"With Trump administration targeting recent hires across the government, the terminations hit particularly hard in Ms. Crowell’s division, large business and international. Of the more than 7,000 people laid off from the I.R.S. so far, roughly half worked in her department.
As a result, the I.R.S. may struggle even more with its basic mission of collecting taxes. Work-intensive investigations into large businesses and rich Americans could decline, a drop in enforcement that would add to the deficit even as Elon Musk says his team is helping narrow it.
The audit Ms. Crowell was in the middle of conducting is now adrift. Five of the nine people working on it, including Ms. Crowell, were laid off. What she called a slam-dunk case for the I.R.S. may not be finished.
“We were going to work through these issues and have it done in an effective professional and collaborative manner,” she said. “All of the momentum we had is gone. I’m not sure they’re going to be positioned and have the support they need to restructure and reconvene to overcome all of this.”
Firing probationary employees like Ms. Crowell was just the beginning of President Trump’s far-reaching agenda for the I.R.S. The administration is preparing budget cuts and further layoffs that could ultimately force the I.R.S. to shed as much as half of its 100,000-person work force — a drastic reduction that could mean many Americans face less scrutiny, and receive less help, on their taxes. At the same time, Mr. Trump is asserting more political control over an agency that has historically been insulated from changes in leadership at the White House."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/irs-taxes-trump-musk-federal-workers.html
#USA #Trump #DOGE #Musk #IRS #FederalWorkers
As a result, the I.R.S. may struggle even more with its basic mission of collecting taxes. Work-intensive investigations into large businesses and rich Americans could decline, a drop in enforcement that would add to the deficit even as Elon Musk says his team is helping narrow it.
The audit Ms. Crowell was in the middle of conducting is now adrift. Five of the nine people working on it, including Ms. Crowell, were laid off. What she called a slam-dunk case for the I.R.S. may not be finished.
“We were going to work through these issues and have it done in an effective professional and collaborative manner,” she said. “All of the momentum we had is gone. I’m not sure they’re going to be positioned and have the support they need to restructure and reconvene to overcome all of this.”
Firing probationary employees like Ms. Crowell was just the beginning of President Trump’s far-reaching agenda for the I.R.S. The administration is preparing budget cuts and further layoffs that could ultimately force the I.R.S. to shed as much as half of its 100,000-person work force — a drastic reduction that could mean many Americans face less scrutiny, and receive less help, on their taxes. At the same time, Mr. Trump is asserting more political control over an agency that has historically been insulated from changes in leadership at the White House."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/irs-taxes-trump-musk-federal-workers.html
#USA #Trump #DOGE #Musk #IRS #FederalWorkers
