Mnuchin announced the bid less than 24 hours after the House passed a bill that would force its Chinese-backed parent company to divest the social media app or face a ban in the U.S. 

'I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,' Mnuchin told CNBC's 'Squawk Box' on Thursday morning. 'It's a great business and I'm going to put together a group to buy TikTok. 

'This should be owned by U.S. businesses,' he added. 'There's no way that the Chinese would ever let a U.S. company own something like this in China.'

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has vowed the company will exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban.

The bill over TikTok's future is now heading to the Senate. It's unclear whether it will pass, but President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation if it does.

Trump, Mnuchin's former boss, is one of the high-profile figures to have come out against the ban.

The former president says getting rid of the app in the U.S. would empower other social media platforms such as Facebook, which he described as the 'enemy of the people'. 

The video-sharing app has surged in popularity across the world while causing nervousness about its Chinese ownership and its potential subservience to the Communist Party in Beijing. 

Lawmakers in the House voted 352 in favor of the proposed law and 65 against, in a rare moment of unity in politically divided Washington.

The warning shot against the app caught many by surprise as both Republicans and Democrats risked the wrath of TikTok's passionate young users in an election year.