“IRS Commissioner Resigns” used to be an uncommon headline, but as of late, it’s one we’re seeing often.
The latest resignation came earlier this month from acting Commissioner Melanie Krause, who joined the agency in 2021. Her resignation, effective mid-May, follows two others so far in 2025, contributing to an average of almost one IRS commissioner or acting Commissioner resigning per month since the start of President Trump’s second term.
Not to mention, all this happened before Trump’s IRS Commissioner pick, Billy Long, has even had a Senate confirmation hearing.
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But why did those IRS commissioners resign? And what did they do during their tenures?
We’ll explore their strategic tasks at the IRS and how their backgrounds and positions might relate to Trump’s administrative initiatives. Read on.
Former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel
Commissioner Werfel was nominated by President Joe Biden and sworn in on March 13, 2023. While his term was set to end in November 2027, Werfel resigned on President Trump’s inauguration day in 2025 due to Trump nominating former congressman Billy Long for the post.
Werfel was the 50th commissioner in the IRS’s history.
Werfel has a long background in federal government, beginning his career during the Clinton administration and continuing through the Bush and Obama tenures.
Serving as a policy analyst and then later deputy controller at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Werfel first became the acting commissioner of the IRS when the previous commissioner resigned in 2013.
But a year later, Werfel left the tax agency for Boston Consulting Group’s Public Sector practice, before returning to the IRS and becoming Commissioner for the second time.
Several key initiatives Werfel was tasked with as IRS Commissioner included:
- Overseeing the $79 billion the tax agency received from the Inflation Reduction Act, which included updating and modernizing IRS business systems.
- Improving taxpayer services.
- Hiring some “87,000 new IRS agents” to increase tax compliance, particularly surrounding larger corporations and wealthy taxpayers.
However, Congress later rescinded $1.4 billion of IRA funding and clawed back another $20 billion from the tax agency due to a debt limit deal.
Typically, IRS commissioners are nominated by presidents, confirmed by the Senate, and serve a five-year term. But in December, Trump announced he would nominate a new IRS Commissioner in place of Werfel (more on the selection below).
About seven weeks later, Werfel resigned. This caused some upheaval as traditionally, commissioners serve their entire five-year term to help ensure consistency in the tax agency as presidents come and go.
Former IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell
Doug O’Donnell took over as acting commissioner at the IRS after Werfel resigned. He began serving in January 2025 and left one month later when he retired.
Commissioner O’Donnell had worked in the IRS for nearly 40 years. Serving mainly in the Large Business and International (LB&I) Division, O’Donnell has held numerous roles, ranging from revenue agent to deputy director, and eventually the IRS’s acting commissioner from November 2022 to March 2023 — the time between the previous commissioner’s resignation and Werfel’s taking office.
His latest appointment as acting commissioner came during inner turmoil at the IRS.
The Trump administration, through its Department of Operating Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, laid off thousands of IRS workers, and Musk began seeking access to sensitive Treasury systems and IRS data.
Additionally, during that time, Musk announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the group responsible for creating the IRS Direct File program had been “deleted,” sparking panic from some taxpayers about whether the free filing software would be available for the 2025 tax season.
The IRS’s Direct File program allows eligible taxpayers to file their federal and state income tax returns for free.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
While it’s unclear if any of these factors influenced O’Donnell’s decision to resign, the former acting Commissioner refused to sign an IRS data-sharing agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to CNN (more on the agreement below). The refusal reportedly came shortly before O’Donnell’s retirement.
However, DHS didn’t give up on a data agreement with the IRS. A deal was eventually struck, which reportedly led to Commissioner Krause’s resignation. She did not sign the agreement and was reportedly kept out of the loop during final talks.
IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause
Melanie Krause took over as acting IRS Commissioner in February 2025. She resigned just two months later.
A Treasury spokesperson confirmed the resignation with Business Insider earlier in the month. The spokesperson claimed that Krause will remain in her position and continue to serve “until at least May 15, where she will continue the hard work of restructuring and modernizing the IRS,” according to ABC News.
Krause worked at the IRS for about three and a half years. Before that, she served in:
Krause began with the IRS as chief data and analytics officer, before quickly becoming deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, and finally chief operating officer — all before her commissioner appointment.
During Krause’s tenure as commissioner, the Trump administration initiated the data-sharing agreement, however, Krause reportedly refused to sign due to questions of legality surrounding the agreement.
Instead, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the deal. The agreement, which is being contested in court, would allow ICE to access taxpayer data for some criminal investigations, particularly those involving immigration.
Data show that undocumented immigrants pay almost $100 billion in taxes. This has caused some backlash against the agreement. Additionally, there are concerns about whether the data-sharing violates taxpayer privacy laws. While a redacted version of the agreement has been released, an unredacted version would confirm whether the concerns involving taxpayer privacy and data are being addressed.
However, Krause was left out of discussions regarding the agreement, as reported by the Associated Press, with sources familiar with the situation. Instead, she learned about the final agreement through news coverage.
This might have factored into the acting commissioner’s resignation. Other factors may have included the new direction the IRS is going in and multiple IRS senior executives having left due to the data agreement, according to a source familiar with the matter, reported by CNN.
As Kiplinger reported, IRS layoffs sparked doubt this tax season, with around 5,000 taking the Trump administration’s resignation offer. Krause also accepted the deferred resignation offer, which gives full pay and benefits through September 30, as reported by CNN.
Trump’s IRS Commissioner Pick
Who is Billy Long?
Billy Long is a former representative of Missouri, tapped by President Trump to be IRS Commissioner, after serving six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Long has a background in auctioneering and has supported the controversial Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC or ERC).
The ERTC was a refundable tax credit designed to help eligible businesses and tax-exempt organizations keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Since the pandemic, as Kiplinger has reported, the IRS has been heavily involved in rooting out improper ERC claims among firms that promoted the credit among taxpayers who didn’t qualify.
Some say that Long’s participation in the industry is problematic as it creates a significant conflict of interest.
However, others claim the “outsider perspective” Long could potentially provide, considering he doesn’t have a notable tax background, could be beneficial.
Long has also called for replacing the tax code with a flat tax and abolishing the IRS altogether, which has garnered support from some and criticism from others.
However, Billy Long has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, and it remains unclear when, or if, his hearing will happen.
Bottom line: What IRS instability could mean for you
While the future of the IRS may be unclear, here is what we know so far:
- More than 20,000 federal employees are expected to be cut from the IRS. This includes 7,000 probationary employees who were initially laid off in February, rehired last month, and then laid off again. Still other IRS employees are taking the Trump administration’s “buyout” offer. Current estimates suggest that 40% of the IRS workforce could see cuts, from either buyouts or layoffs, according to an internal memo obtained by Politico. These mass resignations and layoffs could lead to taxpayers experiencing long phone wait times with the IRS, slower processing of tax returns, and fewer tax agents at in-person help centers, as high turnover historically leads to reduced productivity, according to studies.
- Musk let go of the team that created the IRS’s free tax filing program, while about 20 civil service employees resigned in protest of DOGE accessing taxpayer information without proper authorization. This is in addition to cutting other staff, like 50 IT staffers at the Senior Executive Service level, who were placed on administrative leave last month, according to FedScoop. Just recently, it was announced that the Trump administration plans to end IRS Direct File, according to the Associated Press. So if you filed this year’s taxes with it, you will probably want a backup plan for next year’s tax return.
- Some experts estimate there may be fewer tax audits in the coming years due to fewer IRS agents and funding cuts. This could slow down the IRS’s tax audits, which recently (under the Biden administration) focused on wealthy individuals, large corporations, and partnerships.
- President Trump has spoken about abolishing income taxes for certain taxpayers, while some GOP lawmakers seek to eliminate the IRS in favor of a national sales tax or a tariff-based revenue system — a so-called “ERS,” or what Trump calls an External Revenue Service.
President Trump’s nominee for Commissioner is awaiting a Senate hearing. However, as of this writing, there isn’t an indication of when that hearing will be or why it hasn’t occurred.
Acting IRS Commissioner Shapley
In the meantime, Trump recently named Gary Shapley, a Hunter Biden whistleblower, as acting IRS Commissioner.
Shapley, a longtime IRS official, became widely known after he spoke out about his experiences investigating high-profile tax cases, including claims of political interference.
Stay tuned.