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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowElon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service is seeking access to a heavily-guarded Internal Revenue Service system that includes detailed financial information about every taxpayer, business and nonprofit in the country, according to three people familiar with the activities, sparking alarm within the tax agency.
Under pressure from the White House, the IRS is considering a memorandum of understanding that would give officials from DOGE—which stands for Department of Government Efficiency—broad access to tax-agency systems, property and datasets. Among them is the Integrated Data Retrieval System, or IDRS, which enables tax agency employees to access IRS accounts—including personal identification numbers—and bank information. It also lets them enter and adjust transaction data and automatically generate notices, collection documents and other records.
According to a draft of the memorandum obtained by The Washington Post, DOGE software engineer Gavin Kliger is set to work at the IRS for 120 days, though the tax agency and the White House can renew his deployment for the same duration. His primary goal at the IRS is to provide engineering assistance and IT modernization consulting.
The agreement requires that Kliger maintain confidentiality of tax return information, shield it from unauthorized access and destroy any such information shared with him upon the completion of his IRS deployment.
IDRS access is extremely limited—taxpayers who have had their information wrongfully disclosed or even inspected are entitled by law to monetary damages—and the request for DOGE access has raised deep concern within the IRS, according to three people familiar with internal agency deliberations who, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
It was unclear Sunday evening whether acting IRS commissioner Doug O’Donnell or other IRS or Treasury Department officials had granted IDRS access.
O’Donnell’s predecessor, Danny Werfel, resigned on Jan. 20, after Trump announced plans to replace him with former congressman Billy Long (R-Missouri). Long has not yet been confirmed by the Senate.
The news comes as roughly 150 million taxpayers prepare to file returns by the April 15 deadline. In his first term, Trump openly mused about sending IRS agents after political opponents, leaving agency officials on edge about the IRS’s independence.
The tax agency’s systems are widely considered antiquated—many were built using computer coding language from the 1960s—and overhauling the agency’s IT is in line with DOGE’s mandate to modernize government technology. IRS contractors are generally provided system access to repair or maintain IDRS and similar data systems.
But it’s highly unusual to grant political appointees access to personal taxpayer data, or even programs adjacent to that data, experts say. IRS commissioners traditionally do not have IDRS access. The same goes for the national taxpayer advocate, the agency’s internal consumer watchdog, according to Nina Olson, who served in the role from 2001 to 2019.
“The information that the IRS has is incredibly personal. Someone with access to it could use it and make it public in a way, or do something with it, or share it with someone else who shares it with someone else, and your rights get violated,” said Olson.
A Trump administration official said DOGE personnel needed IDRS access because DOGE staff are working to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and improve government performance to better serve the people.”
The official said the “DOGE mission … to bring much-needed efficiency to our bureaucracy” is being carried out “legally and with the appropriate security clearances.”
A security clearance is not a sufficient credential for access to taxpayer systems, according to IRS procedures. IDRS access is governed by compelling needs for tax administration, not national security.
In a statement, White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The Post: “Waste, fraud and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. 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.”
Representatives from the Treasury Department and IRS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kliger arrived unannounced at IRS headquarters on Thursday and was named senior adviser to the acting commissioner. IRS officials were told to treat Kliger and other DOGE officials as contractors, two people familiar said.
A White House official said Sunday, however, that DOGE personnel at the IRS were full agency employees and not contractors.
Kliger met with Ken Corbin, the IRS’s chief of taxpayer services, and Heather Maloy, the agency’s top enforcement official, during his first day at the agency’s headquarters, according to several of the people familiar with the meetings. The agency is preparing for Trump-ordered layoffs, as soon as this week, that could hit roughly 10,000 probationary employees.
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Laying off IRS workers during tax season is absolutely bizarre.
Are we winning yet?
Don’t worry the billionaire boys got you covered.
People who actually cared about rooted out fraud, waste, and abuse at the IRS wouldn’t be firing agents … unless, of course, they were just trying to make it easier for the fellow billionaires to not pay the taxes that the law says they should.
Joe, you don’t get it. The fraud is the American Taxpayer. It’s the Government agency. Says all you need to know about the American Liberal Party!
Where were the guardrails to prevent all of these wasteful expenditures, funded hidden agendas, fraud cases, kickbacks, paying dead people (who cashed those checks?), paying contractors monthly for 20 years after their three month project was finished? Elon and company are going to find the all the dead bodies.
You all are up in arms about Elon enriching himself, but he doesn’t need or want your money. He’s going to do the impossible again and make government operations better with accountability, something the Democrats cannot comprehend, especially after the last four years.
You want to find fraud/waste/abuse? Fine. Bring in an army of accountants, not a random Python programmer tasked with rewriting a massive system written in a language he probably doesn’t understand.
Elon doesn’t need the money, based on what? His car company with declining sales? The way he’s run Twitter into the ground? The more involved he is with something, the worse it goes. Maybe it’s the drug abuse he admits to.
The Democrats cannot comprehend? No, understood, and understand, fully. That’s why the Dems tried to add IRS employees to conduct audits, and to upgrade the computer systems. Additions to staff that were killed in 2023 during the debt limit battles. By whom? you guessed it…the Republicans looking to safeguard the tax fraud they now claim Donald Trump, a world class tax cheat, wants to stop.
Mumps’ two companies, TESLA and SpaceX, have received over $18 Billion…yes, that’s billion, in federal subsidies over the past 10 years…
Selective skepticism – genetic or environmental? That is the question
He already has my money, he has received 5mm/day from the american taxpayer on average going on 7 years…
Ah yes, our beloved Congress—those selfless public servants who have miraculously transformed their humble $174K-a-year salaries into multimillion-dollar fortunes, all while steering the country into a quaint little $37 trillion hole. Give them a round of applause, folks! It takes a truly special kind of financial wizardry to spend money that doesn’t exist, refuse to pass a balanced budget year after year, and then act shocked when someone suggests looking under the hood to see where all the money actually went.
And now, enter DOGE—the Department of Government Efficiency (a phrase so oxymoronic, it practically qualifies as satire itself). Elon Musk and his team are asking for access to the IRS’s sacred vault of inefficiency, a place so mysterious and impenetrable that even Indiana Jones wouldn’t dare venture in. Naturally, the deep state is in full panic mode. Why? Because the last thing they want is for the average American to realize just how much taxpayer money has been funneled into pet projects, “dead” accounts that somehow keep cashing checks, and contractors who have been billing Uncle Sam since the Clinton administration for a project that was supposed to last three months.
And of course, we’re being told that allowing DOGE into the IRS is dangerous. Yes, folks, dangerous! Not because there’s anything to hide, of course. No, no. It’s because… umm… taxpayer privacy! That’s right! The same government that snoops on bank transactions over $600, audits grandma for Venmo-ing her babysitter, and somehow “loses” billions of dollars on a regular basis is suddenly very concerned about the sanctity of your financial records. You know, for your protection.
And let’s not forget the real crime here: laying off IRS workers during tax season. How will the poor, understaffed IRS possibly manage without an army of agents shaking down gig workers and small business owners? Who will ensure that the average American is squeezed for every last penny while certain well-connected individuals miraculously avoid audits year after year? This is truly a dark day for inefficient government bureaucracy.
But let’s be honest—both parties are guilty here. The political establishment, regardless of the little letter next to their name, has been complicit in this decades-long heist. The fear isn’t about DOGE accessing the IRS—it’s about the fact that they might actually start turning over rocks and exposing what’s been hiding underneath.
So, to all the career politicians and bureaucrats quaking in their boots: we’re onto you. And to the American taxpayers? Grab some popcorn. This is about to get interesting.
DOGE – Destruction Of Government by Elon.
“We”. Tell me, who is “we”?
The Steve Bannon “destroy the system” types who claim there’s all this fraud and waste and claim they’re going to take back the country for “the people” … and then get popped for running “we build the border wall” type of frauds taking advantage of those same people?
Or the broligarchs who are dropping big checks, buying big influence, and will at the very least end up with big government contracts to run government systems, while also walking off with all the data that the United States government has collected.
It’s all fun and games to suggest to blow it all up when you can’t articulate what the alternative will be.
Excellent response Don!! You are spot on. Others want to discredit Elon and his team, because they are not accountants. In reality, they are just echoing the messaging of the day from the Democrat news spinners. I don’t believe anyone here knows the qualifications of the hundred or so members of Elon’s team. But I would bet they are all in the top 1% for smarts. Elon doesn’t work with idiots.
My vote is working.
+1000 to Don.
Joe, you don’t get it. The fraud isn’t the American Taxpayer. It’s the Government agency. Says all you need to know about the American Liberal Party!
Donald, go look at how not collecting taxes worked out for Greece.
Love the comments from all. But, my take away is that the guy in charge, POTUS and his unchecked bro Elon are looking into waste and fraud. A guy who does not pay income taxes and will not make his tax returns public with convictions of fraud and a guy who received 100’s of millions of dollars from the US Govt to start his car company and now the same guy that receives 100’s of millions of dollars in defense and space contracts from the US Govt is in charge of looking for waste and fraud. Wake me up from this dream. Or perhaps the American people should just apply some common sense, these guys are not looking out for you and me. Common sense suggests they have a bigger agenda like keeping more money in their pockets and creating chaos to stay in power. Let’s see how it plays out.
Don’t forget that Elon purchased this access for $290 million. That was an investment with an expected ROI.
Want to see corruption on a large scale, check out this article on the before and after net worth of Presidents. Clinton and Obama are the top gainers. Where did all the money come from? Go Elon, go!
https://www.newsweek.com/chart-shows-net-worth-us-presidents-before-after-office-1992975
Did you actual read the article?
“speaking engagements, book advances and royalties, and through investment and consulting fees”
Most presidents have them
You didn’t do anything but read the chart, did you?
“During his first presidency between 2017 and 2021, Trump’s starting net worth of $3 billion went down to $2.3 billion, according to Bloomberg … However, his net worth has since rebounded to $6.5 billion, making him one of the world’s richest 500 people, according to Bloomberg.”
You’re worried about millions and glossing over billions. And that’s ignoring the $2 billion that a Saudi’s gave Trump’s son-in-law for looking the other way while they unalived a dissident.
Debating with people who don’t read articles … is good and easy to win.
Obviously David and Joe can’t do basic math. Yes, the article said Obama make $15.6 million through book advances and royalties, but where did the other $55k MILLION come from? Speaking engagements? Consulting fees? All legit, yeah, right.
I know it’s not only the Democrat Presidents throttling the system for personal gains, but the chart clearly shows the biggest crooks.
As for Trump’s wealth rebound, he has a huge real estate portfolio, the real estate market rocketed after all the free Covid money was dumped into the economy, and his presidency and future presidency potential added value.
The chart does not even show Trump, Scott. He’s got more gains than all the other Presidents combined, and your claim that the guy with numerous bankruptcies and failed businesses just now figured it out, all on the up-and-up?
Just admit it, Trump did way better than any other president than manipulating the system for personal gains. Go look at how much he charged the Secret Service to stay in his hotels… heck, the most notable freebie he gave Americans was the free storage of all those classified materials that didn’t belong to him in that bathroom at Mar-a-Lago …
Where did Trumps families 4.9 BILLION come from after his presidency?
55mm is literally meaningless in the scheme of selling the american economy to other countries…
Enjoy the next four years in your imagined misery. My vote is working.
I am not imaging gas up 30%, grocery already up 5%+, largest massive unemployment change in under 30 days since 2008…
Scott, when Medicaid does not exist and SS stops paying out…. how will you survive?
Don’t bother the True Believers with facts…
Popcorn 🍿 continues to be popped!
Not from America’s farmers… they were among the first that Trump shafted.
“ Contractors, farmers and suppliers in the U.S. and around the world say the Trump administration’s funding freeze has stiffed them on hundreds of millions of dollars in pay for work already done, has forced them to lay off staff and is rapidly putting many near the point of financial collapse.
Farmers and other suppliers and contractors describe fortunes in undelivered food aid rotting in ports and other undelivered aid at risk of theft.”
https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/02/republicans-in-a-red-state-that-went-for-trump-disagree-on-usaid-aid-cuts.html