CNN
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The representative of the Internal Revenue Service is scheduled to retire on Friday, the agency announced Tuesday after weeks of disruption and agency cuts since President Donald Trump took office.
As agents head towards crunch time for tax filing season, Doug O’Donnell’s committee’s departure suddenly occurs.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in a news release that it will be led by Melanie Krause, the chief operating officer of an agency whose IRS sympathizes with Elon Musk’s Office of Government Efficiency. Trump is intended for former Congressman Billy Long to lead the IRS.
“The IRS has been my professional home for 38 years,” O’Donnell said in a news release. “I care deeply about the agency and its people and I am sure Melanie will be an outstanding steward of the service until the new committee is confirmed.”
He was temporarily appointed to the role after IRS commissioner Daniel Warfel resigned when Trump took office last month. The New York Times first reported on O’Donnell’s retirement.
Krause’s promotion comes after spending several years as the IRS’ top data specialist before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer last April. For some within the agency, Klaus is seen as more sympathetic to Doge’s work at Doge’s Treasury than other longtime career staffers.
Doge’s attempts to gain access to software systems and data within the IRS and Treasury Department have facilitated a major pushback in departments and courts where privacy cases restrict access to personal information and code .
Doge is trying to access the IRS data system. It holds highly sensitive personal and financial information about over 100 million individual tax filers and businesses. Taxpayer advocates, small business groups and unions groups “to suspend the free and lawless access of doges to personal data at a level that risks the privacy of hundreds of millions of Americans.” filed an emergency lawsuit in federal court. The judge has not yet responded to requests for the case.
The IRS fired nearly 7,000 workers last week, according to people familiar with the agency. Workers who lost their jobs have been hired recently and therefore have probation situations, making them easier to loosen up, the source said.
Losing IRS workers, described primarily as auditors, assisting workers involved in compliance work, many of whom were hired in the final months of the Biden administration.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
