IRS Chief Fired

Trump’s Hand-Picked IRS Chief, Billy Long, Lasted Just 7 Weeks Before Getting Fired, After 25,000 Employees Flee

In the private sector, a CEO who hires the wrong person for a critical role doesn’t hesitate to make a change. While bureaucratic Washington typically allows incompetent officials to drift along for years, collecting paychecks while agencies stumble through crisis after crisis, some leaders still believe in the radical concept of accountability.

The Internal Revenue Service has been hemorrhaging employees and credibility for months. Over 25,000 workers have departed this year alone—roughly a quarter of the agency’s workforce—while a parade of acting commissioners shuffled through the top office like seasonal temp workers.

I’ve watched this circus for decades, and frankly, for an agency tasked with implementing major tax legislation and serving millions of American taxpayers, this level of institutional chaos would be unacceptable in any well-run organization.

Most Washington insiders assumed this was simply the new normal: dysfunction dressed up as public service, with taxpayers footing the bill for the privilege. Ask yourself this—in what universe should Americans accept such mediocrity from their government?

Here’s what really gets me about this story: Trump actually acted. While previous administrations might have issued carefully worded statements about “renewed focus” or “additional training,” Trump simply removed Long from the position and nominated him as ambassador to Iceland instead

No drawn-out performance improvement plans, no months of bureaucratic hand-wringing—just swift recognition that the wrong person was in the wrong job.

Read why he was fired