Every Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday joined their chairman, Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, in signing a letter to President Donald Trump saying Brady cannot work with IRS Commissioner John Koskinen based on his record of deception.
“I have lost all faith in Commissioner Koskinen’s ability to lead the IRS. He has been dishonest with Congress, and the IRS—under his watch—has continuously violated taxpayer rights. He has to go. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for pro-growth tax reform, and we need a willing partner at the IRS to implement it. That partner is not John Koskinen,” Brady said about the letter delivered to the White House.
“Trust in the IRS is hitting rock-bottom under IRS Commissioner John Koskinen,” the congressmen wrote.
The letter said:
Not only was key evidence relevant to this committee’s investigation destroyed under his watch, but he also misled Congress in the process, intentionally degraded customer service at the agency, and has since lost the trust of the American people. We believe that trust cannot be fully restored under Commissioner Koskinen’s leadership. For this reason, we are writing to request the removal of John Koskinen as Commissioner of the IRS and to request that a new leader be put in place as soon as possible.
Koskinen was sworn in Dec 23, 2013, so his five-year term ends on that day in 2018.
In the last congressional session, House conservatives filed a privileged motion that would have forced a floor vote on a motion to impeach Koskinen, but the conservatives did not go through with the bill under pressure from the House Republican leadership.