IRS acting commissioner Melanie Krause, who has been serving only since March, plans to resign from her position, as confirmed by a Treasury Department statement.
"Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change.
As we focus on IT modernization and re-organize the agency to better serve the taxpayer, we are also in the midst of breaking down data silos that for too long have stood in the way of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse and bringing criminals to justice. We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor," said the Treasury Department spokesman.
She is one of a set of senior officials who have resigned following the just-approved deal with the Department of Homeland Security to leverage IRS data to enforce immigration policy (see previous story). Also resigning are acting IRS CFO Bryan Musselman, IRS chief of staff Emily Kornegay, acting IRS chief risk officer Charles Messing, and IRS chief privacy officer Kathleen Walters, according to the New York Times. While there is no official confirmation, Reuters cited an IRS source who said the resignation was at least partially as a result of the deal.
The acting commissioner reportedly plans to resign and participate in the deferred resignation program after she was bypassed on the agreement to share the confidential private information, according to the Washington Post. The previous acting IRS commissioner, Douglas O'Donnell, had opted to retire rather than participate in sharing confidential taxpayer information with immigration enforcement and the Elon Musk-led DOGE team. Prior to O'Donnell, the IRS had been led by Danny Werfel, who resigned in January. This would make Krause the third IRS leader to depart the agency in just four months. Currently, former GOP congressman Billy Long has been nominated to lead the IRS, though he is still awaiting Senate confirmation.
These are but the latest departures, both voluntary and involuntary. Thousands of IRS workers were laid off at the height of tax season, though many of those same IRS employees who were laid off were rehired to help with the tax season load. Nevertheless, last week the IRS shuttered its Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, which had 130 employees, made plans to lay off 20,000 more, and most recently has eyed further staff reductions. Meanwhile, the administration has placed 50 senior IRS tech leaders on paid administrative leave.
Krause's appointment was announced only this past February. She had previously served as the IRS chief operating officer since April 2024 after acting as deputy commissioner of operations support since January of the same year. Krause began her IRS career in October 2021 as the chief data and analytics officer.
The Treasury Department said that the acting commissioner will be serving until at least May 15, "where she will continue the hard work of re-structuring and modernizing the IRS."
