Trump plans massive changes to IRS in effort to target left-wingers including billionaire Democrat megadonors
Donald Trump is planning a massive revamp of the IRS that will allow him to target wealthy Democratic donors whom the White House believes could be funding nefarious political activities.
Scott Bessent – the interim IRS Commissioner – has appointed advisor Gary Shapley to gather a list of candidates to potentially face criminal inquiries, including billionaire Democrat funder George Soros.
Trump also has cooperation from Congress where Senator Ted Cruz introduced legislation to go after financial backers of this weekend’s anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests under the RICO Act.
‘Follow the money. Cut off the money,’ Cruz told Fox News on Wednesday. ‘You look at this No Kings rally – there’s considerable evidence that George Soros and his network is behind funding these rallies which may well turn into riots.’
Cruz added that he’s ‘introduced legislation that would allow DOJ to use RICO to prosecute the money that is funding these No Kings Protests.’
Soros has long been a boogeyman for his massive spending toward Democrats and George the only person known to be on Shapley’s list.
Soros’s Open Society Foundation is the world’s largest funder of left-wing causes.
His Fund for Policy Reform – which is largely run by his son, Alex – donated $60million to Democrats in 2024, the 12th-biggest donor and second among exclusively liberal givers.
Trump has previously charged Attorney General Pam Bondi with using RICO on Soros, as well as protesters who chanted against him at a Washington, DC restaurant in September.
Donald Trump is pushing a complete revamp of the IRS that will allow it to target wealthy donors on the left whom the White House believes could be funding political violence
Current IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent has charged advisor Gary Shapley to put together a list of who could face criminal inquiries, including long-time Democrat funder George Soros and his son Alex (pictured with Huma Abedin)
‘They should be put in jail,’ he said, according to CNN.
The RICO law was largely used to target the mob but its purview includes rioting which gives Trump latitude to go after demonstrators, including this weekend’s marches.
Trump has asked Bessent to find financiers who are provoking political violence for investigation.
The President recently said during a cabinet meeting of Bessent’s efforts: ‘Scott will do that. That’s easy for Scott.’
Trump has previously written that 95-year-old Soros and his son Alex should be charged under the RICO Act, which targets organized crime.
He has also criticized liberal billionaires and former Democrat presidential candidates Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.
When reached for comment by WSJ, Shapley didn’t answer any questions regarding potential targeting of donors.
‘I’m grateful to continue in my role in reforming the IRS,’ Shapley said.
A list is being put together of left-wing donors and organizations the retooled IRS would go after, including infamous Democrat megadonor George Soros
Trump is also set to get an assist from Congress , as Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation to go after funders of this weekend’s anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests under the RICO Act
‘The team’s focus remains collections, privacy, and customer service,’ the spokesperson added,’ a spokesman for the Treasury Department said of Bessent’s hires.
Soros’s Open Society Foundation has denied any wrongdoing and denounced violence.
In August, Trump fired IRS Commissioner Billy Long after just two months in the job and replaced him in the interim with Treasury Secretary Bessent.
The plan, being spearheaded by Shapley, is to put even more allies of the President in charge of the IRS’ investigative division in an attempt to weaken it.
Shapley is set to fire Guy Ficco, a longtime IRS fixture, who runs the investigative unit and potentially revamp who the agency looks into which could be based on the list being made up, WSJ reported.
The news comes as the IRS has furlough nearly half of its workforce as part of the ongoing government shutdown, according to an updated contingency plan posted to its website.
Most IRS operations are closed, the agency said in a separate letter to its workers.
The agency’s initial Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan, which provided for the first five business days of operations, stated that the department would remain open using Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act funds.
The goal going forward and being spearheaded by advisor Gary Shapley is to put even more allies of the President in charge of the IRS’ investigative division in an attempt to weaken it
In August, Trump fired IRS Commissioner Billy Long after just two months in the job and replaced him in the interim with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (pictured)
Now, only 39,870 employees, or 53.6 percent, will remain working as the shutdown continues. It is unclear which workers will remain on the job.
Earlier this year the IRS embarked on mass layoffs, spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), affecting tens of thousands of workers.
At the end of 2024, the agency employed roughly 100,000 workers – and currently that hovers around 75,000.
The White House is believed to have pushed out Long on after a tense, behind-the-scenes clash over whether the agency should hand over taxpayer data to help immigration authorities locate undocumented immigrants.
The dispute unfolded just hours before Long’s removal, according to reporting by The Washington Post and CNN.
Multiple sources told The Post that the Department of Homeland Security sent the IRS a list of more than 40,000 names, urging the agency to confirm addresses using confidential tax records.
The request, part of a broader push that could eventually target millions, came under a controversial April agreement between the Treasury Department and DHS – a deal IRS privacy lawyers had opposed.
The agency’s initial Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan, which provided for the first five business days of operations, stated that the department would remain open using Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act funds.
The Trump White House abruptly pushed out Long after a tense, behind-the-scenes clash over whether the agency should hand over taxpayer data to help immigration authorities locate undocumented immigrants
Trump has often criticized liberal billionaires and former Democrat presidential candidates Tom Steyer (pictured) and Michael Bloomberg
Long refused telling top executives the agency would not provide information beyond the limits of its DHS agreement, citing taxpayer privacy protections, sources said.
The following day, Long was out. The White House insists the move had long been planned.
‘Any absurd assertion other than everyone being aligned on the mission is simply false and totally fake news,’ a DHS spokesman said in a statement.
They defended the arrangement as a way to ‘ensure that sensitive taxpayer information is protected, while allowing law enforcement to effectively pursue criminal violations.’
In a statement that attempted to frame his ouster as a promotion, Long announced on Friday that Trump would nominate him as US ambassador to Iceland.
‘It is [an] honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland,’ he wrote on X.
‘I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!’
Long even joked about the assignment quipping: ‘I saw where Former Superman actor Dean Cain says he’s joining ICE so I got all fired up and thought I’d do the same. So I called @realDonaldTrump last night and told him I wanted to join ICE and I guess he thought I said Iceland? Oh well.’
But behind the levity lies an agency in turmoil. Long, a former Missouri congressman with little tax experience and a history of railing against the IRS, was the seventh person to lead the service since Trump took office in January.
