The Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. or force its sale by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by January 19.

This latest filing follows Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, asking the court to extend the deadline to allow the president-elect to seek a political resolution. The DOJ argued that Trump’s filing did not address the First Amendment issue, which is central to the lawsuit that the Supreme Court agreed to hear on an expedited basis. TikTok and ByteDance sued to stop the law, claiming it violates their free speech rights under the First Amendment.

The DOJ stated that granting Trump’s request would be akin to a temporary injunction, which could only be implemented if ByteDance demonstrated a likelihood of winning the case—a standard the company has not met. The DOJ also directly addressed ByteDance’s First Amendment argument, asserting that the Act does not impose a burden on any recognizable First Amendment rights of ByteDance, its U.S. subsidiary, or TikTok users. The department maintained that the Act satisfies any level of First Amendment scrutiny and should be upheld by the Court.

If the Supreme Court does not act by January 19 or sides with the U.S. government, TikTok would be banned just one day before Trump’s inauguration. Trump has been vocal about his opposition to banning TikTok, stating on his social media platform, TruthSocial, “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?” He highlighted that his TikTok account has received more views than those of Vice President Kamala Harris, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Fox News, and pop stars Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on January 10, just nine days before the app is scheduled to be banned under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This law, passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Joe Biden, bans the app only if ByteDance remains its owner, effectively pushing the company to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based entity.

The DOJ emphasized that the Act targets control by a foreign adversary, not protected speech, and that a post-divestiture TikTok could continue presenting the same content in the same manner. A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.