Billy Long removed at IRS

By John T. Bennett
CQ-Roll Call

Washington (CQ-Roll Call) — President Donald Trump has removed former Missouri GOP Rep. Billy Long as IRS commissioner, according to a White House official on Friday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will add acting IRS chief to his duties until a replacement is installed, the official added.

Long was confirmed by the Senate 53-44 on June 12, sparking fiery backlash from some Democratic members who contended Long lacked the requisite tax policy experience to lead an agency that would be key to implementation of the Trump-Republican “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Democrats continued that argument on Friday, with Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., saying his staff is investigating Long over “alarming information” they received.

“Billy Long left Congress a few years ago and went straight into the tax fraud industry, his only real experience in tax before his nomination,” Wyden said. “My investigators have obtained alarming information pertaining to Long’s conduct at the IRS that we have begun to investigate, and that process will continue regardless of whether Trump stashes Long away in some foreign embassy.”

The White House referred a question about why Trump ousted Long to the IRS. An IRS spokesperson then referred a reporter to the Treasury Department, which had not responded to the same inquiry as of press time.

The ouster doesn’t mean Long is leaving the administration. He is expected to be nominated to an ambassadorship soon.

“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!” Long said in a statement provided by the White House.

Long had faced allegations of pushing phony “tribal tax credits” as well as questions about recent donations to his 2022 Senate campaign.

After leaving the House, Long promoted employee retention tax credits enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic — a program so ridden with fraudulent claims, thanks in part to promoters that encouraged businesses to apply regardless of eligibility, that the IRS stopped accepting new claims temporarily.

Long also received payments from Capitol Edge Strategies and White River Energy Corp., according to his financial disclosures. White River Energy, an Arkansas-based oil and gas exploration firm, allegedly promoted phony “tribal tax credits.” During his confirmation hearing, Long denied knowing that the tax credits were fake.

Senate Finance Chairman Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho, has said that Long’s responses at a confirmation hearing earlier this year about those credits showed he was not involved in any wrongdoing. Crapo also described Long as “uniquely suited” to run the IRS.

On the latter point, Trump apparently ultimately disagreed.

Long’s removal came a week after the president fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, arguing that the office’s jobs data too often was revised and provided an inaccurate picture of the true employment situation in the United States.

Democratic lawmakers, however, claimed Trump fired the messenger merely because he was worried an underwhelming July jobs report from BLS and substantially revised-down numbers for April, May and June would undermine his contention that the U.S. economy was the “hottest” in the world.

“I’ve always had a problem with these numbers,” Trump said of the BLS data a week ago.

David Lerman contributed to this report.