Pascrell Again Calls for Rettig’s Ouster Following Meeting with Beleaguered IRS Chief

IRS endures one mess after another under Trump-appointed head

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, this afternoon joined Ways and Means colleagues meeting with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig and following the meeting reiterated his calls for Rettig to go.

“Nothing has changed. The IRS needs new leadership now,” said Rep. Pascrell, the first member of Congress to demand Rettig’s firing. “Americans have endured enough IRS catastrophes to last a lifetime. Mr. Rettig’s continued presence at the IRS will only deplete already flagging public confidence in our tax system. No one with a straight face can believe the auditing of Mr. Trump’s enemies was a random act of God.  President Biden should remove Rettig immediately so we can begin the work of installing a capable leader at the top of the IRS.”

On July 8, 2022, Rep. Pascrell wrote directly to President Biden laying out all the reasons for the President to fire the IRS head.

On May 13, 2022, Pascrell became the first member of Congress to demand Rettig’s dismissal. He reiterated those calls on July 7 after the audits of Comey and McCabe were brought to light, saying: “If you think the audit of Donald Trump’s purported enemies was a random act of God then I have a bridge in North Jersey I’d like to sell you.”

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Rep. Pascrell has been focused on fixing the IRS. On October 26, 2021, Pascrell demanded answers from Commissioner Rettig on systemic mail delays impacting IRS operations, tax filings, and refunds. Pascrell raised alarms on the slow start to the 2021 tax-filing season, and with Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA-01) castigated the IRS’s continually sending out erroneous notices to taxpayers.