President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will conduct an audit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Trump told reporters that “just about everybody’s going to be looked at” as his administration continues its effort to eliminate waste, corruption, and fraud in the federal government.
According to The Daily Mail, Gavin Kliger, one of DOGE’s top staff members, visited the IRS on Thursday with other DOGE employees to conduct a review of the government agency.
While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether his administration was expecting to “close the IRS” in light of DOGE’s visit to the IRS. In response, the 47th president said, “No, I don’t expect it, but I think the Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else. Just about everybody’s going to be looked at.”
Trump said DOGE leader Elon Musk and the staff members at the department have been “doing a hell of a job” at eliminating waste in the federal government.
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“It’s an amazing job they’re doing,” Trump told reporters. “You know that force is building. I call it the force of super-geniuses, but it’s building.”
“They go up and they talk to some of the people about certain deals, and the people get tongue tied. They can’t even talk, because these people get it,” Trump added. “They’re very smart people. We need smart people.”
Two sources familiar with DOGE’s review of the IRS told Reuters that Kliger met Thursday with senior executives at the IRS and that the meeting was the first time a member of DOGE had made an appearance at the IRS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
On Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, regarding DOGE’s appearance at the IRS headquarters, saying, “My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.”