IRS Commissioner Pick Working at OPM Until Confirmation

Former Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) is working as an adviser at the Office of Personnel Management while he awaits a Senate hearing on his nomination for commissioner at the IRS.

President Donald Trump tapped Long to lead the tax agency late last year.

“We’re happy to add Commissioner-Designee Long to the team while he’s pending his confirmation in the Senate, and we look forward to the continued advancement of OPM’s priorities,” OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover said in a statement.

Reuters first reported Long’s OPM work.

Democrats have raised concerns over Long’s work since he left Congress in 2023 shopping the employee retention tax credit, which rewarded businesses that kept their staff on payroll during the Covid-19 recession.

Long defended his advocacy for the pandemic-era tax credits that have been the subject of fraud when he spoke to Bloomberg Tax earlier this month.

Long has allies in both the House and Senate, including House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, another Republican from Missouri.

Long said in recent meetings with Republicans he was temporarily working at OPM while waiting to be confirmed as IRS commissioner, according to a source familiar who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Long’s name is still listed as a pending nominee on the Senate Finance Committee’s website.