Exclusive: Lawmakers urge President Donald Trump to axe “unauthorized and wasteful Direct File pilot program”
“How can we entrust the IRS to responsibly prepare and enforce taxes when it has encroached on Americans’ individual liberties at every opportunity?” the lawmakers wrote.
Top House Republicans urged President Donald Trump to repeal the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) controversial “Direct File” system on Tuesday, in a letter exclusively obtained by the Washington Reporter.
Reps. Adrian Smith (R., Neb.) and Chuck Edwards (R., N.C.) co-authored the letter asking Trump “to take immediate action, including a day-one executive order, to end the [IRS’s] unauthorized and wasteful Direct File pilot program. The program’s creation and ongoing expansion pose a threat to taxpayers’ freedom from government overreach, and its shaky rollout and structural flaws have already come at a steep price.”
“It is highly inappropriate for the IRS to serve as a tax preparer for taxpayers while also being the final enforcer of tax violations,” the lawmakers wrote. The letter was also sent to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Russ Vought, the incoming Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Scott Bessent, Trump’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department.
“How can we entrust the IRS to responsibly prepare and enforce taxes when it has encroached on Americans’ individual liberties at every opportunity?” the lawmakers wrote. “And how can we trust future administrations to not do as the Biden-Harris administration has done in wielding the IRS as a tool to silence political opponents and control private citizens? We should act now to end Direct File to protect Americans from further overreach.”
The Direct File system has been criticized by Republicans as a system that would create a conflict of interest for the IRS — tasked with maximizing revenue — to act as a filer for taxpayers.
“IRS direct file presents a clear conflict of interest in which the IRS would be tax preparer and auditor, the agency would have every incentive to hand people the highest tax bill possible rather than seeking the best tax return for filers,” Mike Palicz, the Director of Tax Policy at Americans for Tax Reform, previously told the Reporter.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) has also told the Reporter that the Democrats’ push for direct file “sucks,” and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas) told the Reporter that “Direct File is nothing more than an excuse to supercharge the IRS at great cost to taxpayers.”
Likewise, Rep. Kevin Hern (R., Okla.), who was just elected to chair the House Republican Policy Committee, had told the Reporter that the Biden administration’s push for direct file “isn’t the political win [the administration] thinks it is.”
The system has been a priority for left-wing groups since its founding, including “Code for America.” This continued push from House Republicans shows that this will remain a top priority for conservatives in the new administration.
Hill Sources told the Reporter that they expect the Trump team to rescind the program on day one, as it has been universally opposed by Republicans while supported by Democrats such as Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Bernie Sanders.
Joining Smith, Edwards, and Estes in writing to the Trump administration figures were Reps. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.), Mike Kelly (R., Pa.), Carol Miller (R., W.Va.), Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas), Erin Houchin (R., In.), Kevin Hern (R., Okla.), Ron Estes (R., Kansas), Mike Carey (R., Ohio), Michelle Fischbach (R., Minn.), Mark Alford (R., Mo.), Darin LaHood (R., Ill.), Pete Sessions (R., Texas), Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Greg Steube (R., Fla.), Nathaniel Moran (R., Texas), David Kustoff (R., Tenn.), Rick Allen (R., Texas), August Pfluger (R., Texas), Greg Murphy (R., N.C.), Andrew Clyde (R., Ga.), William Timmons (R., S.C.), Vern Buchanan (R., Fla.), Andrew Garbarino (R., N.Y.), Keith Self (R., Texas), Steve Womack (R., Ark.), Young Kim (R., Calif.), and Nicole Malliotakis (R., N.Y.).
