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Trump’s pick to lead the IRS raked in donations to pay off campaign debt after he was announced

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President Donald Trump’s pick for Internal Revenue Service commissioner recently cleared a substantial debt from his failed 2022 Senate bid, using campaign contributions that rolled in after Trump announced his intent to nominate him to lead the tax agency, according to federal filings.

Former Republican Rep. Billy Long raked in roughly $137,000 in campaign donations in January — the month after Trump said he would nominate him to serve in Trump’s administration — according to campaign finance disclosures filed late Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Long then paid back an outstanding personal loan of $130,000 he had made to his now-dormant 2022 U.S. Senate campaign in February. A number of the donors are affiliated with firms in the tax consultancy industry.

The Lever was first to report on the filings.

Before January’s flood of donations, Long had only raised roughly $36,000 through his latent Senate campaign committee over the last two years, much of which came in December.

The IRS directed Blue Light News to the Treasury Department for comment, which did not immediately respond. Long’s campaign treasurer did not immediately return a request for comment via email, and Long could not otherwise be reached for comment.

The disclosure comes as Long is facing backlash from Democratic lawmakers for connections to alleged tax credit loopholes. The disclosure report lists various contributions from financial advisers working at consulting groups such as White River Energy and Lifetime Advisors, which are in hot water with Democrats.

The firms are mentioned in a letter sent from Senate Finance Committee Democrats to the IRS on Monday urging the agency to open a criminal investigation into the groups’ promotion of allegedly fraudulent “tribal tax credits.”

The Missouri Republican represented the state’s 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2023. He lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary contest to now-Sen. Eric Schmitt.

After leaving Congress in 2023, Long pitched tax products for Lifetime Advisors. He also reported earning at least $5,000 from White River Energy for a duty designated as a “Referral to Capitol Edge Strategies” — a firm that, according to Bloomberg Tax, promotes tribal tax credit resources.

In 2022, the Supreme Court struck down limits on how much post-election cash candidates can use to repay personal loans, opening the door for donors with business before candidates to refill their coffers.

Long’s nomination to lead the IRS is still awaiting Senate confirmation.

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Hageman launches bid for Wyoming Senate seat

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Wyoming GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman on Tuesday announced her campaign for Senate, hoping to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis in next year’s election.

The Wyoming Republican is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, and with his backing she helped oust Republican then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump’s, in the 2022 primary.

“This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last, while protecting our culture and our way of life,” Hageman said in her launch video. “We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the next 100 years is the next great American century.”

Lummis announced she would not seek reelection last week, saying she felt like a “sprinter in a marathon” despite being a “devout legislator.” Hageman, who had been debating a gubernatorial bid, was expected to enter the Senate race.

Hageman touted her ties to the president in her announcement video, highlighting her record of support for Trump’s policies during her time in the House and vowing to keep Wyoming a “leader in energy and food production.”

“I worked with President Trump to pass 46 billion in additional funding for border security, while ensuring that Wyomingites do not pay the cost of new immigration. We work together to secure the border and fund efforts to remove and deport those in the country illegally,” she said.

Trump won the deep-red state by nearly 46 points in last year’s election, and Hageman herself was reelected by nearly 48 points, according to exit polling.

Still, Hageman bore the brunt of voters’ displeasure earlier this year during a town hall. As she spoke of the Department of Government Efficiency, federal cuts and Social Security, the crowd booed her.

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Ben Sasse says he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer

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Former Sen. Ben Sasse announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer.

The Nebraska Republican shared the news on X, writing in a lengthy social media post that he had received the diagnosis last week.

“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence,” Sasse said. “But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”

The two term senator retired in 2023 and then went on to serve as president of the University of Florida. He eventually left the school to spend more time with his wife, Melissa, after she was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Sasse continued to teach classes at University of Florida’s Hamilton Center after he stepped down as president. He previously served as a professor at the University of Texas, as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as president of Midland University.

Sasse on Tuesday shared that he and his wife have only grown closer since and opened up about his children’s recent successes and milestones.

“There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst,” Sasse said. “As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.”

Sasse said he’ll have more to share in the future, adding that he is “not going down without a fight” and will be undergoing treatment.

“Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape,” Sasse said.

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Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now

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Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday lifted restrictions on the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s findings from his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records — but she gave the president a 60-day window to challenge her order. Cannon did not immediately lift her order barring the Justice Department from sharing…
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