
What happens when nearly 90,000 IRS agents are reassigned to secure the border?
At a Glance
- Reassignment of nearly 90,000 IRS personnel to the US-Mexico border.
- The freeze targets IRS hiring, with plans for tax reform and tariffs.
- The proposal includes an ‘External Revenue Service’ for trade revenue collection.
- Focus on reducing the size of the federal government aligns with ‘Save America’ agenda.
IRS Agents to Border Security
President Donald Trump’s announcement to freeze IRS hiring and repurpose these positions for border security has sent waves through political circles. Trump’s assertion seeks to utilize the IRS personnel’s capacity to carry firearms for border duties, emphasizing the ongoing struggle to fortify national security. This plan not only disrupts the existing federal hiring layout but proposes a bold reallocation of resources initially core to the IRS’s functionality.
Trump contends that the Inflation Reduction Act’s funding originally designated to strengthen the IRS could better serve by bolstering U.S. border security. This initiative aims to rectify administrative priorities, focusing on mounting immigration issues. The hiring freeze, effective across federal civilian roles, secures immigration enforcement, military, and national security positions, demonstrating a strategic governmental reshuffle.
Trump says he may send nearly 90,000 newly hired IRS agents to border after issuing indefinite hiring freeze | Anna Young, New York Post
President Trump said Saturday he is considering sending nearly 90,000 newly hired Internal Revenue Service agents to guard the southern… pic.twitter.com/pyRLUSvamk
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) January 26, 2025
Revamping Federal Oversight
Trump’s proposal underscores a larger vision: transitioning the IRS into a minimal role while overhauling federal oversight. During his Nevada speech, he expanded on abolishing the federal income tax in favor of tariffs, a definitive shift in federal revenue structures. This builds on the proposed External Revenue Service, which he envisions as the pivot for trade-related revenue management. Reducing the IRS’s backbone and creating this new entity reflects a critical pivot in Trump’s governance ideology.
“They hired, or tried to hire, 88,000 workers to go after you, and we’re in the process of developing a plan to either terminate all of them, or maybe we’ll move them to the border.” – Donald Trump Source Link
Shifting existing federal structures doesn’t end with just reassigning employees. Trump has hinted at comprehensive recalibrations of trade systems, projecting to levy tariffs on Mexico and Canada should they falter in aligning with U.S. immigration policies. This aggressive policy, factoring in a proposed 25% tariff, embodies the tangible and immediate impact of Trump’s initiatives designed to protect American virtues and employment.
Government Efficiency and Effects
President Trump’s holistic vision extends beyond mere border security realignment. He has introduced a new Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’), with Elon Musk at the helm, to streamline federal jobs. This effort seeks to refine government participation in national dynamics, proposing a framework where essential services and national security remain uncompromised by bureaucratic inefficiencies.
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees, to be applied throughout the executive branch.” – President Source Link
While these proposals are ambitious and assertive, they signify a drastic shift in governmental operations and priorities. The directives have carved out clear exemption territories for crucial services, ensuring minimal obstruction to essential federal functions. This hiring freeze marks the beginning of an extensive directive meant to recalibrate governmental roles to curtail federal overreach and bolster national interests.