Washington DC - The US House on Tuesday failed to pass legislation that opponents warned would have given the Trump administration broad powers to target and censor activists and critics.

HR 9495, or the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, was defeated in a 256-145 vote, having failed to gain the necessary two-thirds support for passage.

The legislation would have allowed the Treasury Department to unilaterally revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it claims is a "terrorist supporting organization" – without evidence or due process.

The bill was widely seen as an attempt to stifle dissent against Israel's genocide in Palestine and the US government's complicity therein.

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In September, more than 130 tax-exempt organizations sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposing the bill, warning it "creates the potential for future administrations to weaponize these powers against groups on both ends of the ideological spectrum."

Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, posted on Tuesday: "No excuses. Every single one of my Democratic colleagues should be voting against this bill that gives Trump and his incoming administration dictatorial powers to target nonprofit organizations as political enemies without due process."

Nevertheless, 52 Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

Nonprofit groups and activists celebrated the legislation's failure Tuesday.

"The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, and now is not the time to grant the executive branch new powers to investigate and functionally shut down and silence its critics," Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement after Tuesday's vote.

"Tonight enough members of the House voted to block giving the executive branch new broad and easily abused powers. This is only the first such battle we expect to see in the coming years, and we will continue to remain vigilant in working to ensure that the authority of the executive branch is appropriately limited," he added.

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"Good news! HR 9495 – the 'Nonprofit Killer Bill' aimed at silencing Palestine activism – failed to pass in the House tonight," the Council on American-Islamic Relations wrote on X.

"CAIR will remain vigilant, educating Congress on the dangers of giving the Treasury unchecked power to revoke nonprofit tax status without evidence or due process."