President Trump’s promise to gut the IRS is in full swing, with a 25% workforce cut since January, but a new proposal to hire 11,000 customer service agents has some supporters fearing a betrayal of his "drain the swamp" pledge.
Trump’s executive order on day one froze federal hiring, with a special lock on the IRS until Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent greenlights exceptions. This was a direct hit at the Biden administration’s $80 billion IRS expansion under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which aimed to add up to 87,000 agents. By July, the IRS shed 26,000 jobs, dropping from 103,000 to 77,000 through buyouts, resignations (22,000 accepted), and firings, including 7,000 probationary staff. Enforcement took the biggest hit: 27% of tax examiners and 26% of revenue agents are gone, crippling Biden’s audit push.
The Department of Government Efficiency), was driving the cuts, eyeing another 50,000 jobs slashed to streamline operations and save billions. “The IRS won’t harass hardworking Americans anymore”, Trump declared.
So why the hiring talk? The White House’s 2026 budget pitches 11,000 new customer service reps, a 50% boost to that division, to handle 100 million annual calls and in-person queries. Without them, service levels could plummet to 16%, delaying refunds and frustrating taxpayers. “We’re cutting the fat, not the folks who help you get your money back”, a Treasury official said, defending the plan.
But House Republicans are balking, blocking the funding and slamming it as a step back from Trump’s anti-bureaucracy crusade. “We didn’t vote to shrink one army just to build another”. said Matt Gaetz, echoing grassroots anger on X, where posts call the move a “sellout.”
But with Congress holding the purse strings, don’t expect new hires anytime soon. For now, the IRS is leaner, but the fight over its future is just heating up.