President Trump FIRES Acting IRS Chief Just DAYS After Appointment

President Trump has just removed Acting IRS Chief Gary Shapely from his role after an internal dispute with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

After former IRS Chief Melanie Krause resigned over the agency’s deal to share illegal alien data with ICE, Shapely was named interim IRS Commissioner.

If his name sounds familiar, it’s because Gary Shapely was a whistleblower who exposed the DOJ’s cover-up of the Hunter Biden tax fraud investigation in 2022.

Just two days ago, Shapley was appointed to the role:

🚨 BIG NEWS: Gary Shapley, the IRS whistleblower who exposed the DOJ’s cover-up of the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, is now Acting IRS Commissioner.

Congratulations, Gary—your courage and professionalism will transform the IRS. pic.twitter.com/DhotnPsCUU

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 16, 2025

Now, Shapely has been ousted from the position.

IRS whistleblower on Hunter Biden is out as acting commissioner just days after getting the job https://t.co/E0d0mkzGWi pic.twitter.com/LBu7LoxWHs

— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) April 18, 2025

Here’s what happened…

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed President Trump that Shapely was given the position without Bessent’s knowledge or approval.

According to media reports, Shapely was appointed to the role by Elon Musk, who didn’t inform Bessent.

Notably, Elon Musk responded to a post on X from Laura Loomer criticizing Bessent:

The strong Soros affiliation is concerning

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2025

The New York Times broke the story:

President Trump removed the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service, Gary Shapley, after less than a week on the job. The change was prompted by a power struggle between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk. Bessent, who oversees the tax agency, had complained that Musk had persuaded the White House to appoint Shapley without his knowledge.

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Bessent’s deputy, Michael Faulkender, will replace Shapley, who had only been selected for the job on Tuesday. The previous acting I.R.S. leader, Melanie Krause, resigned after the Trump administration decided to use I.R.S. data to help deport undocumented immigrants. The agency has also been under pressure from Trump to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status — a push that has deeply troubled current and former officials.

The clash between Bessent and Musk escalated into a public feud last night. Musk amplified a social media post from the far-right researcher Laura Loomer, who had accused Bessent of colluding with a “Trump hater.”

Bessent is also a close adviser to the president, and his fears about the recent tariff-induced downturn in financial markets seemed to influence Trump. People close to the president said Trump had turned more cautious on policies that could stoke extreme volatility again. They said, for example, that he has for months been aware that trying to oust Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, could cause a downturn. For now, they said, Trump seemed persuaded to hold off.

NBC News added:

Gary Shapley, the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, is being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approached President Donald Trump to say that Shapley was placed into the role without his knowledge and at Elon Musk’s direction, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Bessent received Trump’s approval to roll back the decision, the source said. A Treasury spokesperson confirmed that Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender had been selected to become the next acting head of the IRS.

“Trust must be brought back to the IRS, and I am fully confident that Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment,” Bessent said in a statement, adding that Shapley would remain a top adviser to him on IRS reform.

“Gary Shapley’s passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work, and he remains among my most important senior advisors at the U.S. Treasury as we work together to rethink and reform the IRS,” Bessent said.

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