The White House has confirmed that President Trump is removing Billy Long from his position as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, just two months after he was confirmed to lead the federal tax collection agency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will take over as acting IRS commissioner until a permanent replacement is named.
Long, a former Republican congressman and businessman, was nominated by Trump to lead the IRS last December and was confirmed by the Senate in June. He is now expected to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Iceland.
Five different people have already led the IRS since Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
As the Trump administration worked aggressively to reduce the size of the IRS, Long put top officials on administrative leave and touted the need to “purge” the agency. He also regularly sent emails to all IRS employees telling them to leave work early on Friday afternoons.
On Thursday, Long wrote in an agency-wide email to IRS staff, “Please enjoy a 70-minute early exit tomorrow. That way you’ll be rested for my 70th birthday on Monday!”
Long, a former auctioneer, visited a National Auction Association conference during his time as commissioner. He often traveled to IRS offices around the country to meet with agency staff.
Before he was appointed IRS commissioner, Long was known as an early and staunch supporter of Trump. He left his House seat in 2022 to run for Senate in Missouri, but he failed to win Trump’s endorsement and ultimately finished in fourth place in the Republican primary with 5 percent of the vote.
Long was an unusual choice to lead the IRS, as he lacked significant experience in the tax industry. In his post-congressional career, however, Long worked as a salesman for two companies that helped businesses take advantage of federal tax credits and kept a share of the benefits. He encouraged clients to apply for the Employee Retention Credit, created during the Covid-19 pandemic to incentivize employers to maintain their payrolls. Due to a high rate of improper claims, the controversial tax credit was suspended in 2023.
While in Congress, Long repeatedly sponsored bills that aimed to abolish the IRS. One such bill that he cosponsored, the Fair Tax Act, would have completely replaced the federal income tax system with a 23 percent national retail sales tax.