Senate Democrats Probe Alleged Trump Plan to Weaponize IRS

The inquiry follows recent reporting from the New York Post, which suggested that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s team is considering revoking the 501(c)(3) status of groups including the Open Society Foundations and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Wyden and Warnock argue this strategy relies on presidential memorandum NSPM-7 to conflate protected First Amendment speech with security threats. In a letter to Treasury and IRS leadership, the senators demanded access to any existing blueprints and documentation regarding how the administration selects organizations for audit.

Simultaneously, House members Lloyd Doggett and Terri Sewell introduced the PROOF Act to codify due process protections for nonprofits. Currently, many safeguards against arbitrary revocation exist only in internal agency manuals that can be suspended without public oversight. Doggett emphasized that the IRS must remain an objective arbiter of tax law rather than a tool for political retribution, warning that the precedent set by such actions could eventually threaten organizations across the entire political spectrum.