The IRS is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said.
The systems at the IRS contain the private financial data tied to millions of Americans, including their tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details and employment information.
“Waste, fraud and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” said Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson. “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it.”
Fields added: “DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on.”
The examination of the IRS system represents the latest move by members of Musk’s team to push the boundaries of access to government data beyond what is typical for political appointees. The Treasury Department has faced questions in recent weeks after lieutenants of Musk who were assigned to the agency started scrutinizing the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s system, which directs payments across the federal government.
Gavin Kliger, a young software engineer who was brought into the Office of Personnel Management as part of the DOGE effort, worked at IRS headquarters Thursday, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. He will be assigned to the IRS as a senior adviser to the acting commissioner. The tax agency is still working out the exact terms of his work at the IRS, though he is expected to have broad access to its systems, according to the two people.
As of Sunday evening, he had not yet gained access to sensitive IRS data, the two people said.
The Washington Post reported earlier Sunday that the IRS was considering a memorandum of understanding that would give DOGE staff members broad access to its systems, including the Integrated Data Retrieval System, which contains taxpayer accounts.
Attempts by Musk’s team to gain access to Treasury Department data have faced legal challenges, and efforts to scrutinize IRS systems could encounter a similar fate.
This month, 19 state attorneys general led by Letitia James of New York sued to block the Trump administration’s policy of allowing political appointees and “special government employees” led by Musk access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems. On Friday, a judge extended a court order blocking that access and said she would decide soon whether to keep the restrictions in place until a final ruling was made, which could take months.
The IRS is preparing to lay off thousands of employees as soon as this week as part of the administration’s initiative to cut costs across the federal government.
The Biden administration was in the process of a multibillion-dollar overhaul of its systems, but Republicans have been working to rescind much of the agency’s funding.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that he hoped to upgrade the antiquated technology at the IRS.
“I have three goals: it’s collections, privacy and customer service,” Bessent said on Fox Business last week. “And I don’t think there’s anyone, anyone in the country, who thinks that they — that the IRS has achieved its potential in either of those three.”
President Donald Trump has long been a critic of the IRS, often complaining that it was overly aggressive in its audits of his finances.
In a fundraising email Saturday, Trump asked recipients whether he should authorize Musk’s team to audit the tax agency.
“Are you sick of being targeted and harassed by the IRS?” Trump asked. “Well maybe it’s time that somebody audited them for a change!”
The New York Times Services
