Climate advocates brace for Trump executive order targeting nonprofits’ tax exempt status

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Climate advocates brace for Trump executive order targeting nonprofits’ tax exempt status

Environmental advocates held a press conference Monday to examine the potential impact of a rumored executive order from President Trump, which is thought to target the tax-exempt status of climate nonprofits. The executive order is expected to be released today – Earth Day. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network hosted the press conference, where speakers included […]

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network hosted the press conference, where speakers included Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and former Washington Governor Jay Inslee, D. Both said they are anticipating an executive order from Trump that seeks to revoke the tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status of environmental groups.

“The Trump administration has been systematically attacking every sector of American civil society — the federal workforce, the unions, the universities, the colleges, the philanthropies, you name it,” Raskin said. “And so it’s inevitable that they will be coming — I assume that they will be coming — after the environmental organizations.”

Raskin noted that in December, after Trump was reelected but before he took office, Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., introduced legislation to give the executive branch power to terminate the tax-exempt status of an organization deemed a “terrorist supporting organization.”

This would include “any organization which is designated by the Secretary [of the Treasury] as having provided, during the 3-year period ending on the date of such designation, material support or resources” to a terrorist organization, according to the legislation.

“We fought that very hard for several hours on the floor of the House of Representatives,” Raskin said. “That is obviously a power that only authoritarians and autocrats would want — the power to unilaterally designate a group as a terrorist group, without any due process, without any fair hearing.” The bill passed the House, but it has not yet advanced in the Senate.

Raskin said he feels “it’s a good thing” that organizations are anticipating future policy decisions from the Trump administration and guessing where the administration is going “based on bits of information. We are going to be organized. We are going to be ready, so we don’t have to get ready.”

Inslee also said he anticipates an effort from the Trump administration to strip tax-exempt status from environmental groups. Experts say that procedures for revoking federal tax exemption are well-established and require an individual audit of each organization and opportunities for appeal.

“In the law, this is very clear, and that’s why [Trump is] going to get slapped down as soon as we get into court if necessary,” Raskin said. “The law is that no president of any party, under any circumstances, has the right to use the IRS as a political instrument, and if he orders the IRS to even look at the potential to take away [501(c)(3)] funding and tax-exempt status for these organizations, it is clearly in violation of the law.”

Bill McKibben, who leads environmental NGO 350.org, said he feels it “is going to be pretty hard to spin [his organization] as criminals, though I have no doubt that they will try with every possible category, but we will fight back. Everyone will try to fight back.”

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Government will make ‘calm and considered’ decision on zonal pricing, Miliband says

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AI could offset energy demand by cutting industry consumption, says Minister

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Cloudbrink pushes SASE boundaries with 300 Gbps data center throughput

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OpenAI’s red teaming innovations define new essentials for security leaders in the AI era

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