Firing of IRS head reportedly stemmed from butting heads with Homeland Security: WaPo

President Donald Trump’s sudden decision Friday to remove Billy Long as Internal Revenue Service commissioner may be linked to an internal clash between his administration and the IRS over migrant data, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Trump announced Friday that Long would no longer serve as the head of the IRS, and that he would instead serve as the U.S. ambassador to Iceland, an appointment that Long said he was “excited” to receive. However, according to “people familiar with the situation” who spoke with the Post, the sudden ousting of Long could be linked to an incident the day prior, where Trump officials demanded information from the IRS, but were refused.

According to the anonymous sources that spoke with the Post, the IRS received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security Thursday that included a list of 40,000 names of individuals DHS officials believed were undocumented immigrants, and asked the IRS to verify the individuals’ addresses using confidential taxpayer data.

The next morning, however, IRS officials largely rejected the request, telling DHS officials that they could verify fewer than 3% of the individuals it had been asked to fork over information on. The IRS’ decision was consistent with past statements made by Long, the anonymous sources told the Post, who previously pledged to not “furnish confidential taxpayer information outside of the confines of the IRS’s agreement with DHS.”

However, the White House has resoundingly rejected the notion that the alleged clash led to Long’s ousting in any way.

“The Trump administration is working in lockstep to eliminate information silos and to prevent illegal aliens from taking advantage of benefits meant for hardworking American taxpayers,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, in a statement to The Washington Post.

“Any absurd assertion other than everyone being aligned on the mission is simply false and totally fake news.”

Another White House official, speaking with the Post on the condition of anonymity, also pushed back on the idea that the dispute played any part of Long being appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Iceland.

“Billy Long did a great job while at the IRS, and his promotion to ambassador was previously slated to happen,” said the White House official.