EXCLUSIVE — Top officials in a key division of the IRS appear to have a strong bias against President Donald Trump, with some officials going so far as to boost content accusing the president of treason or fascism, the American Accountability Foundation found.
In a new report, the watchdog group identified seven current leaders in the IRS’s Large Business and International division who are registered Democrats or Democratic donors and eight who, while not registered as Democrats, have signaled liberal or anti-Trump sentiments via their social media activity. Just two out of the division’s 40 senior officials were found to be Republicans. A full breakdown of the division’s leadership is difficult to compile using public records because Virginia, where many federal workers live, does not have partisan voter registration.
The Large Business and International division is led by Holly Paz, a longtime bureaucrat who donated $4,000 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008 and was criticized by congressional Republicans in 2013 over her involvement in the IRS’s targeting of conservative nonprofit organizations. Her division is responsible for overseeing the taxation of businesses with assets exceeding $10 million.
“The Large Business and International Division is one of the largest and most powerful departments of the IRS, and it’s currently being led by Democrats and fierce critics of President Trump,” the AAF report said. “The tilt toward Democrats, liberals, and Trump critics is currently at an unsustainable level and leaves open the possibility that management could bring about another scandal that targets supporters of the president and conservatives.”
Some of the divisional leaders have publicly signaled discontent with the Trump administration’s policy.
For instance, Eric Cirelli, director of field operations and high-income compliance, liked a post calling the Department of Government Efficiency “lawless” and another describing Trump’s cuts to the IRS as “irresponsible.” Meanwhile, Roy Souders, director of technology and program solutions, liked a post accusing the Trump administration of waging “unprecedented attacks” on federal jobs, reposting comments characterizing the push as “cruel and unjustifiable.”
The Trump administration has not been shy about purging IRS officials who appear out of step with its agenda. Earlier this month, the agency quietly removed its left-leaning spokeswoman, Jodie Reynolds, who had worked at the agency for 27 years. Reynolds had a history of making and liking posts critical of Trump on social media.
Kathleen Kruchten, who heads the division’s Cross Border Activities Practice Area, has a similar history of liberal social media use. In addition to donating hundreds of dollars to Democratic political committees since 2019, she has reposted content on social media advocating racial reparations, supporting abortion, and accusing Trump of being “deranged” and saying he has “authoritarian motives.” Other left-of-center social media activity has come from Paul Kruse, director of field operations west, who liked a post linking Trump to “fascism” and Chad Fuhrman, director of field operations engineering, who liked a post from his wife accusing the president of treason.
IRS LEADERSHIP HAS HISTORY OF BANKROLLING DEMOCRATS, SUPPORTING LEFT-WING MOVEMENTS
AAF is a right-of-center nonprofit organization that specializes in compiling research and conducting oversight of the federal government. It receives funding from mainstream conservative grantmakers such as the Club for Growth and Donors Trust. The organization previously penned a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent showing that 60% of individuals occupying leadership positions in the IRS’s commissioner and deputy commissioner’s offices have financially or verbally supported liberal causes.
The IRS did not respond to a request for comment.
