Warren Leads Senate Investigation into Whether IRS CEO Misled Congress and Public About Agency Staffing Shortage

Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. —- U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, led 13 senators in investigating whether Frank Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), misled Congress and the public about his agency’s staffing problems after the Trump administration gutted the IRS workforce. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined in signing the letter. New reporting reveals that the IRS is scrambling to hire thousands of new workers after the agency fired or pushed out nearly 30,000 workers last year — more than a fourth of its staff. Bisignano has repeatedly defended the cuts, telling Fox News in April 2026 that there was “no staffing shortage” at the IRS and that the agency was “driving customer service to the best season we’ve ever had.” In May, he also told Congress that he had “zero staffing concerns.” Independent reports tell a different story. In January, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) warned that staffing shortages were serious and could impact customer service at the IRS. The National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent watchdog, found that during this filing season, phone wait times more than doubled and that taxpayers struggled to get help with refunds or answers to their questions. Notably, new reporting also revealed that in February 2026 — before Mr. Bisignano testified before Congress that there were no staffing issues — the IRS’ chief human capital officer warned that a staff shortage was affecting the agency’s ability to process tax returns and had created a massive backlog of tax forms and communications. Subsequently, “(t)he IRS ultimately requested, and received, special authority to hire 8,000 employees on an expedited basis.” “This discrepancy requires an explanation. Under federal law, persons who ‘knowingly and willfully … make any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation’ to Congress may be subject to penalties,” warned the lawmakers . Penalties for lying to Congress can include up to five years in prison. The coalition asked Mr. Bisignano to explain whether he misled Congress and the public after repeatedly denying the existence of a staffing shortage at the IRS by August 5, 2026 . Senator Warren has repeatedly warned that the Trump administration’s cuts to IRS staff are shortsighted and will affect Americans’ access to important services: In December 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and King (I-Maine) led 15 senators in pressing Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and IRS Chief of Taxpayer Services Ken Corbin, warning that the IRS was not be prepared for the 2025 tax filing season — and that failure could saddle American taxpayers with filing problems and refund delays. In March 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Wyden (D-Ore.) led their colleagues in urging the Acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to launch an investigation into the Trump Administration’s decision to fire nearly 7,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees and close over 100 Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). The letter followed reporting revealing that the IRS was preparing to gut half of its workforce, threatening to undermine the agency’s ability to crack down on wealthy tax cheats and provide quality service for American taxpayers. ###