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Trump’s pick for acting IRS commissioner is ousted days after his appointment

By CNN

Published April 19, 2025 6:36 am

CNN

By Kevin Liptak, Marshall Cohen and Evan Perez, CNN

(CNN) — Gary Shapley, whom President Donald Trump named acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service earlier this week with the support of Elon Musk, will no longer serve in the role, sources told CNN — a win for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s office, which had opposed his appointment.

Michael Faulkender, the deputy secretary of the Treasury, will be taking on the position, the sources said.

Shapley had the backing of Musk and congressional Republicans, while Bessent’s office had reservations, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Bessent was out of the country when Trump appointed Shapley.

Shapley’s ouster from the top leadership role, which was first reported by The New York Times, ends a whiplash week at the IRS, which is a bureau of the Treasury Department. Trump signed the paperwork appointing Shapley on Tuesday, triggering panic among some career civil servants.

Shapley, who helped lead the Hunter Biden investigation, had provided whistleblower testimony to Congress as Republicans claimed partisan bias by Justice officials had hindered the investigation of the son of President Joe Biden. Republicans had celebrated his ascension at the IRS after Trump had previously named him deputy chief of IRS criminal investigations.

The outgoing acting commissioner, Melanie Krause, announced Shapley’s elevation in an agency-wide email on Wednesday, according to three sources.

“I’ve made the decision to step down as acting commissioner and today is my last day in the office before I transition into a leave status,” Krause wrote. “I also have the privilege of sharing that President Trump has appointed Gary Shapley as the next acting commissioner.”

But days after his appointment, Shapley was on his way out of the top leadership role.

Bessent wrote on X on Friday that “trust must be brought back to the IRS,” and expressing confidence that Faulkender “is the right man for the moment.”

He also praised Shapley, noting that “he remains among my most important senior advisors” at Treasury and vowing that he will have a “senior government role” after completing his ongoing internal review of what the administration has described as political interference in the Hunter Biden tax fraud investigation.

A Treasury spokesperson added that Faulkender “is the United States Treasury’s choice to temporarily lead the IRS during its current transition toward a more efficient, more effective agency to best serve the American people.”

“We urge Congress to act quickly to confirm permanent leadership at the IRS to ensure its ability to best serve taxpayers going forward,” the spokesperson added.

Including Shapley’s short-lived tenure, Faulkender will be the fifth person to lead the beleaguered tax-collection agency this year. Trump’s pick for full-time commissioner – former Missouri Rep. Billy Long – awaits confirmation in the GOP-led Senate.

CNN has reached out to the IRS.

During Trump’s first term, Faulkender worked at the Treasury Department as assistant secretary for economic policy. He was confirmed in March by the Senate, in a 53-43 party line vote, to be the deputy secretary under Bessent during Trump’s second term.

Faulkender’s responses to written questions from senators shed light on his philosophy surrounding the IRS’ top priorities. On March 6, he wrote that the agency should “enforce the tax code in an even-handed manner” and raised concerns about “overly aggressive and poorly targeted audits that burden ordinary taxpayers and small businesses.”

He also offered reassurances to Democratic concerns that Trump might pressure the IRS to do his political bidding, including that he might order audits of perceived enemies.

“If confirmed, I will support the fair and impartial implementation of our nation’s tax laws, including the important safeguards against improper interference with taxpayer audits and investigations,” Faulkender said, later adding, “I will comply with all relevant laws.”

He pledged to protect taxpayer privacy and said the Treasury Department “will comply with” court orders restricting the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing highly sensitive IRS databases. Some of those limitations on Elon Musk’s team have since been relaxed while legal cases play out.

“The protection of tax returns and tax return information is essential to maintaining taxpayers’ confidence in the IRS and the tax system more generally,” Faulkender wrote. “I am absolutely committed to upholding taxpayer privacy rights… if confirmed, I will ensure that any access is in compliance with the statutory protections found in the tax code.”

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct that Shapley is still a criminal investigator at the IRS.