The representative of the Internal Revenue Service is scheduled to announce on Tuesday that he is retiring. Three people familiar with the move said the latest agency will set out after Elon Musk's team seeks access to sensitive data and massive layoffs.
Doug O'Donnell, a 40-year IRS veteran, took over the agency last month after resigning at the beginning of President Trump's term. IRS Chief Operating Officer Melanie Kraus is expected to become the new acting leader after O'Donnell left Friday, people said they were allowed to speak publicly, on condition of anonymity. He said he was not there.
O'Donnell was considering resigning soon, even before Trump took office, and he began cutting thousands of jobs in collectors, the two said. Trump has appointed former Republican Rep. Billy Long, a former Republican lawmaker who actively sold tax credits the IRS had tried to close, and actively sold tax credits that led around 100,000 staff.
Still, the IRS was on the Trump administration's cross. More than 6,700 employees were fired last week as part of Musk's push to dramatically reduce the size of his workforce.
Last week, the IRS reached a contract to set the terms of employment for Gavin Kliger, a young software engineer who works in Elon Musk's so-called government efficiency office, who is temporarily working for tax agencies. The agreement prohibits Kliger from looking at information about individual taxpayers.
