Chaos gripped the IRS almost as soon as DOGE staffers set foot inside the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters last month, according to new CNN reporting. Sources inside the IRS, speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, described an atmosphere of fear, confusion, and intimidation.
“They just randomly drop by people’s offices, demanding access to systems; they’re bullying us and there’s no discipline in what they are doing, which really worries me,” one IRS employee said. Another senior staff member was more blunt: “It’s a cluster----, and I can’t believe no one is stepping in to do anything.” Those sentiments were echoed by a third source. “We are paralyzed,” the employee lamented.
Over the past month, DOGE has instigated widespread layoffs, with nearly 20 percent of the IRS workforce expected to be cut by mid-May. As the shakeup continues, morale within the agency has taken a hit. “It’s routine now to see people crying in the office,” said one IRS employee, who also serves as a local union leader. Another current employee revealed that managers are going around apologizing for firings they had no part in.
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Despite the internal chaos, the White House has defended DOGE’s role. “This story is based on anonymous sources and the fraudsters always scream the loudest,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in response to CNN’s reporting. “The vast majority of Americans support President Trump rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.”
However, critics argue that these changes could undermine the IRS’s ability to function. Former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson described the cuts as “gutting the agency,” and warned that the loss of experienced staff could damage the IRS’s long-term ability to provide an effective service. “You’ve got a lot of new blood getting fired, that’s supposed to be the future of the workforce,” Olson said.
The disruption has been felt across the agency, with IRS sources reporting increasing delays and declining customer service. One employee, reflecting on the situation, said that many staffers now face “long wait times” as the agency loses its capacity to respond effectively to taxpayers.
As tax season progresses, the full extent of DOGE’s influence on the IRS remains unclear, but sources warn that the changes could have long-lasting effects on the agency’s ability to carry out its core functions. While the IRS’s automated tax return systems have been unaffected, agency staffers warn that taxpayers may experience the paralyzing effects of DOGE in the long term as customer service wait times increase as the agency loses staff.
