Acting IRS commissioner to retire amid agency disruptions

Doug O’Donnell, the acting head of the IRS, is expected to announce his retirement on Tuesday amid turbulence at the tax collection agency, according to a person familiar with his plans.

His planned departure comes nearly a week after the Trump administration started laying off thousands of agency workers and following a bid by personnel from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to gain access to taxpayer data.

O’Donnell has worked at the IRS for four decades and took over leadership of the agency in January, after President Donald Trump made it known he planned to replace then-Commisioner Danny Werfel. His exit comes in the midst of tax-filing season for millions of Americans.

The New York Times first reported O’Donnell’s retirement Monday night.

Melanie Krause, currently the chief operating officer at the IRS, will take over for O’Donnell as interim chief.

It wasn’t immediately known how related O’Donnell’s decision was to the recent disruptions at the agency.

The IRS laid off more than 6,500 employees last week, as part of the Elon Musk-led effort to downsize government.

A member of Musk’s DOGE also recently sought access to sensitive IRS systems. But DOGE will not be able to see individual taxpayers’ information, according to an agreement that sources claimed the Treasury Department reached last week with the White House.

O’Donnell previously served as acting commissioner in 2022 and 2023, before Werfel was confirmed. He again became acting commissioner last month after Werfel resigned the day that President Trump was inaugurated.

Trump has picked former Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) to be IRS commissioner, but the Senate so far has done little on Long’s nomination.