IRS deal to share data with ICE triggers shock resignation

Washington DC - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that acting Commissioner Melanie Krause plans to resign after the government agency signed a data-sharing deal with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

IRS acting commissioner Melanie Krause is resigning from her role mere hours after the agency was forced into a data-sharing deal withthe DHS.
IRS acting commissioner Melanie Krause is resigning from her role mere hours after the agency was forced into a data-sharing deal withthe DHS.  © Imago/UPI Photo

The IRS announced that Krause will be leaving the IRS hours after a deal was struck to provide tax data to the DHS on undocumented migrants, in an attempt to facilitate the Trump administration's mass deportation effort.

This will make Krause the third IRS Commissioner to leave this year, after President Biden's IRS head left when President Donald Trump was inaugurated. His successor, Douglas O'Donnell, departed in February.

Trump has nominated Billy Long as a permanent head of the IRS, but the pick still requires Senate confirmation before it can go ahead. There is a high likelihood that another acting commissioner will need to be instated.

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The date of Krause's departure has not been confirmed by either the IRS or herself. With tax returns due on April 15, it is expected she'll stay at least a few more weeks, or possibly even wait it out until Long has been confirmed.

"Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change," an email statement from the Department of the Treasury said.

Without referencing the DHS deal, the statement said the IRS is focused on "identifying waste, fraud, and abuse, and bringing criminals to justice," and wished Krause well "on her next endeavor."

One source told CNN that IRS officials had refused the data-sharing agreement, leading Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to sign the document. This incident is rumored to be behind Krause's shock resignation.

Krause's departure comes after the Trump administration began purging the IRS' workforce last Friday, with a goal to eliminate 20,000 staffers, or about 25% of its workforce.

Cover photo: Imago/UPI Photo

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