IRS chief resigns following deal to share taxpayer data with ICE; Trump takes aim at Pentagon acquisition

The Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner is set to leave the tax agency, according to a source familiar with the situation, a move that comes after the Treasury Department signed an agreement to share taxpayers’ information with the Department of Homeland Security. Melanie Krause, who joined the IRS in October 2021 as the agency’s chief data and analytics officer, is taking the federal government’s deferred resignation offer and was not pushed to resign, according to the source. A Government Accountability Office and Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General alum, Krause was elevated to acting commissioner from chief operating officer in late February, taking over for Doug O’Donnell, who retired after manning the interim post following Danny Werfel’s January departure. Krause decided to resign after Treasury officials struck a deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the accessing of taxpayer information. Krause was largely excluded from those conversations, per the Washington Post. A Treasury spokesperson said in a statement to FedScoop that she will continue to serve as acting commissioner “until at least May 15th.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that could lead to the cancellation of major defense acquisition programs, boost the procurement of commercial technologies and shake up the workforce. The directive states that “after years of misplaced priorities and poor management, our defense acquisition system does not provide the speed and flexibility our Armed Forces need to have decisive advantages in the future. In order to strengthen our military edge, America must deliver state‐of‐the‐art capabilities at speed and scale through a comprehensive overhaul of this system.” The EO on “Modernizing Defense Acquisition and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base,” directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon leadership to complete a comprehensive review of all major defense acquisition programs (MDAPs) within 90 days.

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