McCarthy pledges to repeal 87,000 IRS agents on first day of new House term

Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA), who hopes to be the next speaker of the House, said on Friday on Fox News that the first thing Republicans are going to do after electing a speaker is to repeal the 87,000 new IRS agents authorized in legislation passed by Congress last year.

"On the very first day, the first thing we’re going to do is repeal the 87,000 IRS agents,” McCarthy promised. “Another reason why the Democrats are mad at me, I think – government should be here to help you, not to go after you."

While a Republican majority can certainly pass such a repeal, it is not likely to be taken up by a Senate with a Democrat majority, making McCarthy's declaration little more than empty words. While the House technically has the power of the purse, it can't actually pass or rescind any spending bills by itself.

McCarthy also said the House will follow through on investigations of the Biden administration, including its failures in Afghanistan and at the border. So far, President Joe Biden has refused to respond to any requests for information from Republicans, but he will not be able to continue doing so when they officially have the majority in January.

Securing the border will also be a top priority, along with fixing inflation and finding out once and for all the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

McCarthy said:

You’ve got to secure this border, the millions of people coming across, the fentanyl that’s killing our children. We need to work on our economy. That means making us energy-independent. We need to hold this government accountable. Where’s the origin of COVID began? Find out what this Biden family had done in the process. Make sure the FBI is not going after Americans but actually going after crime. We’ve got so much work behind us, and we need to start on the very first day.