Senate confirms Billy Long as IRS commissioner – Washington Examiner
The Senate has confirmed former Republican Representative Billy Long as the new commissioner of the IRS with a vote of 53-44. Long, who served in the House from 2011 to 2023, will oversee the implementation of significant new tax legislation proposed by Republicans and manage budget cuts and workforce reductions initiated by the Department of government Efficiency.His confirmation process faced controversy, especially over his previous work related to the Employee Retention Credit, which was aimed at preventing layoffs during the pandemic. During his hearings, Long was questioned about potential conflicts of interest, including allegations of promoting fraudulent tax practices and weather he could be used politically to target opponents. Despite discussions surrounding IRS funding, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted improvements in tax revenue, contradicting concerns that budget cuts would lower collection efficiency. Long is a known supporter of former President Trump and was involved in challenging the 2020 election results.
Senate confirms Billy Long as IRS commissioner
The Senate confirmed former GOP Rep. Billy Long to lead the IRS, where he would be responsible for implementing the major new tax legislation Republicans are hoping to enact and overseeing cuts to budgets and the workforce initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency.
The Senate voted 53-44 on Thursday to confirm Long, President Donald Trump’s pick for IRS commissioner. No Democrats joined Republicans in voting to confirm Long.
Long, an auctioneer by trade, served in the House from 2011 to 2023. His nomination was marked by controversy over his post-congressional work related to the fraud-plagued Employee Retention Credit, a benefit meant to prevent layoffs during the pandemic.
Long was asked about promoting the ERC and “tribal tax credits” during his confirmation hearing. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the ranking member of the committee, accused Long of “steering clients to firms that sold faked tax shelters and pushing small businesses to unknowingly commit tax fraud.”
Throughout the hearing, Long was also asked about the potential for Trump to use the IRS to punish his political enemies. For instance, the president has suggested revoking Harvard University’s tax-exempt status.
But perhaps the largest question facing the IRS is its funding. Democrats contend that the IRS needs more funding to better recoup funding from wealthy tax cheats and have argued that limiting funding will result in lower tax revenue. Still, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that the IRS is operating well.
“Critics of the president’s efforts to modernize the IRS warned that the effort would result in a 10% shortfall in receipts,” Bessent testified before Congress. “Instead, the opposite happened. April receipts this year were up 9.5% over the previous year. And receipts in May were up 14.7% over the previous year.”
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During the Biden administration, the Democrat-passed Inflation Reduction Act allocated tens of billions of dollars in new IRS funding to step up enforcement and take in more uncollected revenue. The Biden administration argued that the resources would be targeted at wealthy tax cheats. Since then, Republicans have been working to claw back that funding.
Long has been a staunch supporter of Trump. He was one of the Trump’s earliest supporters during his first presidential campaign and supported a lawsuit contesting the results of the 2020 election.
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