The bill, which also waives the tax liability for U.S. hostages while they are in captivity, began as a strongly bipartisan venture.
But then Mr. Trump was elected president.
And suddenly, what most Democrats had initially regarded as a tool for targeting terrorist groups began to be seen as a potentially dangerous weapon ripe for abuse by a president bent on kneecapping his rivals.
An array of nonprofit groups on the left began an intensive lobbying campaign to kill the measure, convinced that Mr. Trump would try to use it to wipe them out.
Democrats took up the refrain and most dropped their support for the legislation, which passed largely along party lines on Thursday.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump
Organizations:
Democrats