In one of the most dramatic downsizing efforts in modern U.S. bureaucratic history, over 22,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees have accepted a voluntary resignation offer from the Trump administration, agency sources confirmed Tuesday. The mass departure — part of what’s been dubbed a “deferred resignation program” — allows employees to continue receiving full pay and benefits through September 30, even though most will no longer be required to work.
The buyout, announced earlier this month, follows a broader push by the Trump White House and Elon Musk’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to radically shrink the size and cost of the federal workforce, which they view as bloated, inefficient, and unaccountable. In total, nearly 200,000 federal workers have exited government service in recent months through buyouts, resignations, or layoffs — including more than 12,000 at the IRS prior to this most recent wave.
The Trump administration’s aggressive bureaucratic rollback has drawn both praise and concern. Supporters call it a long-overdue cleanup of federal waste, while critics insist it could paralyze essential government functions.
President Trump, who began his second term in January, has framed the moves as part of a broader mandate to “restore competence and sanity” to Washington. Musk, whose DOGE task force is embedded across multiple federal agencies, has vowed to root out inefficiency and waste, particularly in institutions that deal with taxpayer money.
DOGE operatives have been working inside the IRS for several weeks, reportedly reviewing the agency’s internal databases and audit practices. Musk has not ruled out further technological overhauls to streamline tax collection and has suggested that a “blockchain-inspired” approach to auditing could eventually replace much of the IRS’s manual infrastructure.
The IRS workforce ballooned under the Biden administration, which added over 20,000 employees under the Inflation Reduction Act (though authorizing over 80,000), arguing that boosting enforcement and customer service would significantly increase federal revenue. But Trump and Musk’s counter-approach focuses on slashing administrative redundancy and utilizing technology to fill in the gaps.
The long-term impact of this dramatic IRS shakeup remains to be seen. Analysts warn that fewer personnel could slow tax return processing, delay refunds, and increase vulnerability to tax fraud — just as the 2025 filing season ramps up.
But for Trump’s supporters, the cuts are a necessary corrective to a government many believe is too big, too intrusive, and too expensive.
“This is just the beginning,” a senior White House official told Reuters. “We’re returning power — and resources — back to the people, not the bureaucrats.”
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