IRS Faces Staffing Crisis After Trump Administration Cuts, Seeks Emergency Hiring Authority

Between Inauguration Day 2025 and the start of 2026, the IRS lost approximately 31,000 employees through buyouts, resignations, and layoffs, reducing its workforce from roughly 103,000 to about 74,000 — a 28% net reduction. The departures were heavily concentrated among experienced staff: around 8,600 employees had 21 or more years of service, 40% of workers aged 55 and older left, and nearly a third of revenue agents and tax examiners departed. To cope, the agency involuntarily reassigned supervisors and high-skilled technical employees earning $100,000 or more to lower-grade roles such as phone answering — positions that can pay as little as $35,000 — while continuing to pay them their full salaries. A Treasury Inspector General report flagged this as a cost inefficiency and warned that a shift toward politically appointed leadership could undermine the IRS's traditional independence. Despite public statements from IRS chief Frank Bisignano and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the 2025 filing season was the agency's most successful ever, an internal February memo obtained by NOTUS showed the IRS simultaneously sought emergency hiring authority for 8,000 new employees, citing a 'severe shortage' of candidates. The Office of Personnel Management confirmed the IRS was granted 'direct hire authority' through September, allowing it to bypass traditional hiring processes.