In a whirlwind shake-up, IRS acting chief Gary Shapley was removed from his position just three days after stepping in. U.S. Treasury Secretary.
Scott Bessent confirmed the decision on Friday, announcing that Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender will now temporarily lead the IRS.
According to Bessent, Faulkender is the right choice to restore public trust in the IRS. He made the announcement on X, saying, “Trust must be brought back to the IRS, and I am fully confident that @TreasuryDepSec Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment.”
Shapley, a longtime IRS agent and whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax probe, was expected to leave once Trump’s pick, former Rep. Billy Long, is confirmed by the Senate. But reports suggest that Shapley’s appointment was pushed by Elon Musk’s unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency” without Bessent’s knowledge. According to The New York Times, Bessent acted fast to reverse the decision once Trump gave the green light.
Despite the shake-up, Bessent says Shapley isn’t going anywhere. He’ll stay at the IRS to continue his ongoing reform investigation with fellow whistleblower Joseph Ziegler, targeting political interference in tax investigations.
“Gary Shapley’s passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work,” Bessent said.
The Treasury didn’t confirm the Musk angle but praised Faulkender’s leadership during the early days of COVID-19 relief efforts, calling him a steady hand during times of high-stakes public policy.
Faulkender will now oversee the IRS’s mission until Congress votes on Long’s confirmation. One of his top priorities? Tackling what many see as the “weaponization and politicization” of the IRS. Meanwhile, Trump and his allies are pushing for broader IRS reforms – including possibly going after Harvard University’s tax-exempt status, though Treasury didn’t comment on that front.
Melanie Krause, the previous interim head, stepped down after controversy over the IRS’s cooperation with immigration data-sharing.
What do you think about the fast-paced changes at the IRS? Is this the shake-up the agency needs or just more political drama?
