Posted on 04/18/2025 1:44:42 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
President Trump has replaced the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service after his appointment just days earlier set off a power struggle between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the billionaire Elon Musk, five people with knowledge of the change said Friday.
Mr. Bessent’s deputy, Michael Faulkender, will be the new acting leader, replacing Gary Shapley, the Treasury Department confirmed on Friday. Mr. Faulkender will be the third acting leader of the agency this week. Mr. Bessent had complained to Mr. Trump this week that Mr. Musk had done an end run around him to get Mr. Shapley installed as the interim head of the I.R.S., even though the tax collection agency reports to Mr. Bessent, the people familiar with the situation said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The clash was the latest instance of Mr. Musk’s influence in the Trump administration that has alarmed top officials. It was also the latest upheaval at the tax agency, with much of its staff pushed out or quitting. Mr. Trump earlier this week called for the I.R.S. to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status after the school refused to impose sweeping changes demanded by the administration.
Mr. Shapley, a longtime I.R.S. agent, gained fame among conservatives after he claimed that the Justice Department had slow-walked its investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes.
Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency pushed Mr. Shapley’s appointment through White House channels, but Mr. Bessent was not consulted or asked for his blessing.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“The clash was the latest instance of Mr. Musk’s influence in the Trump administration that has alarmed top officials”
The Marxocrats don’t seem to pay no mind to Soros though.
Folks better get their act together. This is keystone cops stuff
The Times is sowing seeds of dissention where none actually exists
Firing a director, even an acting director, within days of his being installed, is OBVIOUSLY evidence of a rift.
Oh, good, five unnamed sources and four authors. The NYT is at it again.
Evidence came to light
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