President Donald Trump has removed Billy Long as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, ending his tenure just 53 days after Senate confirmation and making him the shortest-serving confirmed commissioner since the position was created in 1862. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner, a White House official said Friday.
The administration did not publicly state a reason for Long's dismissal. According to three people familiar with the matter, Trump is expected to nominate the former Missouri congressman for an ambassadorship. The decision marks the latest upheaval at an agency that has cycled through seven leaders since Trump's 2024 election victory.
The Senate confirmed Long in June on a 53-44 vote, despite Democratic objections over his ties to a pandemic-era employee retention tax credit program that was shut down as fraudulent by then-Commissioner Daniel Werfel. Lawmakers have also called for a criminal investigation into alleged connections between Long and other questionable tax credit schemes, claiming they duped investors into buying fake credits.
While in Congress from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS. A former auctioneer with no tax administration background, he took a populist approach as commissioner, occasionally emailing staff that they could leave work early on Fridays. In a message sent Thursday, obtained by CNN, Long wrote, "With this being Thursday before another FriYay, please enjoy a 70-minute early exit tomorrow... That way you'll be well rested for my 70th birthday on Monday," signing off, "Call Me Billy."
His short-lived leadership followed a rapid succession of acting commissioners. After Werfel resigned when Trump took office, Doug O'Donnell retired abruptly, and Melanie Krause stepped down following a controversial data-sharing agreement with immigration agencies. Subsequent picks Gary Shapley and Michael Faulkender also saw brief tenures before Long's confirmation.
The IRS has also undergone dramatic workforce reductions this year. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported that staffing fell from 103,000 employees in January to 77,000 in May, with most departures linked to the Department of Government Efficiency's deferred resignation program. The cuts were part of Trump's broader effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy.
