Posted on 04/20/2025 7:35:35 PM PDT by Red Badger
The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was replaced Friday, only three days after assuming the role, as his appointment triggered a power struggle between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk of the Department of Government Efficiency, the New York Times reported.
Gary Shapley was replaced after Bessent complained to President Donald Trump that Musk circumvented Bessent’s office to secure the position for Shapley, the NYT reported. The outlet cited people who said they were familiar with the situation. Shapley was a longstanding IRS agent who accused the Biden administration’s Department of Justice of dragging out its probe of Hunter Biden’s tax issues.
The IRS answers to the Treasury Department.
Bessent said his deputy, Michael Faulkender, would replace Shapley.
“Trust must be brought back to the IRS, and I am fully confident that @TreasuryDepSec Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment,” Bessent wrote.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not elaborate on the reported dispute between Bessent and Musk but said “it’s no secret President [Donald] Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country,” according to the Times.
“Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process. And ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump,” Leavitt reportedly added.
The reported struggle is one of several differences between Musk and some of Trump’s cabinet officials. Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed in early March over the former’s push for swift and major cuts at the State Department, according to Politico.
Shapley’s short-lived stint is one of several upheavals the IRS has endured. He had replaced previous Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause, who resigned earlier this month after the Treasury Department agreed to provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement with data of taxpaying illegal immigrants, according to the outlet.
Krause herself was in the position for only two months after another interim commissioner, Douglas O’Donnell, stepped down. Many of the IRS staff have also reportedly either quit or been forced out.
Praising Shapley’s “passion and thoughtfulness” in helping to reform the IRS, Bessent added that Shapley “remains among my most important senior advisors” at the Treasury and would continue to contribute to IRS reforms.
Shapley and another IRS special agent, Joseph Ziegler, had been investigating Hunter Biden’s tax affairs for years before blowing the whistle in 2022 on the younger Biden’s tax evasion on his $8.3 million income, according to a separate Treasury statement.
For their whistleblowing, both agents faced “political persecution by the IRS, including several attempts to discredit their reputations and ruin their careers,” the statement said, adding that the Treasury had restored their careers by hiring them as senior advisors.
Both agents told lawmakers that investigating former President Joe Biden was discouraged despite potentially fishy financial transactions involving him, his son Hunter and their family business entities. They also said they had to argue with federal officials and defend themselves against aspersions.
“After Gary [Shapley] and Joseph Ziegler complete their ongoing year-long investigation, I will ensure they are both in senior government roles that will enable the results of their investigation to translate into meaningful policy changes,” Bessent said.
Weird.
Confused? You won’t be after this weeks episode of Soap
Just to be clear, the position in question is “Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue”. It’s a temporary position to last only until the Senate can confirm a permanent replacement. This was the position that was vacated when the previous commissioner, Melanie Krause, resigned in protest over data sharing between the IRS and ICE.
Trump named Shapley the acting head on April 16 then replaced him with Michael Faulkender 2 days later. The exact reason isn’t really known. The current speculation of it being the result of a rift between Musk and Bessent is largely based on a New York Times article.
Bessent has not removed Shapley from Treasury and has publicly been very complimentary of him. But he apparently has another role for him in mind. He wants Shapley and his fellow IRS whistle blower Joseph Zeigler to conduct a year-long investigation into past abuses at the IRS.
In short, this probably much ado about nothing.
Trump appointed Shapley at the request of Musk without consulting Treasury Secretary Bessent, according to several sources. Bessent went to Trump and requested he reverse that appointment. Sounds like Trump realized it was a mistake to backdoor his Treasury Secretary, and pulled the plug on Shapley.
It’s the Deep State once again demanding their grasp on power not be infringed.
WTF????? Get it TOGETHER you people!!!
None of this will matter when Trump eliminates the federal income tax.
There will still be a need for tax collectors, auditors and the like.
Somebody has to keep an eye on the till..................
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
"Shapley was a longstanding IRS agent who accused the Biden administration’s Department of Justice of dragging out its probe of Hunter Biden’s tax issues."
Here is the corrected version to show how slanted the original copy was:
Shapley was a longstanding IRS agent who accused testified that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice of dragging clearly dragged out its probe of Hunter Biden’s tax issues.
the New York Times reported.
.................................
Daily Caller repeating a NY Slimes article.
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