Over 1K IRS agents being ‘willfully delinquent’ on their tax returns is ‘inexcusable’: Sen. Ernst

Sen. Joni Ernst: 300 of the IRS's tax delinquents were repeat offenders

During an interview on "Varney & Co," Wednesday, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, responded to reports that 1,250 IRS employees were delinquent on their tax returns despite President Biden's forthcoming "Inflation Reduction Act," which calls for the addition of 87,000 agents.

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STUART VARNEY: I know you asked the Treasury to audit the IRS, and I know you just heard back. What did they tell you?

SEN. JONI ERNST: Yes, Stuart, they said yes, they would audit the IRS. And so they do see this as a problem. As you noted, 1,250 employees were willfully delinquent on those tax returns. They hadn't paid their taxes and there were 300 of them that were repeat offenders. Even one of them is an IRS criminal investigator. So we've got to stop this. And if we're hiring 87,000 new agents, maybe we should make sure they're policing their own agency first. 

IRS graphic with Biden

A view of the Internal Revenue Service building is seen on March 27, 2019 (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP). U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccines in the South Court Auditorium at the White House (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Image (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images  |  Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE: