House Republicans have included a provision in their budget bill that would allow the Trump administration to unilaterally claim that nonprofits are aiding terrorism, and punish them for it, with little to no due process.
The provision, which mimics a bill that passed the House in 2024, would give President Donald Trump new powers to attack and destroy nonprofit groups at his discretion. If adopted, the treasury secretary would be able to label a nonprofit as providing material support to terrorism on the sole determination of the secretary. This would lead to the nonprofit losing tax-exempt status, suffering significant reputational damage and, most likely, being de-banked.
Since taking office, Trump has launched an autocratic attack on civil society, targeting law firms, nonprofits, universities, Democratic Party infrastructure and individuals he sees as his enemies for punitive sanctions and investigation. This provision would add another tool to aid his attack.
“This is not an authority that any president should have — Republican, Democrat — since it could be weaponized against people across the political spectrum,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. “But given the various threats from this administration towards people’s nonprofit status, we are especially concerned about granting more authority in this space without any due process.”
