IRS head to resign 3 years before his term expires, as Donald Trump takes office
WASHINGTON − The head of the Internal Revenue Service told the tax agency's employees Friday that he will resign when President-elect Donald Trump returns to office Monday.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel's resignation, which comes with three years remaining in his term, prevents Trump from removing him from office. Werfel, had he not resigned, faced firing: Trump nominated former Republican Rep. Billy Long of Missouri to lead the tax agency in December.
Werfel, in a letter to agency staff obtained by the Wall Street Journal said that if he had tried to remain in office during Long's confirmation process, it would have been "hard to predict what type of distractions this unprecedented scenario would create."
The IRS traditionally experiences little turnover between presidents. Werfel's resignation marks the first inauguration day exit of an IRS commissioner since Bill Clinton assumed office in January 1993.
The commissioner and chief counsel are the agency's only political appointees, and a 1998 reform bill established five-year terms for IRS commissioners in an effort to keep politics out of tax enforcement. Every president since the 1998 reform − to include Trump in his first term − retained the serving IRS commissioner.
In his first term, Trump wanted to weaponize the IRS against his political opponents, according to his then-White House chief of staff John Kelly. A Treasury Department watchdog report later found that invasive audits of former top FBI officials occurred by coincidence, however.
During President Barack Obama's tenure, the IRS applied extra scrutiny to Tea Party groups. Then-IRS commissioner Steven Miller resigned at the Obama administration's request. Obama called the misconduct by IRS officials "inexcusable," and pledged to take steps to prevent such a situation from developing again in the future.
Werfel led the tax agency through significant reforms funded largely by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. During his term, the agency added new digital services, upgraded aging technology, and reduced telephone wait times for taxpayers.
Other IRS modernization efforts remain in progress. Its free Direct File system for submitting tax returns, which the tax preparation industry opposed, will expand to include taxpayers from 24 states this year. Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Treasury, Scott Bessent, testified to a Senate panel Thursday that he will not halt the Direct File program for 2025.
But many Biden-era tax enforcement priorities − such as increased audits scrutinizing personal use of corporate jets by the wealthy − may now be in jeopardy.
If confirmed by the Senate, former Rep. Long will serve the remainder of Werfel's term ending in 2027.
Davis Winkie's role covering nuclear threats and national security at Paste BN is funded by a grant from Outrider Foundation. Outrider Foundation does not provide editorial input. You can reach Davis via email at dwinkie@usatoday.com or via the Signal encrypted messaging app at 770-539-3257.