President Donald Trump is reportedly planning sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would make it easier for his administration to go after left-leaning groups, a move that observers described on Wednesday as another "confession."
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration has turned over a list of targets to IRS agents, which includes some high-profile Democratic donors. Trump also plans to install loyalists in the IRS criminal-investigative division, which would give him influence over criminal investigations, according to the report.
Political analysts and observers reacted to the report on social media.
"And all my former Republican colleagues who, with me, howled in objection when Obama’s IRS targeted tea party organizations won’t say shit now. Bcuz [sic] they sold their souls," former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh posted on Bluesky.
"After weaponizing the Justice Department to go after his enemies, Trump now plans to turn the IRS on them as well," journalist Keith Boykin posted on Bluesky. "This is one of the abuses of power cited in the July 1974 articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon."
"Republicans spent years falsely claiming that the IRS had targeted conservative groups," writer Jordan Weissmann posted on X. "Now Trump is planning to target Democratic groups."
"I warned all of last year that Trump would follow Modi and Orban and use the IRS to go after his opponents," journalist Mehdi Hasan posted on X. "And here he is doing exactly that. The irony is that the people who made false allegations against Obama and Biden for using the IRS politically are now actually doing it. Every accusation is a confession for the GOP."
"Unitary executive theory + Trump’s utter domination of the congressional Republican Party have created a very real breakdown of the rule of law," Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias posted on X.
"I remember when certain personalities made a mint off pretending Obama was seriously gonna do this," journalist Greg Krieg posted on X.
"Certainly wouldn’t vote to fund a government that does this!" former Obama White House staffer Jon Favreau posted on X.