U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that he is “performing the duties” of the Internal Revenue Service commissioner, even though he insists he is not acting commissioner during a heated exchange in the Senate over President Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS.
Mr. Bessent had served as acting IRS commissioner since August, but took over the role two-and-a-half months ago under little notice, the agency said in a March 13 post on its website. The IRS said Bessent’s term as acting secretary has “expired,” but he “retains the authority and responsibility to perform the functions and duties of the Treasury Department for any unfilled vacancies on an acting basis.”
This distinction was central during questioning by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. She pressed Mr. Bessent about his current authority at the tax agency and whether hundreds of thousands of other taxpayers whose information was leaked by a former Internal Revenue Service contractor will receive the same treatment that Democrats say Mr. Trump, his family and his businesses received after their tax returns were leaked.
“You’re the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, right?” Cortez Masto asked during a hearing on the Treasury Department’s budget.
“That’s incorrect,” Mr. Bessent replied.
When Cortez Masto asked Bessent about his position at the IRS, Bessent said, “My term has expired,” but added that the IRS is a bureau within the Treasury Department and “when the Director is not there, that responsibility falls to me.”
Cortez Masto countered by asking if that meant there was no commissioner and Mr. Bessent was acting commissioner.
“No, that’s not true,” Bessent said.
Asked again to clarify his role for “public interest and transparency purposes,” Bessent said: “I am carrying out the duties of the Director General.”
The exchange came a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told House members that the Justice Department would not administer the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” compensation fund that would be created as part of President Trump’s settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over the tax return leaks. But Blanche also said Trump, his family and related entities remain protected from tax audits and enforcement actions related to tax returns filed before the settlement.
Cortez Masto asked Bessent whether the roughly 400,000 other taxpayers whose information was leaked by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn could receive “the same exemption that President Trump and his family received.”
Bessent declined to give a direct answer, saying the Treasury Department is acting on behalf of the Justice Department and could not provide additional details due to ongoing litigation.
“Treasury has not given us anything like that,” Bessent said. “We are agents of the Department of Justice.”
Asked again whether other taxpayers would receive similar treatment, Bessent said: “We will abide by the instructions and the settlement.”
