But I was told this was a "right-wing lie and talking point".
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is looking to hire special agents who carry guns and make arrests with jobs available in all 50 states, according to a posting on the agency’s website.
The law enforcement branch of the IRS, known as the Criminal Investigation (CI) division, is hiring for the role at locations throughout the U.S. IRS special agents within the CI division are the only IRS employees who are authorized by law to carry and use firearms. IRS-CI investigates financial crimes, money laundering, tax-related identity theft and terrorist financing efforts.
Under the posting’s "major duties" section, the IRS says that special agents "[c]arry a firearm; must be prepared to protect him/herself or others from physical attacks at any time and without warning and use firearms in life-threatening situations; must be willing to use force up to and including the use of deadly force."
Additionally, IRS-CI special agents must be "willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments." The posting adds that special agents need to maintain "a level of fitness necessary to effectively respond to life-threatening situations on the job."
Jobseekers must meet a number of other requirements, including having U.S. citizenship and being between the age of 21 at the time of completing the training academy and 37 at the time of appointment.
Would-be special agents with the IRS’ Criminal Investigation division must be able to pass pre-employment medical and tax exams, in addition to passing a drug test and being legally allowed to possess firearms.
The IRS’ job posting for the role on USAJobs opened in mid-February and will remain open through the end of the year. The posting lists 360 vacancies in 249 locations around the country — at least one of which is in each state.
IRS special agents in the CI division can expect a salary between $52,921 and $94,228 annually.
The IRS faced criticism last year when a similar posting went live amid debate in Congress over Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which included $80 billion in increased funding for the IRS over a decade — much of which was intended to help the agency crack down on tax evasion.
Similar language related to the use of force and carrying firearms is listed on other federal law enforcement job postings that involve field work and potentially dangerous situations.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/irs-plans-hire-gun-carrying-special-agents-all-50-states
