Scott Besant, US Treasury Secretary, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
Eric Lee | Bloomberg | getty images
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said Wednesday that he is “performing the duties” of Internal Revenue Service commissioner, though he stressed that he is not the agency’s acting commissioner. senate exchange On President Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS.
Besant, who was the acting IRS commissioner since August, took over as commissioner in a short-notice move two and a half months ago, the agency said in a statement. Post on its website 13 March. The IRS said Besant’s time as acting commissioner has “expired” but she “retains the authority and responsibility to carry out the functions and duties of vacant Treasury offices that are not filled on an acting basis.”
This distinction became central during questioning of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. They pressed Besant about her current authority at the tax agency and also asked whether hundreds of other taxpayers whose information was leaked by a former IRS contractor would receive the same treatment that Democrats say Trump, his family and their businesses received after their tax returns were leaked.
“You are the acting IRS Commissioner, correct?” Cortez Masto asked at a hearing on the Treasury Department budget.
“This is wrong,” Besant replied.
When Cortez Masto asked what his position was with the IRS, Besant said, “My tenure is over,” but he added that the IRS is a bureau within the Treasury and “when there is no commissioner, those duties come to me.”
Cortez Masto stepped back and asked if this meant that there was no Commissioner and Besant was acting Commissioner.
“No, that is wrong,” said Besant.
Asked again to clarify her role “for the purposes of public and transparency”, Besant said: “I am performing the duties of the Commissioner.”
The exchange came a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told House lawmakers that the Justice Department would no longer administer the $1.8 billion anti-gunnery compensation fund created as part of Trump’s settlement with the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. But Blanch also said Trump, his family members and related business entities are protected from tax audits and enforcement actions involving tax returns filed before the agreement.
Cortez Masto asked Besant whether the approximately 400,000 other taxpayers whose information was leaked by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn would receive “the same immunity that President Trump and his family received.”
Besant declined to answer directly, saying that the Treasury was represented by the Department of Justice and that due to ongoing litigation she was unable to provide additional details.
“The Treasury doesn’t give any of it,” said Besant. “We are represented by the Department of Justice.”
Pressed again on whether other taxpayers would get the same treatment, Besant said, “We will follow the instructions and the settlement.”