Trump's library foundation got special treatment from the IRS during the government shutdown

Claire Heddles, Miami Herald on Nov 20, 2025

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MIAMI — As the federal government slowed to a halt for most Americans during the government shutdown, Donald Trump’s new presidential library foundation got special, expedited treatment from the Internal Revenue Service.

The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation filed its request for tax-exempt status to the IRS on Oct. 10 and got an approval letter just 10 days later, according to tax records the foundation provided to the Miami Herald this week.

“It’s extraordinary,” said Ben Tesdahl, an attorney who represents nonprofits. “The fastest processing I’ve ever gotten was 30 days. That’s in 30 years of doing this.”

The day after approving the Trump-linked foundation’s request for tax-exempt status, the IRS announced it would “not be processing applications or determinations for tax-exempt status” for any organizations during the rest of the shutdown.

In response to questions from the Herald about what attorneys described as the Trump foundation’s extraordinary treatment by the agency, the IRS said in an email, “Due to privacy laws, we can’t comment on a specific organization.”

Neither the White House nor Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation responded to questions about the foundation’s expedited approval timeline during the government shutdown.

But attorneys who work regularly with tax-exempt organizations said the turnaround for the Trump-linked foundation was shockingly quick.

For most organizations, the review process for tax-exempt status — through an application called a 1023 form — usually takes three to six months, unless the IRS approves an organization’s expedited processing request.

“That approval timeline is virtually unheard of — and even more surprising in the midst of a government shutdown,” nonprofit attorney Jeff Tenenbaum said in a text message. “But the expedited review process for 1023 applications is available for any would-be 501(c)(3) organization to try to take advantage of.”

Another nonprofit attorney, John Strout, said those expedited processing are very rarely granted, however, and are typically only used in emergency situations.

Trump’s library foundation included a letter in its Oct. 10 application asking for expedited approval, stating that millions of dollars destined for the foundation from Trump’s high-profile lawsuits against media companies were sitting in an escrow account and could not be released until the charitable status was approved.

“Circumstances like that, where the funds are gonna get there at some point,” Strout said, “in my experience, the IRS has not said that would be an extenuating circumstance that would allow them to expedite the exemption application.”

He said in the dozens of applications for tax-exempt status he’s filed, he’s only requested expedited processing a few times, “because I know how unusual it is for the IRS to grant it.” It was denied each time, he said.

Strout was one of four attorneys who represent nonprofits and told the Herald they had never seen an organization receive approval as fast as Trump’s foundation.

One of the attorneys, Heidi Abegg, said she has worked with organizations who had their expedited processing request approved, and had seen turnaround times as short as a couple weeks.

“Ten days doesn’t strike me as too shocking given the amount of money that they said was pending,” Abegg said.

But she noted that the timing of the approval for Trump’s foundation during the shutdown was surprising to her.

“It’s a little unusual that they were still processing things in October, but I suppose there were still essential people working that were able to review it,” she said. “I had thought that no applications were being reviewed during that time, but evidently, that’s not the case.”

The foundation is planning to raise almost $1 billion in tax-exempt funds over the next three years, records show. The foundation expected to spend $6.9 million just this year, primarily on “architecture and engineering,” and “other building costs.”

It’s not clear exactly where that money has gone thus far.

Miami Dade College and Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to transfer prime downtown Miami real estate to the foundation at no cost in the weeks before it filed its application for tax-exempt status to the IRS.

The College is currently blocked from transferring the land because of an ongoing lawsuit alleging its board of trustees violated Florida’s Sunshine laws.