Trump Fires IRS Commissioner, Bessent Named Acting Head

President Donald Trump removed Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Billy Long from his post Friday afternoon after less than two months on the job, according to a senior White House official.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, did not state the reason for Long’s dismissal nor specify when he would depart the agency. The president has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to serve as acting director of the federal bureau. 

Bessent will notably be the president’s sixth IRS lead of his second term. The New York Times was first to report Long’s dismissal. Shortly after reports of his removal from the IRS, Long announced on X that he will be nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland.

“It is a honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland,” Long wrote on the social media platform. “I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!”

Long is a former auctioneer who served in the House for more than a decade representing Missouri’s 7th Congressional District beginning in 2011. He sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS while serving in Congress.

The Senate confirmed Long to lead the IRS during a party line vote of 53 to 44 on June 12. The president nominated him to serve as the federal bureau’s commissioner in December 2024, stating that the former Missouri congressman “is an extremely hard worker, [and] respected by all.”

Long famously pretended to auction off the national debt during a speech on the House floor in 2011.

An IRS spokesperson referred the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment to the Department of Treasury.