Trump administration dispenses IRS commissioner
The IRS is currently grappling with significant challenges in implementing President Trump's and Republicans' massive new tax law. The agency, which has lost about 25,000 employees since President Trump took office and is facing a staffing shortage, has to start from scratch with the new tax law.
Billy Long, the former IRS commissioner, was removed from his position due to his controversial background, lack of tax policy experience, and alignment with President Trump's agenda to downsize the agency and shift its focus away from revenue collection. He served as a member of Congress from Missouri for six terms before his appointment, but had no tax experience prior to taking the role at the IRS.
Long's tenure was short-lived, as he was replaced quickly and nominated to be ambassador to Iceland. His appointment faced opposition from Democrats who noted his history of proposing to abolish the IRS and his involvement with a firm linked to a fraudulent tax credit.
The agency's leadership instability is reflected in the unprecedented six or seven different commissioners in 2025, including multiple interim heads. This leadership turnover compromises the IRS's ability to maintain expertise and effectively implement and enforce the new tax laws.
In addition to the leadership challenges, the IRS's customer service staff is getting decimated, and the agency faces numerous demands, even in the best of times. Under the current environment, these challenges are magnified, making it difficult for the IRS to accomplish all of its tasks.
The IRS is also being asked to collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security to find suspected illegal immigrants. This diversified focus, combined with the agency's shrunken workforce and rapid turnover in leadership, disrupts consistent policy enforcement and operational stability.
In summary, the IRS faces major challenges in implementing new tax laws due to extreme leadership turnover and a significant staffing shortage following mass employee departures and agency downsizing under the Trump administration's downsizing policies. These factors undermine the IRS’s institutional knowledge, operational capacity, and overall ability to fulfill its tax administration and enforcement missions under the current environment.
- The government's policy-and-legislation to implement the massive new tax law is facing difficulties due to the IRS's instability in leadership and staffing shortage, which compromises the agency's efficiency and expertise.
- The ongoing challenges in the IRS, such as the general-news of high leadership turnover and staffing shortage, are causing problems in effectively implementing new tax policies and enforcing existing ones, leading to a disrupted operational stability.
