Trump mulling fate of nearly 90,000 newly hired IRS agents
President Trump said Saturday he is considering sending nearly 90,000 newly hired Internal Revenue Service agents to guard the southern border, just days after he issued an indefinite hiring freeze on the federal agency.
The 47th Commander-in-Chief told a boisterous crowd of supporters that he could also fire the IRS employees, many of whom had salaries funded by $72 billion provided for the federal agency under the Inflation Reduction Act.
“They hired, or tried to hire, 88,000 workers to go after you and we’re in the process of developing a plan to either terminate all of them, or maybe we’ll move them to the border,” he said during a rally at Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
“I think we’re going to move them to the border where they are allowed to carry guns. You know, they’re so strong on guns. But these people are allowed to carry guns. So we will probably move them to the border.”
Trump, 78, kicked off the first day of his second term with a flurry of executive actions, including a measure that implements a federal hiring freeze with exceptions for posts related to national security and public safety and the military.
The 90-day freeze will impact all federal agencies, with exception to the IRS, which will halt all hirings until Trump’s administration, including the newly-established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), determines when it’s of national interest to employ additional agents and staffers.
The Republican, who also declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, plans to create an external revenue office that will collect all foreign-sourced revenue, such as tariffs.
Trump has long threatened to raise tariffs on foreign countries that do not comply with his immigration policies – signaling out Mexico and Canada with threats of a 25% tariff to begin on Feb. 1.
He has also said he will levy a 10% to 20% tariff on all foreign goods and up to a 60% tariff on Chinese imports.
In his inaugural speech Monday, Trump touted the start of what he has dubbed the “golden age” of American that promises major trade reform that will replace tax revenue with tariffs.
“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” Trump.
“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury – coming from foreign sources. The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.”
