Why The IRS Went Through 4 Acting Commissioners In 3 Months

On the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, then IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel resigned. IRS commissioners by law serve five-year terms although customarily they step down sometime during their fourth year. It is also common for IRS commissioners to stay on when a new president takes office. So Werfel’s resignation is unusual.

President Trump’s pick to replace Werfel is Billy Long, a former congressman from Missouri. But he has not yet received Senate confirmation nor is there a confirmation hearing scheduled. Until then, an acting IRS commissioner is selected.

But since Werfel’s resignation, there have been four acting commissioners in three months.

The first was Douglas O’Donnell, a 40-year IRS veteran. He previously served as acting commissioner from November 2022 until March 2023, filling in after former Commissioner Charles Rettig stepped down until Werfel’s confirmation. During his short tenure, the IRS laid off thousands of workers, mostly new hires. Furthermore, he had to deal with the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) demands to obtain access to IRS data systems that may include sensitive taxpayer information. O’Donnell retired from the IRS on February 28, 2025.

Replacing O’Donnell was Melanie Krause who was the IRS’s Chief Operating Officer. Krause served as acting commissioner until April 8, 2025. Krause resigned shortly after the IRS reached an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security where the IRS would share taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is believed that the information would be used to find people for deportation purposes. Krause’s decision to resign was also influenced by the future direction of the agency in addition to the resignation of other senior officials at the IRS.

Gary Shapley replaced O’Donnell as acting commissioner on April 16, 2025. Shapley spent most of his career working at the IRS’s criminal investigation division. But he was better known for testifying before Congress about the Hunter Biden tax investigation. His appointment was endorsed by Elon Musk. But a few days later, his appointment was rescinded after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained that Shapley’s appointment was made without his knowledge. But despite his removal, Shapley will remain as a senior advisor.

Lastly, Shapley was replaced by Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender who is the current acting commissioner. Faulkender was Bessent’s choice for the role. During Trump’s first term, he appointed Faulkender to be the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy.

The IRS commissioner is a senior management position, so he or she will rarely be in contact with an average IRS employee. But every IRS employee will wonder whether the new commissioner will support President Trump and DOGE’s efforts to cut IRS staff numbers. Or will he or she try to convince the president to reconsider his strategy?

And how is the public reacting to this? Half of the population sees this as an example of Trump’s incompetence or as a sign that the experienced IRS leadership has no confidence in the direction the agency is going. Some taxpayers may wonder whether they can be more aggressive and creative when preparing their tax returns.

Every tax professional worth their salt will tell opportunistic taxpayers not to falsify their tax returns and that the IRS can be surprisingly resourceful. If their returns are selected for audit, the lack of staff can likely prolong their audit or result in getting an auditor who is overworked.

So how long will Faulkender last? He is not part of the old guard, has worked with Trump before, and has the Treasury Secretary’s blessing. So it is probable that he will remain in the position until a permanent commissioner is selected.

The new acting commissioner will have a lot of work to do. He or she will oversee one of the IRS’s largest reductions in force in the agency’s history and will have to decide where to allocate funding and resources. Also, the commissioner may be involved in controversial matters. For example, Trump recently suggested that the IRS revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status because he thinks the university is not doing enough to address campus antisemitism. The commissioner will have to assure the public that the IRS is fair and will not be politically weaponized, despite the president’s occasional social media posts that suggest otherwise.

Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at stevenchungatl@gmail.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.

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