President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to lead the Internal Revenue Service is the cabinet pick that is so far flying undetected as he coasts toward his looming confirmation battle, according to longtime political observer Eleanor Clift, who blasted the nominee as inexperienced and a danger to the department.
But, as Clift wrote Friday for the Daily Beast, former Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) – a former auctioneer and ardent poker player – is “ready to target enemies and ruin the IRS.”
And that may be just the vision the incoming president is looking for.
“Tapping Long as IRS commissioner would be akin to putting the fox in the hen house,” Clift wrote in her analysis.
She told readers of the often misused pandemic-era tax credit aggressively promoted by Long shortly after he left Congress in 2023, which has raised questions about his motives for the position.
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“Eventually the IRS caught on to what was supposed to cost the government $55 billion,” she wrote of the program that Long touted as one of Lifetime Advisor’s network of salespeople. “As millions of claims were filed, the cost soared to over $230 billion, with some estimates showing the tax scam could reach over $500 billion, despite IRS efforts to tighten the requirements.”
“If you’re looking for a way to target your political opponents, the IRS would be at the top of the list,” Brendan Duke, a tax expert for the Washington-based liberal think tank the Center for American Progress, told the Daily Beast.
“This has flown under the radar,” Duke added. “He’s just as bad as RFK Jr. but nobody is paying attention."
If Long passes Senate confirmation, “it’s the death knell for President Biden’s efforts to revive and reform the IRS,” Clift proclaimed Friday.
She added that Biden “succeeded in shoehorning $80 billion into the agency for stepped up enforcement and taxpayer service," but those efforts have been "clawed back" by Republicans. And, Clift predicted, "they’ll be coming for the rest once the new administration takes hold."