Senate Democrats are asking officials at the IRS for details after the agency denied access to private taxpayer information following requests from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Trump administration and DOGE’s latest attempts to gain access to agency data resulted in a letter led by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., after reports stated that DHS had requested that the IRS provide information on potentially undocumented immigrants, which the IRS later rejected.
Meanwhile, DOGE asked for tax data to cross-verify information held by benefit-providing agencies to search for fraud.
“We applaud the IRS’s rightful rejection of these broad requests for taxpayer return information … but are deeply concerned about recent comments and actions that left the door open for future requests,” wrote the seventeen Democratic lawmakers.
Tax data falls under some of the country’s strongest privacy laws, passed in the 1970s following the Nixon administration. The lawmakers noted that ensuring the protections are upheld is “an essential foundation for our tax system, which requires the voluntary submission of information to the government.”
“In addition to violating tax privacy laws, the wholesale sharing of tax return information with DHS or DOGE, as described in the press, would also penalize individuals for complying with federal tax law and undermine the IRS’s core mission of tax collection by reducing voluntary tax compliance,” the lawmakers stated.
Senators also voiced concern over the reassignment of the IRS’s top lawyer, William Paul, who was replaced last week by a Trump ally after reportedly being seen as uncooperative with DOGE and its efforts spearheaded by Elon Musk.
“This raises serious concerns that IRS leadership is removing career civil servants who push back against illegal orders to violate privacy laws,” senators said about Paul’s reassignment.
In their formal request, which asks for a response by March 21, the lawmakers asked for records of the requests made by DOGE and DHS with their legal justifications, the tax agency’s responses, and any other similar inquiries from the White House and other agencies – including any involvement from Musk. To ensure ongoing transparency, they are also seeking monthly updates on new data-sharing requests and an explanation for the reassignment of Paul.
Among other efforts in the Senate to keep agencies’ data out of DOGE’s hands, moves in the House have included the submission of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Jamie Raksin, D-Md., to determine DOGE’s legal authority and access to Federal agencies’ data and systems. Prior to that, other requests were made to the administration and agencies that have largely gone unanswered.
DOGE’s aims to access other agencies’ data – including the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Treasury Department – have also spurred oversight measures from lawmakers and the legal system after an outcry on the legal and constitutional authority of Musk and DOGE’s actions.
