Trump’s New Commerce Secretary Confirms Plans to Abolish the IRS

Trump’s ultimate ‘goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service’ and use tariffs, Howard Lutnick says.

President Donald Trump, joined by Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick, signs an executive order on reciprocal tariffs in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

One of President Donald Trump’s newest Cabinet picks said that the administration is aiming to abolish the IRS and rely on tariffs and other revenues.

“His goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay,” Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News on Wednesday night.