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“… “They just randomly drop by people’s offices, demanding access to systems; they’re bullying us and there’s no discipline in what they are doing, which really worries me,” said one IRS employee.‘‘Delete’ is one of their favorite terms’: Inside DOGE’s IRS takeover ahead of tax season
“… Within minutes of showing up, a twenty-something software engineer dispatched from DOGE began demanding access to the tax collection agency’s most protected internal databases – first the IT systems and then one containing the personal and financial data for millions of American taxpayers and another system housing IRS contracts.
… Another DOGE staffer sought to shut down nearly all of IRS’s congressionally funded programs and initiatives planned for this fiscal year – many aimed at modernizing the agency and improving the tax filing process.
As DOGE has set up shop inside the IRS over the past month, the agency has fired thousands of workers and auditors and set out to shutter more than 110 taxpayer assistance offices across the country. Widespread layoffs are in the works, with plans to cut nearly 20% of all IRS employees by May 15.
The barnstorming, which has played out at multiple agencies, has thrown the IRS into turmoil at the height of tax season. While the business of processing returns and issuing refunds has been ongoing, sources say these DOGE actions could undermine the long-term operations of the IRS, which handles nearly all accounts receivable for the federal government. …”
“It’s a clusterf***, and I can’t believe no one is stepping in to do anything,” said another top staffer who worked at the IRS.
“We are paralyzed,” said a third IRS source.
Another current IRS employee, who works outside Washington and is a local union leader, said it’s now routine to see people crying in the office and managers going around apologizing for firings they had no decision in.
“Morale is suffering,” the person said.
… Along with reducing headcount, sources say that it appears that DOGE’s priority at the IRS has been around accessing its vast data systems.
… The employee told CNN Corcos was making the demand without “fully understanding how the agency works within the federal government.”
“They’ll come in and say we’re going to delete that initiative– ‘delete’ is one of their favorite terms,” said the IRS employee.
“So, we are scrambling to figure out ‘Does Sam have that authority? Does Gavin have that authority? Did Treasury give them that authority?’”
Corcos also pushed for a fast-tracked background check which would have required federal employees to work on the weekend so he could quickly gain access to the IRS IT system.
By the following Monday, the agency’s top HR officer was placed on administrative leave and told she was dismissed for being insubordinate after Kliger’s demand for an expedited background check for his DOGE partner had not been fulfilled over the weekend, sources said. …”