Politics
NEW: Elon Musk’s DOGE Unveils Next Target As Staffers Enter IRS Building
A key member of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team arrived at the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to conduct an audit of the agency’s spending and functions, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal citing three people familiar with the matter.
Gavin Kliger, who has played a key role in Musk’s DOGE initiative while embedded with the Office of Personnel Management, met with senior IRS executives on Thursday. Kliger’s visit marked the first time a member of Musk’s DOGE team has visited the agency’s Washington D.C. headquarters.
According to a separate report from Reuters, senior IRS officials were instructed to identify all “non-essential” contracts for termination, according to an email that was reviewed by the outlet.
In the email, senior executives were told that the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages the vast majority of government contracts, has ordered the IRS to review all contracts that fall under their purview in order to determine whether they will remain necessary. The GSA has the authority to deem a contract if it “merely generates a report, research, coaching, or an artifact,” the email states.
“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 went on to say.
Musk holds a joint-press conference with President Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday
The Reuters report suggests that the IRS will be the next target of Musk’s DOGE initiative, which has been tasked with cutting government waste, redundant spending and the bloated federal bureaucracy. When asked for comment, President Trump praised Musk’s efforts and stated that no federal agency or department will be immune from review.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kliger does not have access to the agency’s computer systems and tax information. He has also yet to make any operational changes, nor has he suggested any layoffs as of this report.
In total, the IRS has about 100,000 employees after a recent expansion, though President Trump has long suggested that recently hired agents would be re-deployed in order to tackle different matters, such as the border crisis. The tax agency is currently in the midst of its busiest season of the year as Americans file their taxes.
The president has tapped former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri to head the agency. While Long has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel resigned on Inauguration Day rather than wait for an inevitable firing. The IRS is currently being led by acting director Douglas O’Donnell, who was recently told that “business as usual at the IRS is unacceptable” in a letter from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO).
Trump’s hiring freeze for federal workers — which was instituted via executive order on Inauguration Day — is more long-lasting for the IRS than it is for other agencies. The administration did limit its deferred-resignation program, however, telling employees who are working on the filing season that they must remain on staff until May 15.
Republican lawmakers have been working to reverse the IRS expansion that was spearheaded by then-President Biden in 2022. Democrats were ultimately able to secure an additional $80 million in funding for the agency while an additional 80,000 or so workers were hired. Republicans opposed the expansion and have already worked to remove some of the agency’s additional funding.
