Acting IRS commissioner leaving, adding to turmoil in agency leadership
Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause is expected to resign, according to two administration officials, continuing turmoil in the agency's top leadership.
Krause is the third person to lead the IRS since January. Acting Commissioner Doug O'Donnell left last month.
Krause's departure comes after the agency agreed to share tax information with federal immigration agents to help them find immigrants in the United States illegally.
The data sharing agreement, disclosed in court filings, creates a framework to use tax information to fulfill President Donald Trump's promise to crack down on millions of undocumented people in the United States.
The arrangement to share IRS data with Homeland Security officials played a role in Krause's departure, according to media reports. Two officials who spoke to Paste BN on condition of anonymity confirmed that Krause is expected to quit.
“Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change," a spokesperson for the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, said in a statement. "As we focus on IT modernization and re-organize the agency to better serve the taxpayer, we are also in the midst of breaking down data silos that for too long have stood in the way of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse and bringing criminals to justice. We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.”
The controversial agreement between IRS and Homeland Security is among a number of moves roiling the tax collecting agency, which has begun laying off thousands of workers as the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, pushes mass terminations across the federal government. More than 20,000 staff are expected to be cut in an agency of roughly 100,000.
DOGE also has sparked data privacy and security concerns by seeking access to internal IRS computer systems with vast amounts of sensitive data.
Krause joined the IRS in 2021 as chief data and analytics officer. She became chief operating officer last year. She previously worked at the Government Accountability Office and Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.
Contributing: Reuters, Eduardo Cuevas