Washington The employment of new government employees, including the 86,000 IRS officers that were to be added under a program started by former President Joe Biden, has been suspended by an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. Additionally, the president said that the deployment of armed IRS officers to the U.S.-Mexico border might be a better way to serve the country.
When questioned about the contentious employment program, Trump said, “Perhaps they should go to the border.” He went on to criticize the Biden-era plan as an unneeded burden on taxpayers, saying, “You know they have guns.”
It’s unclear if the President was serious about sending IRS officials to the southern border of the United States or if he was just kidding, as he occasionally does.
The executive order, which was signed on January 20, forbids the establishment of new federal civilian positions unless specifically permitted by law and restricts the filling of any open positions as of noon on that day. All IRS workers must resume in-person work this week, per another mandate.
The employment restriction is the most recent step in Trump’s larger attempts to limit IRS growth, which came after Republicans repeatedly asserted that more funding for the agency would result in audits that target middle-class Americans. Multiple stopgap solutions have already lowered the $80 billion allotted to the IRS under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Although it is yet unclear how such an organization would operate or whether it would replace the IRS, Trump has also suggested the creation of an External Revenue Service. Meanwhile, some senators are proposing to reform the federal tax code and completely abolish the IRS.
