Three Top IRS Leaders Put on Leave in Second Wave of Removals

Three senior IRS leaders were put on administrative leave this week, the latest move by the Trump administration to shift the direction of leadership at the agency, multiple sources familiar with the situation confirmed.

Karen Howard, the executive director of online services, said she had been placed on leave with pay. Robert Choi, the leader of tax-exempt and government entities division, and Bridget Roberts, the chief of the Direct File program, also were put on leave. Two people familiar with the situation confirmed Roberts’ exit and two people confirmed Choi’s removal.

The personnel changes come in a second wave of sudden exits this summer after the agency put two other senior leaders—Holly Paz and Elizabeth Kastenberg—on leave for unspecified, alleged conduct against Republicans. Both worked for former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure of the 2013 controversy related to close scrutiny of certain tax-exempt groups.

• The IRS is currently being led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after confirmed Commissioner Billy Long left the agency last week to be nominated as the ambassador to Iceland.
• Choi and Roberts couldn’t immediately be reached for comment and the IRS didn’t respond to a request for comment.
• The Washington Post first reported the latest ousters.
• The Direct File program, allowing taxpayers to file taxpayers free via the IRS, has long been a target of Republicans.