So Do We Or Don’t We Have an IRS Commissioner?

In an appearance before the Senate Finance Committee described as “testy” in at least one media outlet, Treasury Secretary and poorman’s Bob Moritz impersonator Scott Bessent was asked by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) if he’s acting IRS commissioner. His term as “acting” commissioner expired on March 6 and no one’s been put forth to take the spot since so it’s a valid question.

The exchange, for your reading pleasure:

“You are the acting IRS commissioner, correct?” Cortez Masto asked at the hearing on the Treasury Department budget.

“That is incorrect,” Bessent replied.

When Cortez Masto asked what his position was with the IRS, Bessent said, “My term expired,” but added that the IRS is a bureau within Treasury and that “when there is no commissioner, those duties flow up to me.”

Cortez Masto pushed back, asking whether that meant there was no commissioner and Bessent was acting commissioner.

“No, that’s incorrect,” Bessent said.

Asked again to clarify his role “for the purposes of public and transparency,” Bessent said: “I am performing the duties of the commissioner.”

Timestamped below:

In a publication dated March 13, the IRS offered this update on the IRS Commissioner position:

Consistent with applicable law and longstanding practice, the Secretary of the Treasury oversees the operations of all Treasury offices and bureaus, including the Internal Revenue Service. Secretary Scott Bessent’s service as Acting Commissioner of the IRS under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act has expired, and he has not served in that capacity since that time.

In accordance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, the Secretary retains the authority and responsibility to perform the functions and duties of vacant Treasury offices that are not filled on an acting basis. The IRS continues to operate without interruption, with Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano successfully leading day-to-day operations and reporting directly to the Secretary.

For the record, that CEO position doesn’t sit right with a certain group of senators who called it a “a fake job that Congress has never authorized.”

In the meantime, most tax practitioners on the ground couldn’t care less and just want someone helpful to pick up the practitioner hotline. Who do we need to speak to about that?