New “Nonprofit Killer” Bill Threatens Civil Society
December 19, 2025 — New Jewish Narrative strongly opposes the “Nonprofit Killer” bill that was introduced by Republicans in both the House and the Senate this week. Granting the Treasury Department sweeping new authority to strip US nonprofits of their tax-exempt status raises profound threats to American civil society and free expression.
The Trump administration has already abused Executive authority to target political critics with the apparent goal of chilling dissent in the media and universities. This legislation would provide the administration with a powerful new tool by empowering the Secretary of the Treasury to unilaterally designate any nonprofit organization as “terrorist-supporting” and revoke its tax-exempt status with minimal procedural safeguards. Under this framework, American organizations engaged in constitutionally-protected speech – including news media, universities, and civil liberties groups – could be targeted based on vague criteria or subjective determinations, without meaningful due process.
The motivation behind this bill is clear: such broad authority can be used to chill dissent, punish advocacy, and undermine the fundamental right to free association and speech. Indeed, Senator Cornyn said the quiet part out loud when he stated that he is introducing this bill in order to strip tax exempt status from an organization he dislikes. Civil society in the United States is among the strongest in the world precisely because organizations can operate independent of government interference. Vesting unchecked power in the executive branch to revoke that status would undermine our democratic institutions.
The House version of this bill is H.R.6800. The Senate companion is S.3554. In the last Congress this bill was intensely fought, after sparking a groundswell of opposition in which we were deeply involved.
Members of Congress should reject this bill or any similar measure that lacks robust safeguards for nonprofits, transparent definitions of misconduct, and clear avenues for affected organizations to challenge adverse actions.
Hadar Susskind, NJN President and CEO said: “We’ve already seen that the Trump administration has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to trying to shut down its critics. Why would Congress hand them a bigger weapon with which to target American nonprofits?
“Their plan is clear: First, they will use this tool to come for Arabs and Muslims. Then they will use this tool to come for the administration’s other critics. We are not going to wait. We’re going to speak out right now. We’re going to stop this attempt at repression right here.”
