“[I]f we truly want to make tax filing accessible and convenient, we have to do more…[Canceling Direct File] is corruption, plain and simple, and my amendment would reverse that shameful decision”

“We also cannot stand by when the Trump administration just cut a deal giving Donald Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card for potentially cheating on his taxes…Congress needs to stand up and put a stop to it.” 

Video of Remarks (Youtube)

August 1, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – This week, during the Senate Finance Committee’s markup of the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the committee to do more to improve tax administration in the country. While voicing support for the underlying provisions in the bill, she voted no on final passage, explaining that she could not support a bill that “rubber stamps Donald Trump’s corruption.” Warren also offered an amendment to bring back the Direct File program, which allowed taxpayers to file their taxes online, for free, and directly with the government. 

During the Biden administration, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ran a wildly successful pilot program for Direct File. 94 percent of taxpayers rated their experience with the program as “excellent” or “above average.” After Intuit donated $1 million to President Trump’s inauguration fund, the Trump administration cancelled the program. 

“It is corruption, plain and simple, and my amendment would reverse that shameful decision and make Direct File the law of the land,” said Senator Warren. 

Senator Warren also called out the Trump administration’s attempt to give President Trump immunity from federal tax audits, highlighting that a federal judge has said the deal violates federal law. Warren called on the committee to pass Ranking Member Wyden’s amendment to prevent the deal from being enforced. 

“Any serious effort to make the IRS work better for American taxpayers must ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law,” she said. 

After Republicans voted down Ranking Member Wyden’s amendment to block Trump’s immunity deal, Senator Warren voted no on final passage of the bill.

“[W]hile I support this Committee’s work to make the IRS work better for taxpayers, I cannot support a bill that rubber stamps Donald Trump’s corruption…Under Donald Trump, the IRS keeps working better and better for Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies—and worse and worse for everyone else. Congress needs to stand up and put a stop to it,” Senator Warren explained. 

Transcript: Business meeting to consider an original bill entitled ‘Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act’Senate Finance CommitteeJuly 30, 2026

As delivered

Senator Elizabeth Warren: 

I want to thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member for your leadership on the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act. This bill is full of commonsense changes to improve the taxpayer experience: it cracks down on paid tax preparers who scam Americans. It strengthens the independent National Taxpayer Advocate. And it helps taxpayers get faster refunds. I’m also proud to have introduced the IRS MATH Act along with Senator Cassidy, which was originally part of this bill before we got it signed into law last year.

But if we truly want to make tax filing accessible and convenient, we have to do more. So today, I’m offering an amendment to bring back the Direct File program and make it permanent. During the Biden administration, the IRS ran a pilot program for Direct File, which allowed taxpayers to file their taxes online, for free, and directly with the government. And people loved it. 94% of taxpayers who used the program described their experience as “excellent” or “above average.” But giant tax prep companies like Intuit lobbied to kill Direct File because it threatened their profits. After Intuit donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, Trump cancelled the program. It is corruption, plain and simple, and my amendment would reverse that shameful decision and make Direct File the law of the land.

We also cannot stand by when the Trump administration just cut a deal giving Donald Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card for potentially cheating on his taxes. No other taxpayer—ever— has gotten this kind of deal, and a federal judge has already called it illegal. Any serious effort to make the IRS work better for American taxpayers must ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law, and I am proud to cosponsor Ranking Member Wyden’s amendment to bar the Treasury Department and IRS from enforcing this corrupt deal. This Committee should not consider our work done here until we adopt it. And while I support this Committee’s work to make the IRS work better for taxpayers, I cannot support a bill that rubber stamps Donald Trump’s corruption.

Under Donald Trump, the IRS keeps working better and better for Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies-–and worse and worse for everyone else. Congress needs to stand up and put a stop to it.

After speaking with Ranking Member Wyden, I will not seek a vote on my Direct File amendment. I yield back to the Chair.

—

Senator Warren is a leading voice in advocating for taxpayers and for improved IRS resources & has led the fight to root out corruption and hold the Trump administration accountable:

• In July 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) released new responses from Trump-affiliated companies regarding President Donald Trump’s corrupt deal with the Treasury Department and the IRS. The responses came as a result of the investigation Warren launched alongside Minority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senator Wyden (D-Ore.) earlier this month.
• In July 2026, after a federal judge stated that the Department of Justice’s order attempting to shield President Donald Trump, his family, and his businesses from tax audits “directly contravenes” federal law, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Frank Bisignano to cease implementation of the order.
• In July 2026, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, investigated whether key companies with Trump family ties scored get-out-of-jail-free cards from President Donald Trump’s corrupt settlement with the Treasury Department (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 
• In June 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with Representatives Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.), pressed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following reports that the White House interfered to deliver a lucrative Department of Defense (DoD) contract to Vulcan Elements, a key Trump Jr.-linked company.
• In June 2026, in response to a recent request from U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Angus King (I-Maine), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed it is launching a new probe into the Free File program, an IRS partnership with private tax prep companies. The lawmakers’ request followed the Trump administration’s decision to end the Direct File program — instead touting its failed Free File program, which has a nearly two-decade-long record of underperformance.
• In May 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed the Acting Director-Designate for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), David Venturella, on his decades-long revolving door career between ICE and the private prison industry and his reported use of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel and resources for personal or political favors.
• In May 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced the Banning Lobbying And Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act, a bipartisan bill to impose a lifetime ban on lobbying by former members of Congress.
• In April 2026, Senator Warren introduced the Stop Corporations and High Earners from Avoiding Taxes and Enforce the Rules Strictly (Stop CHEATERS) Act, a bill to restore and revitalize the IRS with additional funding for tax enforcement, technology operations support, systems modernization, and taxpayer services like free taxpayer assistance.
• In April 2026, Senator Warren took to the Senate floor to seek unanimous consent to pass the Direct File Act. The bill would reverse the Trump administration’s decision to end the highly successful Direct File program—which allowed Americans to file their taxes online, for free, and directly with the government—and make the program permanent.
• In February 2026, Senator Warren led over 150 lawmakers in introducing the Direct File Act, new legislation that would reverse the Trump administration’s decision to end the highly successful Direct File program — which allowed taxpayers to file their taxes online, for free, and directly with the government — and make the program permanent.
• In February 2026, Senator Warren led her colleagues in pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief of Taxpayer Services Ken Corbin on the Treasury Department’s decision to end Direct File and instead promote Free File.
• In February 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), along with Representatives Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) pressed the Inspectors General (IGs) of 16 key agencies to open investigations into senior Trump officials who were recently lobbyists or “shadow lobbyists” and may be using their roles to benefit their former employers and clients.
• In January 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on potential conflicts of interest surrounding the awarding of multiple lucrative Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and loans to companies associated with President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
• In December 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) pressed the Trump administration to follow through on promises to limit defense companies’ stock buybacks and incentivize them to increase research and development spending.
• In December 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called for then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to recuse herself from the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s review of any Warner Bros. merger due to potential conflicts of interest related to her former employer, lobbying firm Ballard Partners.
• In September 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to Donald Korb, nominee for Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), ahead of Korb’s confirmation hearing, pressing him on his stark conflicts of interest and urging him to make ethics commitments to mitigate these conflicts.
• In July 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin seeking an explanation and further information on his recent decision to start a strategic advisory firm. Austin had publicly promised Senator Warren during his 2021 confirmation process that he would not become a lobbyist after his government service ended.
• In July 2023, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Personnel, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and United States Representatives Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) introduced the Retired Officers Conflict of Interest Act – a bill that would require public reporting on retired service members working on behalf of foreign governments and creating civil penalties if they break the law.
• In December 2020, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) reintroduced the Anti-Corruption & Public Integrity Act to strengthen ethics laws and crack down on government officials’ conflicts of interest across the government.
  
  Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren