Former Missouri Rep. Billy Long just got the Senate’s nod to lead the IRS with a tight 53-44 vote on Thursday.
The Daily Caller reported that Long, a Republican with a history of pushing to gut the IRS, was confirmed as its new commissioner amid sweeping agency changes and steep staffing cuts.
Let’s rewind a bit to see how we got here. Long, who spent 12 years in Congress, was tapped for this role by President Donald Trump.
His nomination wasn’t exactly a quiet affair, with a confirmation hearing held on Capitol Hill back on May 20.
During his congressional tenure, Long didn’t hide his disdain for the IRS. He repeatedly pushed legislation to dismantle the agency and even championed replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax. Now, isn’t it ironic he’s the one steering the ship?
Fast forward to Thursday, when the Senate finally gave him the green light. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho and Ranking Member Ron Wyden of Oregon were there to witness the 53-44 vote. It’s safe to say the room was split, much like opinions on tax policy itself.
Long’s own words during his testimony in May offer a glimpse into his plans. “If confirmed, my goal is to modernize and streamline the IRS,” he wrote, aiming to maximize collections each year.
Now, let’s talk about the mess Long is walking into. Since Trump took office in January, the IRS has shuffled through four acting commissioners before landing on Long. Stability, it seems, has been in short supply at the agency.
Adding to the chaos, the Department of Government Efficiency—DOGE, for short—has been swinging the axe.
They’ve overseen a 31% cut in revenue agents this spring, citing mismanagement of taxpayer data as the justification. Turns out, inefficiency has a price, and it’s paid in pink slips.
Before this, the Biden administration had beefed up IRS staffing, ballooning numbers from 79,431 to 102,309 employees. A Treasury spokeswoman noted this growth in a statement to CBS News back in May. But does bigger always mean better when it comes to bureaucracy?
That same Treasury spokeswoman also pointed out a reversal under new leadership. “Under new leadership, approximately the same number of employees have left the IRS,” she told CBS News, adding that most exited voluntarily through a Deferred Resignation Program. Voluntary or not, that’s a lot of empty desks.
President Trump, never shy about his views, has long opposed the IRS as it stands. He’s thrown his weight behind a tariff-based revenue system instead of the current tax structure.
Long himself isn’t just a politician—he’s worn hats as a realtor and professional auctioneer. That auctioneer background might come in handy if he’s planning to sell off the IRS’s old ways piece by piece. A gavel for every outdated regulation, perhaps?
With Long at the helm, the IRS faces a crossroads between modernization and outright reduction. His past attempts to dismantle the agency suggest a leaner, meaner operation might be his endgame. But will that mean better service or just fewer people to answer the phone?