In what’s shaping up to be a chaotic chapter of Trump’s second term, Elon Musk’s handpicked IRS chief, Gary Shapley, has been shown the door—just three days after stepping into the role.
Yes, three days.
According to The New York Times, Shapley’s abrupt exit came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised alarms with Donald Trump, claiming Musk had gone rogue and made the appointment without looping him in. Trump sided with Bessent, and just like that, Shapley was out.
Shapley, a former IRS supervisor turned whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax probe, now holds the unenviable title of shortest IRS leadership stint in recent memory—edging out even Anthony Scaramucci’s infamous 10-day White House run.
This marks the fourth IRS chief departure in just three months, adding to the turmoil at an agency now being dubbed a “zombie agency” by overwhelmed tax professionals.
Here’s a quick timeline of the IRS meltdown:
- Danny Werfel, Biden’s commissioner, resigned the day Trump returned to the White House.
- Doug O’Donnell retired amid sweeping agency cuts.
- Melanie Krause, acting commissioner, stepped down earlier this month after controversy over sharing IRS data with ICE.
- Gary Shapley… well, you know what happened.
The agency’s instability comes as Trump’s team struggles to stay aligned. Musk, now wielding serious influence in the administration, is openly clashing with Bessent, who oversees the IRS. The public rift got even messier when Musk retweeted far-right activist Laura Loomer, criticizing Bessent for his supposed ties to a Trump critic.
Musk simply commented, “Troubling.”
All of this comes as Trump’s official nominee for the IRS, Rep. Billy Long, awaits Senate confirmation—despite recent headlines about his campaign donors wiping out six-figure personal debts.
Bottom line? As the IRS becomes ground zero for political power struggles, it’s clear the inner workings of Trump’s cabinet are anything but unified—and the fallout is just beginning.
