Republicans will vote TONIGHT on a $70 billion funding cut to the Internal Revenue Service

The GOP’s first statutory order of business under its new House control is to vote to cut 90 percent of IRS enforcement funding that was allocated to Democrats in the last Congress.

On Monday evening, the House of Representatives will first debate and vote on its controversial set of rules, which new Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated with his right-wing detractors.

Next, the House of Representatives will take up the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act — a bill that would reclaim $72 billion from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to prevent the agency from poking into the finances of more Americans.

The bill is likely already arriving in the Senate, where Democrats have a 51-48 lead after Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse became president of the University of Florida on Monday.

Last year, the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats provided $80 billion in new funds for the IRS to hire about 87,000 new agents.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy happily bangs the gavel after finally being elected Speaker of the House

The bill, introduced by Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Michelle Steel, R-Calif., leaves funding for customer service improvements and technology updates, but removes funding for new audits.

Of the $80 billion, only $3.2 billion — or four percent — went to improving taxpayer service.

Most taxpayers who have dealt with the IRS know the frustration of trying to get an agent on the phone — the agency answered just 10 percent of the 167 million calls it received during the 2022 filing season.

Smith had attempted to chair the influential Ways and Means tax committee, but was beaten for the top spot by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo.

The House is expected to vote Monday to fire 87,000 new IRS agents

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) is co-sponsoring a bill to eliminate funding for Internal Revenue Service audits

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) joined Rep. Steel to sponsor legislation to defund new IRS agents

When McCarthy won the Speaker’s gavel early Saturday morning after 15 ballots worth of vote scrambling, he promised the first order of business would be to exonerate the IRS.

“Our first bill will eliminate funding for 87,000 new IRS agents. Because the government should be here to help you not come after you,” he said in his victory speech.

Later this week, the House of Representatives will vote to set up a special committee on China, set up a subcommittee under the Judiciary Committee to investigate the Justice Department’s “armament” and block the Biden administration from selling Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil to China .

“The last thing the American people need right now is more scrutiny from a runaway, bloated IRS,” Smith said in a statement ahead of the vote.

“The government’s $45 billion plan to hire 87,000 new IRS officers and target Americans with a barrage of scrutiny was absurd from the start, especially as families and small business owners struggle amid skyrocketing prices driven by reckless government spending,” Steel added in a statement.

The new audits should offset about $739 billion in mostly climate and social spending.

Before the vote, the White House released a statement opposing the bill.

“This reckless bill would increase the deficit by nearly $115 billion over 10 years, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, by allowing wealthy tax dodgers to engage in additional tax fraud and avoidance,” the office said in a statement of management and budget.

“To be clear, the Secretary of the Treasury has already ordered that none of the additional IRS resources be used to increase audit rates for small businesses or households with incomes below $400,000 from historical levels.”

While the number of audits may increase among middle earners, it will increase in line with the audit rate of high earners, Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen said in a statement to IRS chief Charles Rettig in August.