Key Takeaways:
- IRS Cuts Nearly Half Its Staff: About 34,000 IRS employees have been furloughed as the government shutdown drags into its second week, leaving call centers closed and key services stalled.
- Essential Functions Continue: Only 54 percent of the workforce will remain on duty to process tax payments, safeguard data, and handle criminal investigations while most administrative functions are suspended.
- Fiscal Reform at the Center: The shutdown, driven by a funding impasse between President Trump and Congress, underscores Trump’s push for fiscal responsibility and smaller, more efficient government.
As the government shutdown stretches into its second week, nearly half of the IRS workforce — roughly 34,000 employees — has been furloughed, leaving taxpayers facing longer wait times, stalled refunds, and slower service just as the fall filing season ramps up.
According to the agency’s contingency plan released Wednesday, only 54 percent of staff — about 39,870 employees — will remain on duty to handle essential functions such as tax processing, data security, and criminal investigations. Everything else, including taxpayer call centers and most administrative services, is grinding to a halt.
In a letter to staff, IRS officials said the shutdown would last through April 30, 2026, unless Congress restores funding. The partial operations will rely on leftover Inflation Reduction Act funds, which were never intended to serve as a stopgap for basic government operations.
While the White House has pushed for deeper spending reforms and stricter accountability for agencies like the IRS, Democrats have resisted efforts to rein in the federal budget.
National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald warned of “increased wait times, backlogs and delays implementing tax law changes,” while calling for an immediate end to the shutdown.
But for taxpayers, the real question remains: how did one of the most bloated agencies in Washington still manage to run out of money?
President Trump has made it clear that fiscal discipline and smaller government are nonnegotiable. As the shutdown drags on, it’s becoming a litmus test for whether Washington can finally start living within its means.