If youve been on TikTok over the past few days, youve no doubt witnessed your favorite creators saying their goodbyes and telling you where you can find them next. With an impending ban on the social media app set to take effect in the U.S. on Sunday, it seems like theres little the platforms users can do except wait and hope that the Supreme Court, which heard arguments from both TikToks lawyers and the Justice Department on Friday, strikes it down. However, with TikTok now threatening to shut down altogether (though the ban would simply keep it from being listed on app stores, the company proposed taking the nuclear option) and Americans fleeing to another Chinese app as a replacement-slash-act of protest, various government officialsindependent of the Supreme Courtare looking to change course.From the outside, it all seems like a big game of chicken. First, the U.S. governmentaiming either to protect your data and national security (as it claims) or simply to pump up the American tech industry by disrupting the popular China-backed platformdemanded TikTok parent ByteDance sell the service to an American company. Then, ByteDance, not wanting to lose its cash cow, called the U.S.'s bluff and refused to sell. Now, American TikTokers are showing their reluctance to use homegrown replacements like Instagram Reels, leaving the government with a few choices: It can continue to pursue the ban and hope the public or ByteDance gets on board, or it can try to salvage the situation and delay or nix the ban so as to not further upset voters and drive them into the arms of other Chinese apps.While it's too soon to predict exactly what will happen, working to avoid the Sunday shutdown is exactly what a few key power players are doing.Biden and Trump have reportedly both changed their stancesOne of the most surprising people said to be changing their mind about a TikTok ban is President Biden, who signed it into law and has only a few days remaining in his term. Speaking to NBC News, three people familiar with the discussions indicated the Biden administration is currently working on ways to keep TikTok from going dark on Sunday.Americans shouldnt expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday, an administration official told the outlet, saying that Bidens team is exploring options to keep that from happening when the law goes into effect on Jan. 19. Its all a bit vaguecertainly a ban is exactly what we were expectingbut a White House official did clarify that the options being considered wouldnt include deferring enforcement of the ban, as the administration doesnt believe we have the authority to do that.However, this insider info has been contested by ABC, which says an administration official is now expecting the Biden administration to leave action on the TikTok ban to the incoming Trump administration.It's perhaps good news for TikTok users, then, that President Trump has already vocally expressed his opposition to the ban, and reports indicate he's ready to act to stop it. The Washington Post reports Trump is considering penning an executive order that would delay the bans enforcement by 60 to 90 days. Such an extreme measure would perhaps be Trumps only play here, as the ban is set to go into effect one day before he takes office. Trump's stance marks a similar change in attitude to President Biden's: During his first term, Trump signed an executive order that attempted to force TikTok to shut down operations in the U.S., something the company avoided by partnering with U.S.-based company Oracle to protect the data of American users.A last ditch bill to save TikTok (for now)Realistically, the most stable way to get the ban struck down, save by the Supreme Court, would be for the members of congress who voted for it to change their minds. The biggest governmental backswing weve seen on the TikTok ban so faror at least the biggest one that doesnt rely on hearsay and anonymous sourceswould be a new bill from Democratic Senator Ed Markey. Introduced this week, Markey's bill would have extended the deadline for the ban by 270 days, giving TikTok more time to find a buyer or provide lawmakers an opportunity to reevaluate the situation. Unfortunately, it was quickly struck down by Republican lawmakers, but the reasoning behind it does show that at least parts of Congress are beginning to waver.In four days, TikTok goes dark, Markey said while introducing the legislation. My bill just says, we need more time.As part of his justification for the bill, Markey argued that TikTok has been central to our economy and the way in which we communicate, arguing that the communities its creators and small businesses have established there cannot be replicated on another app.We need time to have a deeper conversation about how to address the national security risks caused by Bytedances ownership of TikTok. Markey continued. We need time to understand the bans implication on TikToks creators and users. We need time to consider alternative ideas.This bill also marked something of a change in attitude from Markey, who originally spoke out against banning the platform but nonetheless voted for the current ban anywayalthough it should be noted that the ban was included in a bill also providing aid to Ukraine and Israel.For his part, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to continue "working to keep TikTok alive," even in the face of Republican opposition.Support for the ban remainsWhile politicians across both aisles and two branches of government have now spoken about reversing or delaying the ban, some in government are sticking to their original decision.They had all the time in the world, Republican Senator Rick Scott said. Theyve had an opportunity to sell it to make sure the Chinese government doesnt control it and they decided not to do that.Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who lead the charge on blocking Markey's bill, said "We didn't pull the rug out from under TikTok, and we didn't ban it. Instead, Congress simply demanded that the app could no longer be owned and controlled by our nation's worst enemy, communist China."For now, all eyes are still on the Supreme Court. Yet even if the judicial branch upholds the ban, it seems the game of chicken might still ultimately end with TikTok continuing to operate as usual, and without a third party like Mark Zuckerberg's Meta or Microsoft holding the reins.As we wait to see how things play out, Ill join with the choir saying they would rather learn Mandarin than watch an Instagram Reel.Update 4:44 PM ET: Updated this story to reflect the current status of Senator Markey's bill, as well as a report from ABC alleging that Biden will not act to prevent the TikTok ban.