Subcommittee Democrats Make Clear: Trump’s Attacks on Civil Society Put All Americans’ Rights in Danger

Washington, D.C. (December 16, 2025)— Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, led subcommittee Democrats in explaining how President Trump is following the authoritarian blueprint by attempting to silence civil society organizations.

The hearing included testimony from: Ms. Amanda Tyler, Executive Director, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; Mr. Tyler Bowyer, Chief Operating Officer Turning Point Action; Mr. Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council; and Mr. Tyler O’Neil, Senior Editor, The Daily Signal.

Republican attacks on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) are part of a broader attempt to silence civil society organizations.

• Ranking Member Jamie Raskin asked, “What do you think is behind this really extraordinary attack on civil society organizations, in particular groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center?” Ms. Tyler explained, “I see this as an attack on civil society as a way to try to quash dissent and chill advocacy. I really fear for the future of our pluralistic democracy if groups and individuals succumb to the intimidation.”
   
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked, “How has the Trump Administration used the power of the federal government to silence and weaken these groups like SPLC?” Ms. Tyler explained: “Well, we’ve seen several actions this year. Some of them are rhetorical. By blaming, for instance, Lutheran social service organizations accusing them baselessly of money laundering. That was in the early attacks. And then more recently with the presidential memorandum that has this very broad language that tries to link ideologies, some that are ill-defined ideologies like anti-capitalism or anti-Christianity, without evidence to violent conduct. And the impact of that is that it will chill advocacy, that it tries to silence dissent. They do serve to be a warning to groups that if you oppose this Administration, that you will come under extra scrutiny like this hearing.”

The Republicans’ allegations against SPLC are meritless.

• Ranking Member Raskin affirmed that, “maps are protected by the First Amendment, so you can make a flat Earth map. You can make a map of S-hole countries as designated by Donald Trump. You can make a map that calls the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, or the Gulf of Mexico. If you don’t like somebody else’s map, you make your own map. But we’ve got an entire hearing organized around one map published by one group. I’m someone who's an ardent defender of freedom of speech on all sides.”
   
• Republican Rep. McClintock reaffirmed the First Amendment rights of SPLC, “First of all, I agree with Mr. Raskin that the Southern Poverty Law Center has a right to say whatever it is that they want to say.”
   
• Rep. Becca Balint exposed Republicans’ real intention for today’s hearing, stating, “We’re here today because Republicans are uncomfortable that a nonprofit has labeled several of their core organizations as hate groups.”
   
• Ranking Member Raskin asks, “Is the Southern Poverty Law Center a hate group like the Ku Klux Klan or the neo-Nazis? Do they proclaim interest in violence or nonviolence? And has anybody at the Southern Poverty Law Center ever been convicted of engaging in a conspiracy to murder or to engage in violence against anybody, including Charlie Kirk?”Ms. Tyler unequivocally replies that, “I know of no reports of that violence, and I know of SPLC as a civil rights organization that tries to draw awareness to white supremacy and files legal action to protect our civil rights laws.”
   
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal explains: “I think it’s quite unprecedented for us to use valuable committee time to target a specific group. And based on what I’m hearing, the criticisms of the Southern Poverty Law Center seem to boil down to three things. One, that it has healthy finances and an endowment. Two, that it collaborated with the Department of Justice during the Biden Administration. And three, that it calls out white supremacy, including white Christian nationalism. […] If they’re so concerned about nonprofits collaborating with the Executive Branch, where do I even begin with the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025? […]”

The Trump Administration’s attacks on civil society threaten the rights of all Americans, requiring a broad and active defense of those rights.

• Ranking Member Scanlon said, “We, as Americans, must push back. Because, while today the target may be one particular group, or those perceived to be part of one particular political ideology, the next day, it could just as easily be you or me. Without civil society, and the stability and protection these organizations provide us to counter creeping authoritarianism and right-wing propaganda, all of our rights are at risk.”
   
• Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked, “How do watchdog organizations that track extremism help to safeguard communities, especially those that have been historically targeted by hate groups?” Ms. Tyler explained, “Civil rights organizations like SPLC, draw awareness to hate groups and help warn communities ahead of time when there might be violent action.” Rep. Kamlager-Dove recounted the killing of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was killed alongside her husband and her dog earlier this year and that the person responsible was motivated by the Great Replacement Theory—not ANTIFA or left leaning organizations—and that individual had a list targeting other Democrats.
   
• Rep. Balint asked, “How does scapegoating groups like the LGBT community that I am a part of fit into the authoritarian playbook?” Ms. Tyler explained: “Yes, scapegoating groups or marginalizing them using dehumanizing language is an attempt to make an example of one particular group. It starts often with groups that have the least power in society and then goes from there. And so I think as Americans, we should be about protecting every person in this country and making sure that all of their civil rights and liberties are fully protected.”