Some Republicans question Trump’s IRS budget cuts

Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing on oversight of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, DC on May 6, 2025. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted technology-related savings and the use of artificial intelligence to improve tax collections, some Republicans seemed skeptical of the administration’s proposed $2.5 billion cut to the IRS budget during a Tuesday hearing.

The reduction would be the latest in a string of decreases to the tax agency’s budget. It got $80 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for enforcement, technology improvements and taxpayer services in 2022, but Republicans have since pushed to claw back much of that money. 

“Congress has been pulling back money from the IRS over the last several years, somewhere in the range of about $41.7 ...