2nd IRS offical leaving:Obama names Daniel Werfel as acting head of scandal ridden IRS

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Pastor Dewey Moede
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Update at 3:29pm 5/16/13:A second top Internal Revenue Service official has announced plans to leave the agency amid the controversy over the targeting of conservative groups, according to a statement from the IRS. An internal IRS memo says Joseph Grant, commissioner of the agency’s tax exempt and government entities division, will retire June 3. Grant joins Steven Miller, who was forced to resign as acting IRS commissioner on Wednesday.As part of his duties, Grant oversaw the IRS division that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

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President Obama on Thursday appointed senior budget adviser Daniel Werfel as the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, as that agency manages a scandal stemming from its targeting of conservative groups. The appointment is effective May 22.

Obama on Wednesday demanded and accepted the resignation of the acting IRS commissioner, Steven Miller. The president said it is important to have a new leader for the organization while it attempts to put in safeguards to ensure the special screening of political advocacy groups does not happen again. Werfel has agreed to remain in the new job through Sept. 30.Werfel has served for most of the Obama administration as controller of the Office of Management and Budget, overseeing federal procurement, financial disclosure and working to fight waste. A lawyer by training who also worked as a budget official in the George W. Bush administration, Werfel has helped reduce the administration’s level of improper payments to contractors and has been working to manage the mandatory budget cuts known as the sequester.

“Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an effective leader who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill,” Obama said in a statement. “The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time.”

Werfel has served as controller of the Office of Management and Budget since October 2009, making him chiefly responsible for the government’s financial management, government contracting, information technology and personnel policy.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said he wasn’t familiar with Werfel, but would be open to considering him as a permanent commissioner.

“If I was the president I would find the very best business man I possibly could who’d be willing to take it over and have the authority to be able to straighten the mess out,” Hatch said. “I don’t know whether Werfel has that kind of dimension or not, but I hope he does.”

The appointment comes as Obama tries to quell multiple controversies. Earlier Thursday, Obama called for Congress to pass funding beefing up security at U.S. diplomatic facilities, after last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya.

At a press conference Thursday, Obama reiterated that he did not know aboutIRS targeting of conservative groups before an inspector general’s report was leaked to the news media, and he vowed to “hold accountable” anyone involved in the practice.

He also dismissed the idea of appointing a special counsel to investigate the matter, saying that a criminal investigation announced by the Justice Department and the IRS inspector general’s probe were sufficient.

Obama made the remarks in a joint news conference with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 

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