IRS

Aug. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday replaced Bill Long as Internal Revenue Service commissioner after less than two months on the job with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a temporary role.

The New York Times was the first media outlet to confirm his ouster and Long later announced his departure on X with plans to become Iceland’s ambassador.

“It is a honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland. I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!”

A spokesperson for the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, said in a statement to NBC News that the department “thanks Commissioner Long for his commitment to public service and the American people. His zeal and enthusiasm to bring a fresh perspective to the Federal Government was evident in both the House of Representatives and as part of the Trump Administration.”

Bessent has already been tasked with negotiating tariff rates as part of trade talks. Also, he is helping with the search for ultimately the next Federal Reserve chairman.

Long was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 12 and sworn in as commissioner four days later to a term that was supposed to last through Nov. 12, 2027. Trump nominated him on Dec. 4, 2024. While awaiting confirmation, he was appointed as a senior adviser in the Office of Personnel Management.

Lpng had limited tax experience and had supported the abolishment of the agency, CNN reported.

He served in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023, representing a district in Missouri, and was previously an auctioneer.

On Thursday, he sent an email to all IRS employees with the subject line: “It’s Almost FriYay that read: “Please enjoy a 70-minute early exit tomorrow. That way you’ll be rested for my 70th birthday on Monday,” The New York Times reported.

He signed it: “Call Me Billy.”

The IRS has been processing tax forms since the April 15 deadline with extensions until Aug. 15.

The IRS workforce has shrunk 25% amid Trump’s government cuts and mass buyouts. In all there are plans to cut its 102,000 workforce by up to 40%, according to a memo obtained by CBS News in April.

And 26% of the agents who conduct audits have left the agency by May, according to the report.

And the IRS has been dealing with new deductions and tax cuts after the passage of the sprawling spending bill, labeled as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The new law has no tax on tips or overtime.

Seven different people will have led the agency since Trump won the 204 election.

Danny Wefel held the role until Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 despite a statutory five-year term.

Other acting commissioners had policy differences with Trump: Doug O’Connell and Melanie Krause. Another acting boss, Gary Shapley, was appointed but ousted Bessent a few days later because he didn’t want him. Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender became the acting commissioner until Long was confirmed.

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Internal Revenue Service, giving the beleaguered agency he once sought to abolish a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year’s tax filing season.

The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats’ concerns about the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after President Trump nominated him to serve as IRS commissioner.

While in Congress, where he served from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he is now tasked with leading. A former auctioneer, Long has no background in tax administration.

Long will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump advisor Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Unions and advocacy organizations have sued to block DOGE’s access to the information.

The IRS was one of the highest-profile agencies still without a Senate-confirmed leader. Before Long’s confirmation, the IRS shuffled through four acting leaders, including one who resigned over a deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another whose appointment led to a fight between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

After leaving Congress to mount an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate, Long worked with a firm that distributed the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit. That tax credit program was eventually shut down after then-IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel determined that it was fraudulent.

Democrats called for a criminal investigation into Long’s connections to other alleged tax credit loopholes. The lawmakers allege that firms connected to Long duped investors into spending millions of dollars to purchase fake tax credits.

Long appeared before the Senate Finance Committee last month and denied any wrongdoing related to his involvement in the tax credit scheme.

Ahead of the confirmation vote, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles blasting the requisite FBI background check conducted on Long as a political appointee as inadequate.

“These issues were not adequately investigated,” Wyden wrote. “In fact, the FBI’s investigation, a process dictated by the White House, seemed designed to avoid substantively addressing any of these concerning public reports. It’s almost as if the FBI is unable to read the newspaper.”

Democratic lawmakers have also written to Long and his associated firms detailing concerns with what they call unusually timed contributions made to Long’s defunct 2022 Senate campaign committee shortly after Trump nominated him.

The IRS faces an uncertain future under Long. Tax experts have voiced concerns that the 2026 filing season could be hampered by the departure of so many tax collection workers. In April, the Associated Press reported that the IRS planned to cut as many as 20,000 staffers — up to 25% of the workforce. An IRS representative on Thursday confirmed the IRS had shed about that many workers but said the cuts amounted to approximately the same number of IRS jobs added under the Biden administration.

The fate of the Direct File program, the free electronic tax return filing system developed during President Biden’s Democratic administration, is also unclear. Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies had complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. Long said during his confirmation hearing that it would be one of the first programs that come up for discussion if he were confirmed.

Long is not the only Trump appointee to support dismantling an agency he was assigned to manage.

Linda McMahon, the current education secretary, has repeatedly said she is trying to put herself out of a job by closing the federal department and transferring its work to the states. Rick Perry, Trump’s energy secretary during his first term, called for abolishing the Energy Department during his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

Hussein writes for the Associated Press.

The Internal Revenue Service Headquarters is seen in Washington, D.C. On Monday, a federal judge ruled the IRS can share taxpayer data with immigration authorities to locate undocumented immigrants for deportation. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled data-sharing is allowed “for criminal investigations.” File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

May 12 (UPI) — A federal judge ruled Monday that the Internal Revenue Service can share taxpayer data with immigration authorities to locate undocumented immigrants for deportation.

District Judge Dabney Friedrich, an appointee from President Donald Trump‘s first term, denied a preliminary injunction filed by immigrant rights groups, who argued sharing information violated taxpayer confidentiality laws.

“Plaintiffs Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Somos Un Pueblo Unido and Inclusive Action for the City bring this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the Internal Revenue Service from sharing personal tax information with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement purposes,” Friedrich wrote, adding “the court will deny the motion.”

The ruling is a win for the Trump administration and the president’s immigration agenda.

Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem agreed to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to submit names of immigrants for cross-verification of tax records. Under the data-sharing deal, DHS can ask the IRS to confirm the addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Friedrich said sharing information between federal agencies to enforce immigration laws does not violate confidentiality laws.

“At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not,” according to Friedrich’s order.

Last month, acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Kraus resigned over the data-sharing deal. Former acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell also refused to sign the agreement in February, before he retired.

While the IRS can share data to help in criminal investigations, the tax agency can not share data on civil issues or to help with deportations.

According to the Justice Department, the data-sharing agreement complies with the law because requests for IRS information will target only those under criminal investigation.

“Requesting and receiving information for civil enforcement purposes would constitute a cognizable injury, but none of the organizations have established that such an injury is imminent,” Friedrich wrote.

“The Memorandum only allows sharing information for criminal investigations … On this limited record, the court cannot assume that DHS intends to use the shared information to facilitate civil rather than criminal proceedings.”