How Trump and DOGE Broke the IRS
The agency was on its way to a turnaround, says former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. DOGE had other plans.
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The Internal Revenue Service may never be the government’s most popular agency, but it could have been the most efficient.
In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which invested $80 billion to fix the IRS. In 2023, then-IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel submitted a 200-page modernization plan to Congress, promising a major overhaul of the agency’s processes and technology. Among these reforms was Direct File, which debuted in 2024. The new free filing service won high marks from government auditors and was popular with taxpayers. Thousands of new staff also came on board to help taxpayers.
Then came Trump. And DOGE.
Overnight, says Werfel, all of the work to improve the IRS “not only stopped, but it reversed.” Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” canceled the funding appropriated by Congress, fired thousands of workers, and tossed out Werfel’s modernization plan. The Inspector General for Tax Administration reports that the agency lost 31,000 workers between January 2025 and January 2026.
Today, signs of severe dysfunction abound:
Tax time was a mess for millions of filers. National Taxpayer Advocate’s mid-year report to Congress called this year’s tax season “frustrating, confusing, and financially disruptive” for many taxpayers. Many filers experienced delays in getting refunds; millions more saw delays in getting help. Some filers never managed to contact a human service rep.
No one’s in charge. The IRS has not had a Senate-confirmed commissioner since President Donald Trump fired Billy Long last year, two months into his tenure. Trump appointed Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano as the agency’s “CEO,” which Senate Democrats decried as a “fake job” designed to circumvent Congressional oversight. Numerous top positions remain vacant.
ICE has had access to IRS data—despite lacking the legal authority. The IRS has handed over nearly 47,000 addresses to immigration authorities, according to a June report from the Inspector General for Tax Administration. Under Section 6103 of the tax code, “Returns and return information shall be confidential… except as authorized” by statute.
Billionaire tax cheats are breathing easier. The decimation of IRS staff has meant a dramatic decline in audits, especially for wealthier taxpayers. In particular, the “Global High Wealth Unit”—which keeps an eye on billionaires—lost 38 percent of its staff, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. (Trump, himself, don’t forget, negotiated lifetime immunity from audit for himself and his family as part of his “weaponization” lawsuit against the federal government.)
Even if you’re not a fan of the IRS (or of paying taxes), these problems matter, Werfel says. “There’s not an industrialized nation in the world that can exist and flourish if the tax system is chaotic,” he said. “It’s like an engine part under the hood. You don’t have to celebrate it, but it needs to work.”
I hope you’ll watch my interview with Werfel in the preview of the Monthly podcast, featured above—not just to learn more about what’s happened to the IRS but to hear from a seasoned, skilled government leader with genuine dedication to the public interest.
People like Werfel are what the federal government desperately needs—but they’ve been ruthlessly purged by the Trump administration and supplanted by cranks, incompetents, and loyalist toadies. Look no further than Fox News host Pete Hegseth, the cosplaying “Secretary of War”; or the acting Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, who’s ascended to one of the nation’s most important and sensitive positions with no intelligence experience at all.
If you listen to Werfel, you’ll understand what government could and should be. You will come away inspired—and angered by what we have lost.