Sunday snapshot: MAGA's TikTok dilemma

1. MAGA's TikTok turnaround

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a prominent congressional China hawk, said last year President Biden's presidential campaign should be "ashamed" for joining TikTok when federal agencies had to remove the app from their devices.

• "We know the Chinese Communist Party are using this as a data collection bonanza," he said, contending the campaign's presence on the platform as "a superhighway" for election interference.
• "I've called for a full-on ban," Waltz said at the time, calling action on TikTok "long overdue."
• Trump, who once spearheaded the effort to ban the app, eventually joined TikTok as well.

The latest: But on Sunday, Waltz, now the incoming national security adviser, said he's confident the Trump administration can "save TikTok" while protecting U.S. user data.

• That could mean "an outright sale," as is stipulated in the bipartisan law that set the stage for the app's ban, or "some mechanism of firewalls to make sure that the data is protected here on U.S. soil," Waltz said on CNN's "State of the Union."

• "So it's possible China will still own [TikTok]?" host Dana Bash asked, adding, "Isn't that totally capitulating to China?"
• Waltz replied that it's "not capitulating at all." He continued, "TikTok can continue to exist ... whether that's in American hands, owned by an American company, or whether the data and the algorithms are fully protected from Chinese interference."

Zoom out: But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "we will enforce the law," and Trump's vows to "save TikTok" mean the president-elect wants to see "a true divestiture."

• "It's the Chinese Communist Party and their manipulation of the algorithms," Johnson said. "They have been flooding the minds of American children with terrible messages, glorifying violence and antisemitism and even suicide and eating disorders."
• The only way to extend the deadline, Johnson said, is if there's an "actual deal" in the works. But he noted, "We don't have any confidence in ByteDance," TikTok's parent company.
• House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) noted on CNN that presenting a remedy other "than someone else purchasing TikTok who's not affiliated with the Chinese communist party" would mean there would have to be "some kind of change in the law."

Yes, but: Trump's vision may look a little different.

• "[My]y initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose," Trump wrote in his social media statement expressing his intent to issue an executive order pushing back the apps' lights-out date.
• It's clear that ByteDance does not want to sell its famous algorithm. And there is no evidence of an in-progress deal, though investor Kevin O'Leary said he's made a $20 billion offer.

What we're watching: Trump 2.0 — and perhaps, the path to TikTok 2.0 — start Monday.

• And as White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer made clear Sunday on ABC's "This Week," the ball is in Trump's court.

2. Israel-Hamas ceasefire commences

The early hours of the Gaza ceasefire saw three female Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity after more than 470 days.

The latest: Some 800 aid trucks are set to enter Gaza today, said Brett McGurk, the lead U.S. negotiator on the hostage deal — a dramatic increase from daily averages.

• As of Friday reporting from Reuters, UNRWA data showed 523 aid trucks had entered Gaza in January.
• Janti Soeripto, the president and CEO of Save the Children, said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that there are some 300,000 children in Gaza who are in "real acute need of malnutrition treatment."
• Her organization is also trying to reconnect more than 17,000 children separated from their families during a war that has seen more than 45,000 Palestinians killed.

What they're saying: "This was not put together in the last week," McGurk said. "This was put together really since May when President Biden laid out this framework."

• McGurk said the Biden administration has been working "seamlessly" with the incoming Trump team.
• "This is a testament to President Biden and to President Trump allowing us to work together," he said, characterizing his partnership with Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as "historic."

Waltz characterized the hostage return as a "Reagan moment" for Trump, referencing the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

• The terms of the deal were "inherited" from the Biden administration, Waltz said, but he contended "this deal would have never happened had President Trump not been elected."

The bottom line: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the question over whether Trump deserves some credit for the deal is one "historians will have to answer moving forward."

3. Johnson: Trump isn't behind Turner's ousting

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) denied Sunday that his decision to oust Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as the House Intelligence Committee chair was prompted by President-elect Trump.

The intrigue: Turner's ousting has generated frustration and disbelief from Republicans who fear their razor-thin majority would shrink further if the Ohio congressman decides to vote against the GOP agenda in retaliation for Johnson's actions.

What they're saying: Johnson told NBC News' Kristen Welker that "the notion that this was directed by the incumbent administration is just simply false."

Yes, but: Turner told CBS News that Johnson said "concerns from Mar-a-Lago" were among the reasons for his removal.

State of play: Johnson said he feels he can still count on Turner's vote as he's a "team player."

• The speaker added that he and Turner are "good friends, trusted friends and colleagues. He will still be one of the top leaders in the House. In fact, I reappointed him and asked him to serve again, and he graciously agreed."
• Turner will be the chairman of the U.S. delegation for NATO's Parliamentary Assembly, a position he previously held in 2011. He was president of the assembly from 2014 to 2016. He also serves on the Armed Service and Oversight and Government Reform committees.

More from Axios' Sunday coverage:

• Bannon: Billionaire CEOs have surrendered to Trump
• Arctic blast, tied to the polar vortex, spreads all the way to Southeast
• Trump's 2.0 inauguration draws more celebrities