Trump pulls pick for acting IRS commissioner after only three days
The move comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has voiced internal frustrations with the role DOGE in controlling operations at the Treasury Department.
President Donald Trump plans to replace acting IRS commissioner Gary Shapley three days after he was selected for the position, according to four people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a matter not yet made public.
Trump appointed Shapley on Tuesday amid a remarkable series of promotions and departures among the tax agency’s senior leadership in just a handful of weeks. Shapley was an IRS criminal investigator who became a conservative hero in 2023 after accusing prosecutors of slow-walking an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump is rescinding Shapley’s appointment after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained to the president about billionaire Elon Musk’s role in Shapley’s elevation. The Treasury Department oversees the IRS, and the Times reported that Musk secured the post for Shapley without consulting Bessent.
The Washington Post could not verify an exact reason for pulling Shapley’s selection. But the move comes as Bessent has voiced internal frustrations with the role of the Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service in controlling operations at the Treasury Department, according to three people familiar with internal matters, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect private deliberations. On Friday, Musk also circulated criticisms of Bessent from far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Spokespeople for the IRS and Treasury declined to comment. In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment on the specific personnel matters.
“It’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country,” she said. “Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process, and ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump.”
A remarkable internal power struggle has played out over weeks over the scope of Musk’s involvement in the federal government. Musk has pushed for aggressive cuts across federal agencies, sometimes eliciting rebukes from Cabinet secretaries with other priorities.
They also exacerbate the extraordinary upheaval at the tax agency. Melanie Krause, Shapley’s predecessor, resigned after the administration bypassed her over decisions about the agency’s future. Her predecessor, Doug O’Donnell, retired early after battling with DOGE representatives.
IRS attorneys have cautioned that many of the Trump administration’s changes at the agency violate privacy and tax laws.
The Treasury Department, the IRS’s parent agency, agreed to share confidential taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security to aid the White House’s mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. DOGE officials have sought to build a unified data-sharing platform across federal agencies to search for tax and benefits fraud. Both proposals, top agency officials warned leaders, ran afoul of strict confidentiality laws around distributing tax information.
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Dan Diamond and Shannon Najmabadi contributed to this report.