Man Who Tried to End IRS Is Now in Charge of It
The summary discusses the potential future of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) following the confirmation of Billy Long,a former Missouri republican representative,as its new commissioner. Long’s appointment raises concerns due to his past support for legislation aimed at abolishing the IRS. This change occurs amidst hopes from Treasury Deputy secretary Michael Faulkender for Long to modernize the agency and address priorities related to service, collections, and privacy.
The article also draws parallels between Long’s role and the status of the U.S. Department of Education, where similar sentiments of downsizing have emerged under President Donald Trump’s governance. It references Trump’s directive to restructure the Department of Education, citing poor student performance metrics as justification for its diminished role. Additionally, it highlights Biden’s recent expansion of the IRS with thousands of new agents to boost revenue collection, raising public skepticism about government spending, especially given perceptions of ineffectiveness.
Ultimately, the article implies that any changes Long might implement at the IRS are unlikely to be worse than recent developments, suggesting he may effectively finish the task of dismantling the IRS that he previously endorsed in congress.
Is the Internal Revenue Service slated to become the next Department of Education, withering to a shell of its former self? President Donald Trump’s new appointee might make it so.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that former Missouri Rep. Billy Long, a Republican, has been confirmed to lead the IRS as its new commissioner.
That jeopardizes the IRS’s current standing given that Long sponsored legislation while in Congress to abolish the agency.
The Treasury Department’s Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender, who temporarily served as acting commissioner of the IRS, sent an to employees of the agency, sounding hopeful about what Long can do.
Long “will be critically important to the IRS at this time of transformation, as we build a modern IRS that will deliver on the Secretary’s priorities of service, collections and privacy for generations to come,” Faulkender’s read, according to the Associated Press.
As the news outlet observed, Long is not the first Trump appointee to lead an agency as its potential last head.
Secretary of the Department of Education Linda McMahon had made her intentions clear to put herself out of her own job.
On March 20, Trump issued an order directing her “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
In that order, Trump noted the Department of Education was not getting the job done in preparing youth for the future.
“13-year-olds’ mathematics scores are the lowest they have been in decades. 13-year-olds’ reading scores are the lowest since testing began over 30 years ago. Low-performing students are falling further behind. In 2023, 13 Baltimore, Maryland, high schools had zero students who tested proficient in mathematics,” the order added.
What about the IRS?
In 2022, former President Joe Biden expanded the agency with a staggering 87,000 new agents, which was estimated to bring in over $200 billion in new revenues, according to the Heritage Foundation.
Most Americans would ask on that point: Why?
It all comes back to how government actually uses our tax dollars.
When the IRS is taking billions through enforcement under Biden, and Americans see the border wide open with the illegals pouring in enjoying benefits courtesy of those tax dollars, there’s a problem.
Whatever Long and Trump have planned for the IRS cannot be worse than the last four years.
Maybe it would be best if Long just finished the job he set out to do in Congress.
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