A staffer from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly arrived Thursday at the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to review the agency’s operations, sources told Reuters.
Gavin Kliger, the DOGE aide, reportedly requested a description of what each IRS business unit does, what it plans to deliver in the next 90 days and what risks each unit currently faces, according to the outlet, citing two people familiar with the matter. It is unclear whether Klinger accessed any IRS systems, but sources told CNN he was just “getting a lay of the land at the moment.”
“The Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else. Just about everybody’s going to be looked at. They’re doing a hell of a job. It’s an amazing job they’re doing,” President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday. He clarified he does not plan to “close” the IRS. “That force he’s building — I call it ‘the force of super-geniuses’ … They’re very smart people.”
Senior IRS officials were also told in an email to identify all “non-essential” contracts for termination, Reuters reported. The General Services Administration (GSA) defines a non-essential contract as one that “merely generates a report, research, coaching, or an artifact.”
“Consistent with the goals and directives of the Trump administration to eliminate waste, reduce spending, and increase efficiency, GSA has taken the first steps in a government-wide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts,” the email said, according to the outlet.
Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden lamented DOGE’s arrival at the agency, referring to DOGE staffers as “Musk’s henchmen.”
“My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America,” the senator wrote. “And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.”
The IRS is viewed less favorably than any other agency, with a July Pew Research poll finding that 50% of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of the tax collection agency. Republicans tend to view the agency less favorably than Democrats, as the IRS has faced accusations of unfairly treating conservative organizations seeking tax-exempt status.
In 2017, the IRS issued a formal apology for using “heightened scrutiny and inordinate delays” to impede tax-exempt applications from conservative groups. The agency specifically acknowledged wrongdoing in its handling of Linchpins of Liberty and 40 other plaintiffs, admitting it had requested unnecessary information during the application process.
The agency also faced sharp criticisms from conservatives after former President Joe Biden approved the hiring of 87,000 new IRS employees over the course of ten years. Additionally, Danny Werfel, Biden’s IRS commissioner, called for the agency to boost its total employment to 100,000 in April as part of a “modernization effort.” Werfel left his post at the IRS after Trump took office.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.