Gary Shapley was named acting commissioner of the IRS after Melanie Krause resigned, but has now been fired after Elon Musk did not ask for approval from Donald Trump
The acting head of the IRS was dismissed on Friday following complaints from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to President Donald Trump that tech billionaire Elon Musk did not seek approval before appointing Gary Shapley as the agency’s figurehead. Shapley, a veteran IRS agent, was nominated on Tuesday after the previous interim leader, Melanie Krause, stepped down due to an IRS requirement to share taxpayer information with immigration officials.
Bessent was under the impression that Musk bypassed him to install Shapley as the temporary head of the IRS, despite the fact that the tax collection agency reports directly to Bessent.
“It’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country. Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process, and ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, in response to a report by the New York Times about the feud.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency facilitated the appointment through White House channels without consulting or seeking approval from Bessent. With Trump’s consent, Bessent reversed the decision. The next acting head of the IRS, which has seen a succession of temporary leaders under Trump, is expected to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Michael Faulkender.
He will hold the position until the president’s nominee for the permanent role, former congressman Billy Long, assumes the role if approved by the Senate.
The dispute between Musk and Bessent became publicly known Thursday night when Musk brought attention to far-right researcher Laura Loomer’s challenge of Bessent’s pro-Trump commitment.
Musk amplified the bad blood on social media, reacting to Loomer’s post that accused Mr. Bessent of conspiring with a “Trump hater” he had met earlier in the month. He tagged Bessent’s encounter as “troubling,” echoing Loomer’s sentiment of it being a “vetting failure.”
The recent turmoil at the IRS joins a series of political confrontations linked to the agency under the Trump administration. The controversies include using taxpayer information for immigration enforcement, granting access to Americans’ financial details by a committee intended to reduce government spending, a targeted audit request for one of Trump’s associates and challenges over the tax-exempt status of a prominent American university that has resisted Trump’s pressures.
