Trump team eyes order tagging nonprofits as terrorist-linked

The Trump administration is considering an executive order that would label certain nonprofit organizations as having ties to terrorism, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter. The move would pull their tax-exempt status — a hit that could cripple how those groups raise and spend money.

Per the Journal's sources, the order has been months in the making. Officials have reportedly been combing through nonprofits' banking records to flag groups suspected of carrying out or backing terrorist activity.

The designation itself is the weapon here. Losing tax-exempt status doesn't just cut a paperwork perk; it can choke off donations and make banks and donors think twice about touching a flagged organization at all.

The White House has not laid out the measure publicly, and no timeline for signing has surfaced. With the reporting resting on anonymous sources, the scope of the list and which groups might land on it remain unclear.

The proposal lands in a busy stretch for the administration. President Donald Trump announced Friday that Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller will step in as White House chief of staff on November 9, after Susie Wiles resigned, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio shot down rumors he plans to exit.