Yesterday, for the second time, the House of Representatives voted in favor of a Invoice that President Donald Trump and the executive branch could use to investigate and effectively shut down certain groups that Trump sees as his political objective. enemies. Candidate Trump repeatedly threatened his “enemies” on the campaign trail, and this bill would put tax-exempt organizations directly in the crosshairs.

One might wonder why any member of Congress would vote for such legislation. One reason is that on its face, the legislation purports to end the tax-exempt status of what it calls organizations that support terrorism. On the face of it, most would see this as a laudable goal, and perhaps that is why similar legislation pass the House of Representatives earlier this year. But the real goal and consequences of this legislation are much more insidious.

For starters, nonprofits are already forbiddenunder the federal system criminal laws, to provide material support to terrorists. And although the ACLU has a long history concerns Given how the executive branch has interpreted and applied the material support laws, the fact remains that the executive branch has no shortage of tools to deal with transactions with the individuals and entities it judge linked to terrorism.

Additionally, as a recent report of the Congressional Research Service clearly states that tax-exempt organizations are already “subject to existing requirements that allow the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of an organization that provides material support to a terrorist organization.” The same report notes that the main difference between the current IRS rules and the bill is that “revocation under existing authority occurs after” an IRS audit, notice, administrative appeal and judicial review, whereas under this legislation, the basis for due process would only come once the harm has been done: “after designation as a terrorist support organization”. In other words, the new legislation subverts fairness and provides only a façade of due process.

Even supporters of the bill seem to think that the executive branch already has broad powers given the many mail they wrote to the IRS asking it to strip the groups of tax-exempt status. House Speaker Mike Johnson himself joined in such calls.

Under this legislation, a damaging designation of “support for terrorism” will be made unilaterally by a Treasury Secretary who will be hand-picked by Donald Trump. They will not be required to provide a nonprofit organization with a full accounting of the reasons and evidence for such designation, nor will they be required to provide evidence that calls into question their designation decision. This means that a nonprofit could find itself completely in the dark as to what the government considers material support. Indeed, a non-profit organization could have its tax-exempt status revoked before it even has a real chance to make its case to a neutral decision-maker.

While the bill’s sponsors said the legislation was necessary to avoid what they called a “tedious bureaucratic process“, in reality, they are trying to evade basic due process. The executive branch can use the stigma that such a designation would bring, the legal fees and costs it would generate, combined with the likely loss of donors fleeing controversy, to stifle dissent and chill discourse. And while applications of this authority may ultimately fail when tested in court, the reputational and financial costs of this designation could mean the functional end of an accused nonprofit before it even comes to this point. Many nonprofit organizations may choose to reduce their activities and advocacy in order to avoid such punishment.

And while current efforts are clearly very focused on campus protests over the situation in Gazait is not difficult to imagine a Trump administration using this power to target and harass nonprofit organizations in a much broader set of circumstances. The deterrent effects could be immense. Any organization that criticizes government policies or powerful interests could potentially have its tax-exempt status arbitrarily revoked by labeling it “supporting terrorism” as part of a broader far-right attack on democracy and right to demonstrate.

The question Congress should be asking is whether now is the time to give the executive branch new powers that are unnecessary, expansive, and easy to abuse. This legislation offers no real protection against a Trump-led executive branch determined to use executive power to effectively shut down organizations with which he disagrees. Rather, it is an open invitation to abuse.

This time around, supporters of the bill attached it to legislation clearly stating that Americans held hostage by foreign governments or terrorist groups do not owe IRS penalties for failing to pay their taxes while they are hostage. Naturally, this is a rare policy that no one in Congress seems to oppose, and it pass the Senate unanimously earlier this year. The quickest way for IRS hostage relief to become law would be for the House of Representatives to pass a version that does not include the unrelated and dangerous provisions targeting nonprofit organizations. It could then be sent immediately to the president for signature.

And as this bill now moves to the Senate, this is the approach Congress should be taking, instead of working to give the new Trump administration a tool it can use to stifle free speech , target political opponents and punish disadvantaged groups.

We can’t go back

We now face a second Trump presidency.

There is not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and, yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies that Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also arm ourselves for the fight to come. It will require a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis and human resilience. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right Supreme Court, political authoritarianism, growing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflict. stranger. The nation will expose and propose, fuel investigative reporting, and come together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The nationThe work of will continue – as it has in good times and bad – to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth and in-depth reporting, and to strengthen solidarity in a divided nation .

Building on 160 remarkable years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate remains the same today as when abolitionists founded The nation– to defend the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon during the darkest days of resistance, and imagine and fight for a better future.

The day is dark, the forces deployed are tenacious, but like the deceased Nation Editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote: “No! This is precisely the moment when artists get to work. There is no time for despair, no room for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we make language. This is how civilizations heal.

I urge you to stay with The nation and make a donation today.

Ahead,

Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Editorial director and publisher, The nation

Kia Hamadanchy

Kia Hamadanchy is a senior policy advisor at the ACLU.

More than The nation

The Senate has yet to reconfirm the chairmanship of the National Labor Relations Board — a crucial bulwark against Trump’s looming assault.

Chris Lehmann

The difference between what the answer should be — and what it will be — tells you almost everything you need to know about today’s Democratic Party.

Elie Mystal

Nick Bosa and Colin Kaepernick both took their politics to the field, but they experienced very different repercussions.

David Zirin

The electoral math is not as bad as we thought. But the next Trump administration looks worse.

Jeanne Walsh

Conservatives supported Trump in higher proportions than in 2020. And the time spent with Cheney prevented Harris from reaching the voters she needed.

John Nichols

With the re-election of Donald Trump, the slide toward a dangerously empowered president has reached a moment of reckoning,

Karen J. Greenberg