WASHINGTON — 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.

“After leaving Congress, Mr. Long lined his pockets in the tax scam industry, where he peddled fake tax credits and took advantage of small businesses,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor Wednesday. “The American people don’t want the IRS to be run by a tax cheat.”

Finance Chairman Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho, at a meeting earlier this month, praised the former six-term GOP lawmaker and sought to distance Long from allegations that he had promoted phony “tribal tax credits” as well as questions about recent donations to his 2022 Senate campaign. The Finance Committee approved the nomination June 3 on a 14-13 party-line vote.

After leaving Congress, Long promoted employee retention tax credits enacted during the pandemic, a program so ridden with fraudulent claims, thanks in part to promoters that encouraged businesses to apply regardless of eligibility, that the IRS stopped accepting new claims temporarily.

Long also received payments from Capitol Edge Strategies and White River Energy Corp., according to his financial disclosures. White River Energy, an Arkansas-based oil and gas exploration firm, allegedly promoted phony “tribal tax credits.” Long during his confirmation hearing denied knowing that the tax credits were fake.

The former congressman said he worked through Capitol Edge Strategies, a tax consulting firm, on the tax credits and never met or interacted with anyone at White River Energy. He told the committee his “tax advisory work” was limited to providing referrals, that he never offered tax advice and always advised people to consult with their own attorneys or accountants.

After Trump nominated the former congressman, White River Energy’s chief financial officer and others at the company donated to a campaign fund Long set up for his unsuccessful 2022 run for a Missouri Senate seat. Long used $130,000 of the funds donated this year to pay himself back for a loan he made to the campaign, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures.

Crapo said during the panel’s markup earlier this month that Long’s responses at his confirmation hearing and in writing demonstrate that he wasn’t personally involved in any tax credit scams and that he followed all applicable FEC guidelines. He praised Long’s commitment not to use his new perch at IRS for partisan purposes.

Long is “uniquely suited to instill needed change at the IRS,” Crapo said.

The IRS commissioner typically serves a five-year term, though Long was nominated to serve out the remainder of the former commissioner’s term, expiring Nov. 12, 2027. Danny Werfel, who served in the post under President Joe Biden, stepped down early in January after Trump was inaugurated.

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