Tax committee Republicans press for Treasury crackdown on nonprofits promoting fraud, ‘anti-American’ hate
FIRST ON FOX: House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith and all 25 Republican members of the committee are urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to crack down on nonprofits accused of exploiting the tax code to operate tax-free while promoting “anti-American and/or pro-terrorist ideals” and committing fraud at taxpayers’ expense. The request marks one of the most aggressive congressional pushes in memory to revoke tax-exempt status, expand audits and rein in what lawmakers describe as systemic failures in policing the nonprofit sector. In the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, Smith and the Republican lawmakers wrote to Bessent, who is acting IRS commissioner, and Frank Bisignano, who is the CEO at the IRS, and warned of a growing pattern of tax-exempt organizations pursuing activity that falls outside legitimate charitable purposes. Smith and the lawmakers said they were writing to “express concern” over “significant fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars” and urged the IRS to “transition from the laissez-faire approach implemented under the Biden administration and utilize a more hands-on approach” when overseeing nonprofits. COMER VOWS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WILL EXPAND TO OTHER STATES AMID MOUNTING SCRUTINY They cited the massive fraud scandal in Minnesota, in which officials at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future were prosecuted and convicted for stealing an estimated $250 million from federal social welfare programs intended to feed low-income children. The case has resulted in dozens of indictments and criminal convictions. Amid the widening scandal, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz chose not to run for a third term. Bessent announced last month that he was opening an investigation into allegations that some of the stolen funds may have been routed to regions of Somalia where they could have ended up benefiting Al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. The case, Smith and the lawmakers wrote, “calls into question the current safeguards in place to protect taxpayer dollars.” “It is unconscionable that the Biden Administration’s failure to hold the United States’s non-profit sector accountable has not only resulted in the theft of billions of American taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars, but the potential enrichment of foreign terrorist organizations overseas,” Smith told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “As the Ways and Means Committee continues to investigate every corner of the tax-exempt sector to root out this waste, fraud, abuse and illegal activity, it is now abundantly clear the system is in desperate need of an overhaul.” “I applaud President Trump’s bold move to hold bad actors in the Minnesota Somali fraud scheme accountable and look forward to working with his Administration to ensure this rampant fraud is ended once and for all,” Smith added. Along with Smith, the other 25 Republican lawmakers from the Ways and Means Committee who signed the letter are: Reps. Jodey Arrington, Aaron Bean, Vern Buchanan, Mike Carey, Ron Estes, Randy Feenstra, Michelle Fischbach, Brian Fitzpatrick, Kevin Hern, Darin LaHood, Mike Kelly, David Kustoff, Max Miller, Nicole Malliotakis, Carol Miller, Blake Moore, Nathaniel Moran, Greg Murphy, Adrian Smith, Lloyd Smucker, David Schweikert, W. Gregory Steube, Claudia Tenney, Beth Van Duyne and Rudy Yakym. The House Ways and Means Committee has referred 11 nonprofits to the Treasury Department for investigation and revocation of their tax-exempt benefits, citing allegations of antisemitism, illegal activity, terrorism ties and foreign influence. The organizations have denied wrongdoing. They include The People’s Forum, a New York-based nonprofit that has organized nationwide anti-ICE protests over the past two weeks with its related organization, the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The People’s Forum is under scrutiny for alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party through its funding networks. Its primary donor has been Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech entrepreneur living in Shanghai who has publicly embraced Marxism and promoted China’s political and economic model. The People’s Forum has organized a national day of protests Tuesday with other organizations, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, in their efforts to dismantle U.S. “imperialism.” In the letter, Smith and the Republican lawmakers said the committee is “actively investigating American non-profits operating as extensions of the Chinese Communist Party.” Earlier this month, Smith referred the Council on American-Islamic Relations-California for investigation and potential revocation of its tax-exempt status, alleging it may have “materially supported unlawful conduct, including endorsing and assisting disruptive and illegal campus encampments that led to hundreds of arrests across California.” He also raised questions about the group’s “reported involvement in overtly political activity and protests that devolved into chaos, violence and law breaking” in “conduct that may violate longstanding restrictions on tax-exempt organizations.” Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code was enacted as part of the Revenue Act of 1913 to encourage and formalize charitable, civic, labor and other public-interest activities by granting tax-exempt status to qualifying organizations, and today it contains 29 categories of tax-exempt entities, including 501(c)(3) charities, 501(c)(4) social-welfare groups, 501(c)(5) labor unions, 501(c)(6) trade associations and other specialized nonprofit organizations. There are an estimated 1.8 million tax-exempt organizations in the United States, according to the IRS, with an estimated $1.4 trillion in annual revenues, making tougher oversight potentially far-reaching. An organization applies for the special status, and, if they qualify, they are exempt from paying federal income taxes on money they receive that is related to their mission, such as donations, grants and program revenue. In addition, contributions made to these nonprofit organizations are also tax-deductible for donors, making the status especially valuable. CONGRESS OPENS ‘INDUSTRIAL-SCALE FRAUD’ PROBE IN MINNESOTA, WARNS WALZ DEMANDS ARE ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’ Last week, Bessent announced the launch of IRS audits of financial institutions that “facilitated the laundering of Minnesota funds,” along with the creation of a task force focused on fraud and abuse involving 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. In their letter, Smith and Republican lawmakers urged Bessent to “use your authority at the IRS to hold tax-exempt organizations accountable” and to ensure that schemes like Feeding Our Future “cannot happen again.” Together, they said, the cases illustrate a systemic failure to police the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit organizations drew particular scrutiny after they led anti-Israel protests following the
Biden push to revive Ted Kennedy-era law now haunts Democrats as charges loom in Minnesota church riot
The Biden administration resurrected a 1994 law against obstructing abortion clinics or religious worship to prosecute protesters, but now conservatives are seeking that the same policy be applied after leftist agitators crashed a Minneapolis church service. The FACE Act, drafted by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a noted Catholic, and signed by former President Bill Clinton, prohibits intentionally injuring or intimidating people seeking “reproductive care” services, and also has a section protecting people “exercising … religious freedom at a place of religious worship.” Clinton also used his remarks signing the law to introduce his oft-cited view that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare.” “Enacting this bill to provide freedom of access to clinics has been a priority because protecting the freedoms of our citizens is surely chief among the responsibilities of the President of the United States,” Clinton added at the time. “This bill is designed to eliminate violence and coercion. It is not a strike against the First Amendment; far from it.” NYT SLAMMED OVER REPORT SAYING PROTEST AT MINNESOTA CHURCH SERVICE ‘ADDS TO TENSIONS OVER ICE TACTICS’ The Biden Justice Department pursued FACE Act charges against dozens of people, which was seen as an uptick over prior administrations that all utilized the law. Alliance Defending Freedom’s Erin Hawley testified before the House Judiciary Committee during that time saying: “Instead of applying the FACE Act in an even-handed way, the Biden DOJ has weaponized the Act to target pro-life advocates.” The most-reported case was that of Mark Houck, a pro-life supporter from Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, who was arrested outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic following a run-in with an activist. ST PAUL PASTOR DENOUNCES ANTI-ICE AGITATORS WHO DISRUPTED CHURCH SERVICE, SAYS ‘WE’RE HERE TO WORSHIP JESUS’ Houck often publicly prayed and tried to counsel people outside the center, and on that day in 2021, he was reportedly confronted by Bruce Love, an escort for an abortion patient. According to a recounting by the Heritage Foundation’s Cully Stimson, Love previously encountered Houck multiple times and expressed vulgar slurs to him, when Houck “defended” his 12-year-old son from one of Love’s advances and the man fell. Stimson noted that the case was “so weak” that Philadelphia County District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, declined to file any charges against Houck. DON LEMON CLAIMS SOME RELIGIOUS GROUPS HAVE ‘ENTITLEMENT’ FROM WHITE SUPREMACY AFTER ANTI-ICE CHURCH PROTEST But, the FBI later raided Houck’s home, frightening his children, and he faced 11 years in prison and a $350,000 fine. Houck was ultimately acquitted. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has pardoned dozens of FACE Act convicts, including a priest and an 89-year-old Soviet concentration camp survivor arrested during a “blockade” of a Michigan center. The pendulum has swung so far to the other side of the issue that conservatives are now citing the Biden administration’s use of the FACE Act against agitators who disrupted a Minneapolis church service, reportedly because one of the reverends is connected with a local ICE office. PROMINENT CATHOLIC BISHOP SLAMS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS WHO DISRUPTED MN CHURCH SERVICE: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ The Trump DOJ promptly opened an investigation into the incident, with Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon citing the FACE Act and saying she is reviewing “potential violations [of it] by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.” “Any violation of federal law will be prosecuted,” added Attorney General Pam Bondi. West Coast Baptist College president Paul Chappell called out a former CNN host who was featured among the protests, and called for the law to be enforced. ANTI-ICE AGITATOR WHO STORMED MINNESOTA CHURCH SERVICE ALSO HARASSED CONGREGANTS AT PETE HEGSETH’S CHURCH “We condemn the actions of Don Lemon and the group of activists who stormed Cities Church today in St. Paul, Minnesota, in clear violation of the FACE Act,” Chappell said in a statement. “Christians everywhere should demand that the Department of Justice arrest those who participated. We must protect religious liberty in this country.” Lemon later hosted anti-Trump actor D.L. Hughley and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on his podcast, where Ellison claimed the law was designed to “protect the rights of people seeking their reproductive rights to be protected …” and that the law was being “stretched” in the church case. Meanwhile, in March, Reps. Sean Casten, D-Ill., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., urged Bondi to enforce the FACE Act in earnest, albeit citing the abortion services provision. In response, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz condemned the agitators, with a spokesperson telling Fox News: “The governor has repeatedly and unequivocally urged protesters to do so peacefully. While people have a right to speak out, he in no way supports interrupting a place of worship.”
Trump appears at White House briefing one year after inauguration
President Donald Trump made a special appearance Tuesday at the White House press briefing on the one-year anniversary of his second term’s start. The president highlighted crime and fraud in Minnesota at the top of his remarks. Trump was inaugurated one year ago today for his second term as president. The last time he appeared at a White House press briefing was on June 27, 2025. “We have a book that I’m not going to read to you, but these are the accomplishments of what we’ve produced,” Trump said, holding up a packet of papers. TRUMP WARNS US CAN NO LONGER THINK ‘PURELY OF PEACE’ AS HE PUSHES FOR GREENLAND CONTROL “All page after page after page, individual things. I could stand here and read it for a week, and we wouldn’t be finished. But we’ve done more than any other administration has done by far in terms of military, in terms of ending wars, in terms of completing wars. Nobody’s really seen very much like it.” The president said, “They’re apprehending murderers and drug dealers and a lot of bad people” in Minnesota. He then held up photos of suspects in Minnesota who have been taken into custody. TRUMP TO HEAD TO DAVOS AS GREENLAND DISPUTE SPARKS RISING TENSIONS WITH NATO ALLIES “Boy, these are rough characters. These are all criminal illegal aliens that, in many cases, they’re murderers. They’re drug lords, drug dealers,” Trump said. “These are just in Minnesota. “Minnesota, the crime is incredible, the financial crimes are incredible.” Prior to the briefing, Leavitt wrote on X, “In just one year, President Trump has accomplished more than many presidents do in eight.” “We’ve never had a president fight harder to deliver on the promises he made to the American people than President Trump,” she said, adding, “A very special guest will be joining me at the podium today.” The White House also released a list Tuesday of “365 wins” from the first full year of Trump’s second term. “One year ago today, President Donald Trump returned to office with a resounding mandate to restore prosperity, secure the border, rebuild American strength and put the American people first. In just 365 days, President Trump has delivered truly transformative results with the most accomplished first year of any presidential term in modern history,” it said.
Nashville artists praise Trump’s no-tax-on-tips policy one year into presidency
FIRST ON FOX: Artists, bartenders and concertgoers in Nashville praised the work of President Donald Trump on the anniversary of his first year back in office, thanking the administration in a video released by Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., on Tuesday. “President Trump is the servers’ president, the singer-songwriters’ president, and… Tennessee’s president. Promises made, promises kept,” Ogles said. Ogles’ office interviewed several artists at venues in Music City who applauded the administration’s achievements, compiled in a video first obtained by Fox News Digital. ONE YEAR BACK IN THE OVAL OFFICE, TRUMP WHITE HOUSE SAYS EVERY MAJOR CAMPAIGN PROMISE DELIVERED “We want to give a shout-out to Donald Trump, our great president, for eliminating taxes on tips in this country, because this is how we make most of our living. It’s off our tips, man,” a musician named Thomas Friel said. Trump returned to power one year ago today on Jan. 20, 2025, with a flurry of executive actions ranging from immigration and border security to reversing Biden-era regulatory restrictions. But the administration’s crowning legislative achievement came in July when Congress passed Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a tax and border package. Of the president’s wins highlighted by artists in Ogles’ video, none received more praise than his no-tax-on-tips provision. “My name is Andrew Thompson. I make a full-time living out here on Broadway. And what the president’s doing about not taxing our tip dollars is great because that’s how I make a living, and that’s [how] everybody else that’s on the street makes a living,” Thompson said. TRUMP HAS SET THE STAGE FOR AN AMERICAN COMEBACK AFTER BIDEN’S DISMAL ECONOMY Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, tip earners may make up to $25,000 in tax-deductible income from 2025 through 2028, according to the Tax Foundation, a think tank that studies tax policy. When asked how they would use their additional income, artists like Maddie Wonky said the provision would help them focus on the things that mattered to them. “I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, and I moved here to chase a dream. Tonight, I just played 6 to 10 p.m. on the main stage, and it was so much fun. This is everything that I’ve ever wanted to do,” Wonky said. “This is me chasing my dream. That’s what I did tonight. A big thank you to President Trump. Because you passed this bill, I can put my money toward releasing music and following my dream. This changes my life completely. Thank you so much,” she added. THE ECONOMIC POLICIES SHAPING TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE Ogles similarly described the new policy as transformative. “The heart of live music is in my district. People from around the world come to Nashville to hear the greatest live performances on Earth. Many of these performers are my constituents, earning their living through tips and gig wages. Removing onerous taxes on this income will be transformative,” Ogles said.
‘Act fast’: How speed defined the start of Donald Trump’s second term
But not all of Trump’s changes are necessarily built to last. Already, Trump is bracing for this year’s midterm elections, which could result in one or both chambers of Congress switching party control. “If we don’t win the midterms, I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” Trump told a gathering of Republican lawmakers earlier this month. And while Trump has teased the prospect of running for an unconstitutional third term, the law limits him to only two. That opens the possibility that the presidency could change parties in 2028 as well. “Assuming a Democratic administration follows the Trump administration, much of Trump’s agenda and changes will be undone as quickly as possible,” Updegrove said. “From executive orders to gold-leaf stencil on the White House walls, a lot of it can be undone.” But there are downstream effects, the historian warned, that may not become apparent until well after Trump’s presidency. The speed of the change has rendered them somewhat invisible. “When you think about this muzzle-velocity stuff, there are some things that we don’t even realize has happened,” Updegrove said. He pointed to the loss of institutional knowledge after Trump’s widespread layoffs as an example of decisions with as-yet unseen consequences. “Even the things that we know have gone through, we don’t see the full effects and won’t for many years.” And yet, Updegrove speculates that a lack of velocity in one critical area may prove to be the downfall of Trumpism: economic growth. The consumer prices repeatedly topped polls of voter concerns in the 2024 election, and Trump had promised that, “starting on day one”, he would “end inflation and make America affordable again”. But Updegrove says average Americans are not seeing the promised turnaround in their pocketbooks. “If we successfully turn the tide on Trump, I don’t know that it will ultimately be driven by our fear of the erosion of our democracy, rather than a dissatisfaction with the pace of economic change,” he said. “At the end of the day, we might see a revival of democracy due to the price of hamburger meat.” Adblock test (Why?)
Baby girl in Gaza dies from cold amid Israeli aid restrictions
NewsFeed Shaza Abu Jarad became the ninth child in Gaza to die from cold weather this winter as Israeli aid restrictions continue, despite the ceasefire with Hamas. Published On 20 Jan 202620 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink Save Adblock test (Why?)
‘A deal is a deal’: EU blasts Trump’s Greenland tariffs in Davos
NewsFeed EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, questioned Donald Trump’s trustworthiness after he announced new tariffs on European allies over Greenland. She said a July trade deal must be honoured and warned the move was a “mistake.” Published On 20 Jan 202620 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
RRB Group D Recruitment 2026: Applications postponed, check new registration date, vacancies, age limit, eligibility criteria and more
RRB Group D Recruitment 2026 applications have been postponed. Check new registration dates, vacancies, age limit, eligibility, selection process, fee, and pay scale details.
PM Narendra Modi calls him ‘boss’, ‘millennial leader’, who is he? Details here
Addressing a gathering at the BJP headquarters in the national captial PM Modi said, “I am a Karyakarta and Nitin Nabin is my Boss now.”
Noida police arrest builder after techie Yuvraj Mehta’s tragic death by drowning
On Tuesday, police in Noida announced they had arrested Abhay Kumar, one of the owners of Wishtown Planners Pvt Ltd. Police said they were on the lookout for the second owner, Manish Kumar. On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh government had removed Noida Authority CEO M Lokesh over the incident.