Gary Shaley, the interim commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, is being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, approached President Donald Trump to say that Shaley was placed at the agency without his knowledge and in the direction of Elon Musk, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Besent received Trump’s approval to withdraw the decision, the source said, and the deputy secretary of Treasury Michael Faulkender is expected to become the next interim chief of the IRS.
The movement and details of the decision were first reported by the New York Times.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Shapley had replaced Melanie Krause, the commissioned commissioner since February, who at the beginning of this month said she resigned from a data exchange agreement with the National Security Department. The agreement allows immigration authorities to send personal information, such as names and addresses, verify against tax presentations.
There have been public signs of conflict between Bessent and Musk in recent days. In a publication on social networks on Thursday night, Musk again published the comments of the extreme right-right activist Laura Loomer alleging a “research crisis” in the White House and attacking Besent for his participation with someone who characterized as Anti-Trump. Loomer promised to “tell President Trump personally and personally show these receipts.”
“Worrying,” Musk wrote in X, the social networks platform he possesses, sharing Loomer’s thread.
Trump has said that Musk would not exceed his role as head of the Government’s efficiency cost department, and during a cabinet meeting last month, Musk said “he has never asked for anything.”
Trump’s choice to lead the IRS permanently, Billy Long, has not yet had a confirmation hearing in the Senate.
