As House Republicans battle for leadership positions, one fact has become clear: the extensive search for former President Donald Trump's tax returns will likely come to an end.

The House Ways and Means Committee has sought Trump's records since 2019, led by Democrats seeking to evaluate how the Internal Revenue Service audits presidential returns.

Upon the first request, Democrats were stonewalled by Trump's Treasury Department, leading the House committee to sue. A stream of legal battles has been fought since, concluding with the Supreme Court granting Trump a last-minute stoppage in November.

Now, with Republicans taking a slim majority in the House, the inquiry into Trump's records will likely lose support. Democrats will no longer have control of the Ways and Means Committee, meaning whichever Republican wins the chairmanship will drop the search.

CNBC noted that three Republicans openly vie for the position: Reps. Jason Smith of Missouri, Vern Buchanan of Florida, and Nebraska's Adrian Smith.

Trump has long argued that the committee's interest in his tax records is politically motivated, a claim that insinuates Democrats would have something to gain politically should the records be released.

"The Committee's purpose in requesting President Trump's tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the IRS and everything to do with releasing the President's tax information to the public," said Trump's lawyers in a petition to the Supreme Court.

Buchanan, the No. 2 Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, seemed to agree with Trump's legal argument.

"Washington should not be in the business of using the IRS as a political tool," Buchanan said Wednesday in an email to CNBC. Buchanan assured that if chosen to lead the House committee he would drop the search for Trump's records.

All three Representatives vying to lead the committee have expressed their distaste for the search into the former president's records, essentially stopping the process in its tracks.

Democrats previously sought Trump's records for the years 2015 through 2020.

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