Acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Melanie Krause is expected to resign after only three months as head of the IRS, citing the direction the Trump administration is taking the agency as a leading factor.
Krause, who is the third acting commissioner since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, will take part in the deferred resignation program, part of the agency’s three voluntary separation programs in their reduction-in-force plan proposed by the Trump administration.
The IRS plans to cut 25% of its workforce — as many as 20,000 staffers — as part of Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, per The Associated Press.
A person close to the matter told The Washington Post that Krause “no longer feels like she’s in a position where she can impact the decision-making that’s happening,” adding that Krause believes “that some of the decisions that are being made now are things the IRS can never recover from.”
The number of turnovers since Trump took office is “unprecedented,” a person familiar with the situation told the Post. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this at the IRS.”
Krause was apparently overlooked in a recent agreement that would further greenlight the IRS in sharing tax data of undocumented immigrants with Homeland Security officials.
The agreement, signed Monday by Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, is a result of the president’s executive order “Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats.”
It was just six weeks ago when Bessent announced Krause as interim IRS leader.
“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,” an agency statement shared with The Wall Street Journal said. “We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.”
Is ICE’s use of IRS tax info legal?
The partially redacted agreement grants U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personal and financial data through the IRS to identify illegal immigrants with final removal orders via their tax records.
The IRS’ privacy policy currently states that all personal information is used only for its intended purpose and that “the IRS may not disclose tax returns or return information unless authorized by law and if a taxpayer’s information is used for any other secondary purpose, they would be notified.”
“It’s a bedrock belief at the IRS,” Lawrence Gibbs, former IRS commissioner in the 1980s, told The Wall Street Journal. “This is what encourages taxpayers to tell you their private and confidential information.”
However, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also told The Wall Street Journal that the federal government should have always allowed agencies to cross-examine and share information to “solve problems.”
A Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the agreement between the IRS and ICE is a “clear and secure process” in tackling illegal immigration moving forward.
“The bases for this MOU are founded in longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals,” the statement said. “After four years of Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump’s highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people.”