Former Missouri Rep. Billy Long won confirmation Thursday to be the next commissioner of the IRS, leading an agency that will play a key role in administering new tax breaks if Congress passes the “big, beautiful” reconciliation package.
Included in that package could be tax exemptions for tips and overtime, a top priority of President Donald Trump, along with an extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
Republicans pushed the nomination across the finish line on a 53-44 vote. But Long’s nomination sparked some heated pushback from Democrats, who said the former Republican congressman lacked tax policy experience and had ties to firms hawking phony and fraudulent tax credits.
