Trump Retains IRS Audit Shield as GOP Forces End to $1.8 Billion Fund
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 5
Trump Retains IRS Audit Shield as GOP Forces End to $1.8 Billion Fund
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 5
Summary
Todd Blanche left in place sweeping IRS audit protections for Donald Trump and his family even after abandoning a separate $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of federal overreach.
A Democratic bid to cancel the audit shield failed on a voice vote, while Senate Republican anger focused far more heavily on the fund, which had stalled the party's broader agenda for weeks.
The protection could be worth tens of millions of dollars: one IRS audit underway before the immunity was announced could have produced a tax bill exceeding $100 million.
The move gives Trump an unusual public benefit despite a long history of tax scrutiny, including his 2016 refusal to release returns while citing audits and the Trump Organization's 2022 New York tax-fraud conviction.