IRS leader decided to resign just hours before Trump took office

The leader of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decided to resign just before Donald Trump was sworn in as the President of The United States. 

USA Today reports that IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel tendered his resignation on Monday.

This comes a full three years before his term was set to expire.

This has many asking why it is that Werfel bowed out early. We know that those who have jobs in Washington, D.C., are not particularly eager to give those jobs up.

The resignation

USA Today reports that Werfel sent a letter around to IRS employees on Friday indicating that he would resign as soon as Trump is sworn in.

Per the outlet:

Werfel, in a letter to agency staff obtained by the Wall Street Journal said that if he had tried to remain in office during Long's confirmation process, it would have been "hard to predict what type of distractions this unprecedented scenario would create."

Just the News quotes the letter itself.

It, in part, states:

After significant introspection and consultation with others, I’ve determined the best way to support a successful transition is to depart the IRS on January 20, 2025. We have delivered two of the best filing seasons in decades, with significantly improved phone, online and in-person service ... We answered nearly nine in 10 calls the last two filing seasons, up from fewer than two in 10 calls, while cutting call wait times from 30 minutes to under five minutes.

There may, however, be a little bit more to the story.

Here is what's going on:

It seemed a pretty sure bet that Trump was actually going to fire Werfel, or otherwise have him removed.

Before taking office, Trump nominated former Missouri Rep. Billy Long to replace Werfel. Chances are that this would have led to some sort of fight.

USA Today reports, "The IRS traditionally experiences little turnover between presidents. Werfel's resignation marks the first inauguration day exit of an IRS commissioner since Bill Clinton assumed office in January 1993."

Now, one thing to note is that Trump's pick to lead the IRS - Billy Long - will not be able to simply step into Werfel's shoes. Rather, Long does still have to be confirmed by the members of the U.S. Senate.

What this means is that there is going to be an interim leader of the IRS, and, at the time of this writing, it appears that this interim leader will be Werfel's deputy, Doug O'Donnell.