Senate Democrats ask Treasury and IRS to account for a reported plan to strip left-leaning nonprofits of tax exemption
Sens. Ron Wyden and Raphael Warnock asked for any such plan and whether political officials had asked the IRS to audit particular groups, which federal law forbids. Their Sept. 15 deadline has passed with no reply made public.
Washington. Two Democratic senators have asked the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service whether political officials are steering IRS scrutiny toward left-leaning nonprofits. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Finance Committee's ranking member, and Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia wrote on Sept. 2 to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Frank Bisignano, the IRS's chief executive, asking for answers by Sept. 15. No reply had been made public by Sept. 29.
The letter answers an Aug. 27 New York Post report, citing unnamed people briefed on the Treasury's deliberations, that Mr. Bessent's inner circle was drafting a blueprint that could strip noncompliant organizations of their 501(c)(3) status. The Post named the Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and said some officials wanted "a good chunk of the crackdown" done before the midterm elections. The Treasury declined to comment to The Post.
What federal law forbids
Section 7217 of the Internal Revenue Code makes it unlawful for the president, the vice president, their staffs and senior officials such as the Treasury secretary to ask the IRS, directly or indirectly, to conduct or end an audit or investigation of a particular taxpayer. An IRS employee who gets such a request must report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. A willful violation, or a failure to report, is punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. A written request by the Treasury secretary made as a consequence of a change in tax policy is exempt.
The senators asked for the reported blueprint and any criteria for choosing organizations to examine, the officials behind them, whether any official had asked the IRS to act against particular organizations before the election, and whether any such request was reported to the inspector general. They asked what ethics review covers Mr. Bessent's part in matters involving the Open Society Foundations, given his years at Soros Fund Management, including as its chief investment officer, and asked that related records be preserved.
“Americans of every political persuasion must be able to trust that the IRS applies the tax code objectively under one set of rules.”
What the Treasury has said
The Treasury had made no public comment on the reported plan, according to an analysis WealthManagement published on Sept. 23. In a July 16 speech, Mr. Bessent said most nonprofits are good organizations, and that at the president's direction the department was "expanding its efforts to identify organizations that abuse charitable and nonprofit structures as vehicles for illicit finance."
Mr. Bisignano told the Finance Committee earlier this year that the president's statements about his political opponents have "no influence" on the IRS, the senators wrote.
About this story
501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Sept. 29, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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