President Trump is reportedly removing Billy Long from his position as head of the Internal Revenue Service after less than two months on the job, adding to months of mayhem and turnover at the top of the tax agency. Long had been the sixth person to head the IRS this year (and we’re only in August).
Long’s term was scheduled to run until November 2027. He reportedly is expected to be nominated by Trump to an ambassadorship. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will now serve as acting IRS commissioner until Trump names a permanent replacement for Long.
A former congressman, real estate broker and auctioneer, Long had been sworn in as IRS commissioner on June 16 after being confirmed by the Senate four days earlier in a 53-44 party-line vote. Democrats and other critics panned his qualifications for the job, pointing to his limited background in tax policy and his work promoting a pandemic-era tax break that was subject to widespread fraud. As a member of Congress representing a Missouri district for 12 years, Long also sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS.
“It is a honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland,” Long said in a White House statement cited by The Hill. “I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!”
Long’s ouster, first reported by The New York Times, comes at a time when the beleaguered tax agency faces a host of challenges, including implementation of the new Republican tax law, the loss of thousands of workers as part of the administration’s shrinking of the federal workforce and pressure to help enforce Trump administration policies and priorities. A recent report by the National Taxpayer Advocate said that as of June 4, the IRS had lost more than 26,000 employees — or nearly 26% of its workforce — since late January.
“The IRS is busy not only preparing for the 2026 filing season but also interpreting and gearing up for a whole bunch of new policies from the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Andrew Lautz, the director of tax policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center, a centrist think tank, wrote in a post on X. “Now it won't have a Senate-confirmed leader for weeks, if not months!”