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Head of IRS Ousted Amid Treasury Power Struggle

April 18, 2025 at 1:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained to President Trump that the latest leader of the agency had been installed without his knowledge and at the behest of billionaire Elon Musk,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Bessent believed that Mr. Musk had done an end run around him to get Gary Shapley installed as the interim head of the IRS, even though the tax collection agency reports to Mr. Bessent.”

“Mr. Bessent got Mr. Trump’s approval to unwind the decision.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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