DOGE's New Mission to Declaw The IRS

What’s happening: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in a new expedition approved by President Donald Trump, is investigating possible waste, fraud, and abuse inside Americans’ least favorite agency: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

• The coming storm: As many as 15,000 probationary workers who have not yet gained tenure are expected to be axed from the agency.

• Flashback: President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 hired 87,000 additional IRS employees, doubling its workforce. These agents have been used to conduct audits on individual Americans and small businesses at historic rates.

Data access: A 25-year-old DOGE staffer named Gavin Klinger is reportedly soon to gain access to the IRS’ database that contains sensitive tax information for millions of Americans.

• Foreign fraud rings: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller claimed DOGE could uncover the full scope of foreign fraud rings, wherein foreigners “use fake Social Security numbers…to steal billions in taxpayer benefits.”

Pushback: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) warned that DOGE’s involvement in the IRS audit could delay taxpayer refunds and expose personal data. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS, described the move as "an illegal and blatant power grab," adding, “This is a five-alarm warning.”

The big picture: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (whose department oversees the IRS) stated he had three goals for the IRS: “collections, privacy, and customer service” and said the administration was “going to do a big IT upgrade.”

What’s next: DOGE has just created an account on X called “DOGE IRS” and asked the public to send “insights on finding and fixing waste, fraud and abuse relating to the Internal Revenue Service.”

Why it matters: The IRS could be responsible for massive amounts of money being wasted. If Musk and DOGE are successful in uncovering waste and eliminating it, it could help to re-instill critically low trust in government.