Trump pick to be head of the IRS, Billy Long, couldn’t answer one simple question from Sen. Elizabeth Warren during a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on his nomination. Long looked rattled as Warren grilled him on whether it was legal for Trump to be weaponizing the agency to go after his political enemies.
Of course, we know that’s exactly what he plans to do for Trump, but he didn’t want to say it out loud.
Here’s the transcript of the exchange, courtesy of Sen. Warren:
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the IRS collects nearly all federal revenue and that means that behind every road we build, every Social Security check that we pay is the IRS, making sure everyone pays what the law says they owe. No politics. But Donald Trump has a different idea. He wants to use the IRS to punish his enemies.
On May 2, Trump said, “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status.” Harvard wouldn’t cave in to other demands Trump made, so Trump said he would hurt them using the IRS. Now, this is about more than Harvard. It is a threat to anyone who might displease the President, including the people or organizations that can’t afford to have an expensive legal battle if Trump sets the IRS on them.
