Trump could test boundaries of law with crackdown on left-wing tax-exempt groups

Published April 19, 2025 7:00am ET



President Donald Trump is weighing a crackdown on the tax-exempt status of left-wing groups, an exercise of executive power that would test his authority under the law.

Trump has directed the Internal Revenue Service to look into revoking Harvard University’s tax-exempt status and has said he is considering doing the same for the nonprofit watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. He also reportedly plans to strip some environmental groups of their tax-exempt status.

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