WASHINGTON — The Biden administration suggested that the Supreme Court should reject Donald Trump’s request to delay a law that would ban TikTok in the United States if it isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company.

A week ahead of a Jan. 10 courtroom showdown, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department urged justices to uphold the law despite Trump’s argument that he could negotiate a deal after his inauguration later this month. The department said TikTok hasn’t demonstrated it can prevail in its case to justify a pause, and that Trump didn’t argue that the company could succeed.

The U.S. and TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd., laid the groundwork for next week’s oral arguments before the high court in dueling briefs Friday that pit national security concerns against free speech rights.

In its latest filing, TikTok urged the Supreme Court to declare the law’s TikTok-specific provision unconstitutional or at least put a temporary pause on the statute to “carefully consider this significant question.”

The company also highlighted the dangers to free speech rights that the government’s arguments posed.

“The startling proposition that there should be no judicial scrutiny of a law shuttering a speech platform used by 170 million Americans would mean Congress could ban petitioners from operating TikTok explicitly because they refused to censor views Congress disfavors or to promote views it likes,” TikTok attorneys wrote.

The government contends that continuing Chinese control over TikTok would let a foreign adversary collect data on Americans and spread propaganda.

“Congress and the Executive Branch agree” that China’s control of TikTok through ByteDance “poses a profound national-security threat,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in the government’s filing.

Prelogar said that speech on the platform would continue if it is sold to another company.

Trump thrust himself into the legal fray last week with his request for an unusual negotiation window. Trump gave no specifics about what kind of deal he would seek or how long a delay he needed.

The filing portrayed Trump as uniquely able to broker an accord that would keep TikTok operating while preserving national security. During his first term as president, Trump called for banning TikTok, then took shifting positions on a plan that would have let Oracle Corp. take over U.S. operations of the platform.

Trump said last month he now has a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok because it helped sway young voters to his side in the November election.

The government indirectly addressed Trump’s claim that the executive branch must have a say in the matter.

In his amicus brief, Trump argued that the law must be stayed until he takes office since it raises concerns about “possible legislative encroachment on prerogatives of the executive branch.”

Without naming Trump, the government’s brief highlighted that “the executive branch under two presidents” found it necessary that ByteDance divest from TikTok to resolve the national security risks — the same solution that Congress agreed on and adopted.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case on a highly expedited time frame, with oral arguments set for a special session only nine days before the law is to take effect. The law is also being challenged by a group of content creators.

A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the law on a 3-0 vote last month, saying Congress and the president are entitled to a wide berth when they make national security determinations.

The cases are TikTok v. Garland, 24-656, and Firebaugh v. Garland, 24-657.

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