Trump removes IRS head Billy Long, taps Bessent as acting chief
The White House did not give a reason for Long's removal. In a post on X, Long said Trump had nominated him to serve as ambassador to Iceland.
"It is an honor to serve my friend President Trump, and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland," Long wrote. "I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!"
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Long's departure adds to the leadership churn at the IRS, which has struggled with high turnover since Trump's second term began. The agency went through four acting commissioners before Long's June confirmation and has seen its workforce shrink by roughly a quarter since the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began cutting jobs as part of its campaign to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.
In a message to employees after his confirmation, Long outlined plans for his first three months, a time he ultimately didn't get. "In my first 90 days I plan to ask you, my employee partners, to help me develop a new culture here," he wrote. "I'm big on culture, and I'm anxious to develop one that makes your lives and the taxpayers' lives better."
Long was an unconventional choice for the top IRS post. A former auctioneer and Republican congressman from Missouri, he served in the House from 2011 to 2023, where he sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS. He had no prior experience in tax administration.
His confirmation was approved 53-44 despite Democratic concerns over his work with a firm promoting a pandemic-era employee retention tax credit later deemed fraudulent. After leaving Congress and failing in a 2022 Senate bid, Long joined the firm, which distributed the tax credit before then-commissioner Daniel Werfel shut it down. Democrats have since urged a criminal investigation into Long's connections to other alleged tax credit schemes.
The acting leaders before Long included one who resigned after a deal to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and another whose appointment sparked a clash between former Trump adviser Elon Musk and Bessent.
Long's removal comes amid sweeping DOGE-related workforce reductions at the IRS, which has gone from 103,000 employees in January to 77,000 in May 2025, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Most cuts came via DOGE's deferred resignation program, part of the administration's effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy.
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