Why has the Internal Revenue Service spent “at least $10 million on guns and ammunition” to arm 2,100 special agents, in addition to buying 4,500 guns and 5 million rounds of ammunition, including 539 long-barreled rifles, 15 submachine guns and hundreds of shotguns?

It’s a question Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst asked recently when she announced the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act to prohibit the IRS from using federal funds to purchase, store, or transfer guns or ammunition. It was part of a three-bill package she introduced, including the:

• Audit the IRS Act that requires annual audits of IRS employees and the termination of every agent who isn’t paying their taxes.
• Tax Delinquencies and Overdue Debts are Government Employees Responsibility (Tax DODGER) Act that requires the IRS to annually publish its federal employee tax delinquency report on current and retired federal employees who have delinquent tax debt or have not filed a tax return.

According to a news release from Ernst’s office, the legislation is aimed at reforming the IRS.

“The agency is stockpiling weapons and staging a tax revolt,” she stated. “This Tax Day, I am holding these tax collectors accountable by forcing them to live by the rules they are supposed to enforce and auditing the auditors!”

In a statement from her office, the new legislation comes after Ernst laid out a series of recommended changes for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to implement at “America’s least favorite government agency” to cut down on costs, increase efficiency, and better serve taxpayers.

“Why is the IRS wasting millions of our tax dollars stockpiling guns and ammo?” she questioned. “This is especially concerning, given the history of partisan witch hunts within the agency, and the fact it is more common for IRS agents to accidentally fire their weapon, than to do so intentionally. I am selling off the agency’s firearms, using the proceeds to pay down the bloated national debt, and recommending firearm safety courses for these tax collectors.”

Under the previous administration, it was alleged federal agencies, including the FBI, ATF and IRS, were “weaponized” against political opponents and especially gun dealers and gun owners. But with the Trump administration, there appears to have been a complete course reversal.

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