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Week 5 Source 2
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Video Reveals First Look at China’s New Invasion Fleet
By
Evening Politics Editor
news article
22
The IRS plans to downsize its workforce by half, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the issue.
Why It Matters
The cuts would come as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk push to drastically reduce the federal workforce.
What To Know
The IRS currently consists of about 90,000 people, according to AP, and cuts to the agency would include a mixture of incentivized buyouts, attrition and layoffs.
Since Trump took office in January, he and Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have laid off nearly all probationary employees—meaning those who aren't covered by civil service protections—and offered "deferred resignations" to almost the rest of the civil workforce.
Those layoffs included about 7,000 probationary IRS employees, who were let go last month.
But broader cuts to the IRS would not be entirely unexpected, as Republicans have long railed against the federal tax-collecting agency and called to shut it down.
Mar 13
2025 Charlton F
2025 Charlton F
:
Broader cuts could lead to problems with tax processing especially at the hight of taxs season over the next few weeks.
Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce, reiterated that notion last month when he told Fox News' Jesse Watters that the Trump administration wants to abolish the IRS and instead collect revenue from foreign sources.
Lutnick's comments came after Trump announced that he would create an "External Revenue Service" to collect "Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources."
Trump followed through with his threat to impose steep tariffs on America's two biggest trading partners—Mexico and Canada—this week while also raising tariffs on China.
Canada and China immediately retaliated, with outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling the trade war "very dumb" and saying he would "relentlessly" defend his country's economy. Mexico said it would respond on Sunday.
The new tariffs sent global markets into a tailspin: the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1300 points over two days and the S&P 500 index lost all of its post-election gains as investors worried about the inflationary effects and companies were faced with widespread uncertainty.
Mar 13
2025 Charlton F
2025 Charlton F
:
We can see that due to many of Trumps executive actions the economy has taken quite the tumble over the past few days.
Trump, meanwhile, acknowledged last month that American consumers will feel "some pain" from the tariffs but said it would "all be worth the price that must be paid." Economists broadly agree that American consumers will bear the brunt of the burden from Trump's tariffs.
Lutnick appeared on Fox Business Network on Tuesday afternoon and said Trump, after sparking the trade war despite repeated warnings from Canada and Mexico, will "work something out" with the two countries and meet them "in the middle."
He said an update on the matter could come as soon as Wednesday.
What People Are Saying
Lutnick told Watters last month: "Think about it, Donald Trump announces the External Revenue Service, and his goal is very simple (...) his goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay."
Trump posted to Truth Social on January 14: "For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the world, while taxing ourselves. It is time for that to change. I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources. We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share. January 20, 2025, will be the birth date of the External Revenue Service. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
What Happens Next
The creation of a federal agency is subject to congressional approval. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said last month that Trump would tap Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to oversee the External Revenue Service.
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