Acting IRS commissioner resigning after agency reaches data-sharing deal with immigration authorities

By Rene Marsh, CNN

(CNN) — Acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Melanie Krause informed her staff Tuesday she is leaving the agency amid internal chaos and the exodus of several senior IRS officials, according to two current IRS employees and one former IRS employee.

Krause’s decision to accept the agency’s deferred resignation offer comes on the heels of the IRS and Department of Homeland Security finalizing an agreement Monday to provide sensitive taxpayer data to federal immigration authorities to help the Trump administration locate and deport undocumented immigrants.

The controversial data sharing agreement between the agencies was one factor that played a role in Krause’s decision to leave, according to one source with knowledge of the situation. The source said that the last draft of the agreement that Krause had been involved with, and had reviewed, was different than the final agreement. Krause learned about the details of the final agreement from the news, the source said.

There were other reasons Krause wanted to leave, the source said, including the direction the agency was going in and the exodus of multiple senior executive career employees within the last few days.

“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,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement. “We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.”

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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