President Donald Trump’s pick for Internal Revenue Service commissioner recently cleared a substantial debt from his failed 2022 Senate bid, using campaign contributions that rolled in after Trump announced his intent to nominate him to lead the tax agency, according to federal filings.
Former Republican Rep. Billy Long raked in roughly $137,000 in campaign donations in January — the month after Trump said he would nominate him to serve in Trump’s administration — according to campaign finance disclosures filed late Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.
Long then paid back an outstanding personal loan of $130,000 he had made to his now-dormant 2022 U.S. Senate campaign in February. A number of the donors are affiliated with firms in the tax consultancy industry.
The Lever was first to report on the filings.
Before January’s flood of donations, Long had only raised roughly $36,000 through his latent Senate campaign committee over the last two years, much of which came in December.
The IRS directed POLITICO to the Treasury Department for comment, which did not immediately respond. Long’s campaign treasurer did not immediately return a request for comment via email, and Long could not otherwise be reached for comment.
The disclosure comes as Long is facing backlash from Democratic lawmakers for connections to alleged tax credit loopholes. The disclosure report lists various contributions from financial advisers working at consulting groups such as White River Energy and Lifetime Advisors, which are in hot water with Democrats.
The firms are mentioned in a letter sent from Senate Finance Committee Democrats to the IRS on Monday urging the agency to open a criminal investigation into the groups’ promotion of allegedly fraudulent “tribal tax credits.”
The Missouri Republican represented the state’s 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2023. He lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary contest to now-Sen. Eric Schmitt.
After leaving Congress in 2023, Long pitched tax products for Lifetime Advisors. He also reported earning at least $5,000 from White River Energy for a duty designated as a “Referral to Capitol Edge Strategies” — a firm that, according to Bloomberg Tax, promotes tribal tax credit resources.
In 2022, the Supreme Court struck down limits on how much post-election cash candidates can use to repay personal loans, opening the door for donors with business before candidates to refill their coffers.
Long’s nomination to lead the IRS is still awaiting Senate confirmation.