. The bill would give TikTok's

Chinese owner, ByteDance, about six months to divest the video

app used by 170 million Americans.

That is coming despite former president and Republican

candidate Trump's public comments in recent days opposing the

bill, which he said could benefit Meta Platforms Inc's ( META )

Facebook and Instagram services.

"I don't want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election,

doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!" Trump wrote

on his Truth Social platform last week.

So far this year, Trump opposition has led House Republicans

to scuttle a bipartisan bill negotiated in the Senate meant to

address record flows of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border

and helped stymie a bipartisan Senate aid package to Ukraine.

The TikTok bill last week passed out of committee with a

rare unanimous bipartisan 50-0 vote.

Representative Chip Roy, a prominent Republican hardliner

and Trump ally who is co-sponsoring the bill, acknowledged the

former president's concerns about other social platforms but

said the House needs to act anyway.

"It's not weighing on my mind," the Texas Republican told

reporters. "He're trying to be very careful about American-owned

companies, and not have the power of government overstep, but to

focus here on (the Chinese government) targeting our people."

CLASSIFIED BRIEFING

House members of both parties got a classified briefing

about TikTok on Tuesday from the FBI, Justice Department and

intelligence officials.

"We've answered a lot of questions from members. We had a

classified briefing today so that members can see even more

details about what's at risk and how the CCP can jeopardize the

risk to American families," Republican Majority Leader Steve

Scalise told reporters.

Johnson and Scalise ignored questions about Trump's

concerns.

Lawmakers have also been deluged with calls from teenage

TikTok users who oppose the legislation, which some said have

eclipsed those seeking a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"A lot of them are calling, so it's clogged up the people

that want a ceasefire. They've overcome the ceasefire,"

Democratic Representative Steve Cohen told reporters.

The company is also lobbying Congress against the bill,

saying TikTok is not owned or controlled by the Chinese

government and warning that divestiture could jeopardize the

security of U.S. data.

In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Trump continued to rail

about Facebook but also acknowledged concerns about a national

security risk.

"There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with

TikTok," Trump said.

Democratic President Joe Biden's re-election campaign has

embraced TikTok as a way to reach young voters, while the Trump

campaign so far has avoided the platform.

But Biden has also said he would sign the legislation if it

passes the House and Senate.

Republican Representative Ben Cline said he backs the bill,

despite Trump's opposition, saying, "Everybody's got their

opinion about it. He's got a right to have his opinion."