Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Internal Revenue Service refused to state that the president ordering an audit of an individual or organization, or that an organization’s tax-exempt status be removed, would be illegal.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was apoplectic over Billy Long’s evasive responses to a line of questioning related to Trump’s open desire to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status for blatantly political purposes.
At one point during his testimony, Long said: “The IRS will not, should not be politicized on my watch, or any watch.” But his inability to give a clear response to Warren’s straightforward inquiry about his interpretation of the law certainly raises doubts.
Watch the video below:
WARREN: Can POTUS legally tell the IRS to change someone's nonprofit status?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 20, 2025
BILLY LONG: I'm not able to answer
WARREN: You can't read these words and tell me what those words say?!
LONG: I can read the statute and I did
WARREN: Then tell me what they mean! pic.twitter.com/LKHkEeXsAE
Along with Harvard, Trump’s administration has sought to paint nonprofit organizations whose missions they disagree with as complicit in criminal schemes or otherwise undeserving of their tax-exempt status. In this regard, Trump has taken a similar approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has also weaponized his government against nonprofits he doesn’t like and used Russia’s tax system to threaten these organizations.
House Republicans have proposed a law that would give the administration outsize power to unilaterally strip nonprofit groups’ tax-exempt status if the administration — specifically, the secretary of state — alleges that a group is aiding terrorists. A provision authorizing that power — known by some as the “nonprofit killer” clause — had been included in the House GOP’s budget bill until it was mysteriously removed this week. But it could be reintroduced at a later date — and even if it isn’t, Long sounds ill-suited to stop any efforts to weaponize the executive branch, or the agency he could soon lead, to target groups’ special tax status. In a matter of years, Republicans have gone from hyping up dubious allegations that America’s tax system had been weaponized against conservatives to placating an illiberal wannabe “king” who openly wants to use that system against liberals. And Long is the living embodiment of that hypocritical turn. In January, Rachel Maddow put together a great introduction of sorts for Long as part of her “Public Servant Announcement” series focusing on Trump’s appointments. Methinks now is as great a time as any to check it out. Watch it here:
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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