IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington Monday June 23, 2014. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) – RTR3VDIU
Trump Fires Corrupt IRS Chief John Koskinen
Trump Picks Replacement For Embattled IRS Chief John Koskinen
Chuck Ross
The Daily Caller
President Trump made it official on Thursday that embattled IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will be out of a job next month.
Trump tapped David Kautter, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for tax policy, to serve as interim IRS commissioner, beginning Nov. 13.
Koskinen’s term ends on Nov. 12. He was eligible for reappointment, but Koskinen is fiercely opposed by congressional Republicans. Members of the House Freedom Caucus attempted but failed to impeach Koskinen last year, largely over his handling of the scandal involving former IRS official Lois Lerner.
Prior to Koskinen’s tenure, Lerner was accused targeting conservative groups who applied for non-profit status. Koskinen was accused of stonewalling congressional investigators looking into Lerner’s activities as well as of covering up for the Obama administration.
Trump had faced pressure from many Republicans to fire Koskinen, who was appointed to head the IRS by President Obama in 2013.
Kautter, Koskinen’s intended replacement, was appointed to his role at Treasury in August. He worked as a tax attorney at the firm Ernst & Young for more than three decades.
Kautter will still perform his Treasury Department duties while overseeing the IRS, according to Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin.
“David will provide important leadership while we wait to confirm a permanent commissioner,” Mnuchin said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.
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