Trump Administration Replaces Top I.R.S. Lawyer
Attempts by Elon Musk’s team to gain access to I.R.S. data have raised legal concerns at the agency.
It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
Attempts by Elon Musk’s team to gain access to I.R.S. data have raised legal concerns at the agency.
President Trump is planning to gut the work force while trying to turn the I.R.S. into a more political agency.
DOGE removed any mention of a long-dead contract from its website, where the government-cutting team has repeatedly posted erroneous “receipts” inflating its success.
Losing half of its employees would severely strap the I.R.S., meaning Americans may have to wait longer to receive tax refunds.
The employees, who worked at the General Services Administration’s 18F unit, fixed technical problems and built products aimed at increasing efficiency for various federal agencies.
Elon Musk’s group claimed credit for canceling procurement agreements that had been completed years earlier, the latest in a string of public errors on its site.
The tax collector has so far denied the request because of concerns it violates taxpayer privacy laws.
The official, Doug O’Donnell, a 40-year veteran of the I.R.S., was elevated last month, after the last commissioner stepped down at the beginning of President Trump’s term.
A document setting the terms of work at the I.R.S. by Gavin Kliger, a software engineer on Elon Musk’s team, only allows him to see anonymized taxpayer information.
The terminations will target relatively recent hires at the I.R.S., which the Biden administration had attempted to revitalize.