Billy Long, the ex-auctioneer turned Missouri congressman who was confirmed to lead the IRS just over two months ago, is gone after President Donald Trump removed him from his position.
On Friday, the White House confirmed Long’s firing to The Independent and announced that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner until a replacement is nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
It is understood that Trump intends to nominate Long, a Republican who represented Missouri’s seventh district from 2011 to 2023, to an as-yet unspecified ambassadorship.
Long’s ouster means the country’s tax collection apparatus will be on its seventh leader since January.
The former House member was an unusual pick to lead the IRS. During his time in Congress, he never served on the primary tax law-writing panel, the House Ways and Means Committee, and he had no real background in tax issues other than a stint as a financial adviser promoting a tax credit that has often been claimed fraudulently.
During his time in the House, he also promoted legislation that would have abolished the IRS entirely.
He did not appear to make much of an impression during his short tenure at the agency. According to The New York Times, he often gave workers permission to leave early on Fridays, including today.
An email sent to IRS employees yesterday afternoon offered them a “70-minute early exit” today and noted that his 70th birthday is this coming Monday.
He has also reportedly spent much of his time atop the IRS traveling the country to meet with employees, though he did place two high-ranking officials on administrative leave while posting on social media about the need to “purge” the agency.
Long, who once owned an auction house and is in both the National Auctioneers' Association Hall of Fame and the Professional Auctioneers’ Association Hall of Fame, gained a measure of notoriety in 2018 when he responded to activist Laura Loomer’s disruption of a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing with a mock auction chant while police officers escorted her from the hearing room.
