President Donald Trump plans to remove Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Billy Long from the job to nominate him for an ambassadorship, according to a White House official, throwing the leadership of the tax agency once again into turmoil.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner until a permanent replacement is named, according to the official, who described the changes on the condition of anonymity.
Long’s departure will be the latest turnover atop the IRS, which has had six different people lead the agency this year. In April, Bessent openly sparred with Elon Musk after the billionaire Trump ally installed Gary Shapley to lead the agency without Bessent’s knowledge.
The IRS has been at the center of Trump’s push to strip universities and nonprofit groups he sees as political enemies of their tax-exempt status, and is tasked with implementing the sweeping tax bill passed by Republican lawmakers earlier this summer. The agency is also grappling with significant layoffs and attempts to upgrade its technology.
The New York Times earlier reported the departure.
