On Wednesday, Donald Trump nominated former Rep. Billy Long to chair the Internal Revenue Service, a Missouri Republican who tried to abolish the tax-collecting agency while serving in Congress.
Long was a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act, a bill that would abolish income taxes and instead implement a whopping 23% sales tax—a regressive tax that the Tax Policy Center said would lead to a tax increase on the middle class and a massive cut for the wealthiest Americans. The bill Long co-sponsored also sought to repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to create and collect income taxes, and ultimately would abolish the IRS entirely.
The bill Long cosponsored tracks with the goals of Project 2025, the right-wing roadmap for Trump’s second term. Like the Fair Tax Act, Project 2025 calls for replacing individual and corporate income taxes with a consumption tax, which the Center for American Progress said would lead to a “$5,900 tax increase for the middle 20% of households and an average $2 million tax cut for the top 0.1%.”
Long also was the cosponsor of a bill that would repeal the estate tax, which only kicks in for people who inherit more than $13.6 million—amounting to yet another giveaway to the mega rich.
Since leaving Congress in 2023, Long has been serving as a tax adviser to businesses, and has encouraged them to use a pandemic-era Employee Retention Tax Credit that's cost the government billions more than anticipated due to it being rife with fraud.
Trump touted this work as a reason why he chose Long to lead the IRS.
“Since leaving Congress, Billy has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I have known Billy since 2011 - He is an extremely hard worker, and respected by all, especially by those who know him in Congress. Taxpayers and the wonderful employees of the IRS will love having Billy at the helm. He is the consummate ‘people person,’ well respected on both sides of the aisle.”
Democratic senators are already concerned about Long’s work helping businesses scam the government.
“There are a lot of reasons why former Congressman Billy Long is a bizarre choice for this role,” Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, told Roll Call. “What’s most concerning is that Mr. Long left office and jumped into the scam-plagued industry involving the Employee Retention Tax Credit.”
In order to get Long confirmed, he has to fire current IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, whose term expires in November 2027.
The New York Times reported that Werfel has no intention of leaving his post, saying that he told a podcast in November: “I have a vision of my last day on the job being Nov. 12, 2027. My frame of mind on the IRS is that it’s nonpartisan, is that our priorities can and should shift with new Treasury leadership.”
It wouldn’t be the first person Trump intends to fire in order to install his own corrupt cronies.
Trump also wants to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom he appointed during his first term, and replace him with Kash Patel, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and Trump loyalist who wants to help Trump seek revenge on his perceived enemies.
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