News from Around the Web for Feb 5, 2025

[Hol]

News From Around the Web​

#10 USAID to Put Nearly All Staff on Leave Friday; Overseas Missions Shuttering - Sara Cook and Caitlin Yilek for CBS News, Libs of TikTok, Charlie Kirk/Stephen Miller, and R A W A L E R T S on X​

Nearly all staff for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, will be placed on leave Friday night, the agency announced on its website Tuesday night. Earlier in the day, all overseas missions for USAID had been ordered to shut down, and all staff recalled by Friday, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News. The statement notes that all "direct-hire personnel" will be placed on leave with exceptions for those on "mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs." Those considered exceptions will be notified by USAID leadership by 3 p.m. ET Thursday, and further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming, the email said...

News from Around the Web for Feb 5, 2025

Our picks of the top 10 news pieces from around the web that you might have missed…

uncoverdc.com

 

[Hol]

Number nine from the top ten:

#9 DOGE Reveals Next Target for Nerd Army Audit... And Americans Are Thrilled - Will Potter for Dailymail.com, Elon Musk, The Vigilant Fox, Dinesh D'Souza, and Elon Musk/World Hall of Fun on X​

Elon Musk teased the next target for his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) crackdown may be the Internal Revenue Service. The world's richest man asked his army of X followers in an informal poll whether they would like to see the IRS audited by DOGE, which received a staggering 94.3 percent support. Musk's post comes days after Donald Trump vowed to terminate almost 90,000 IRS workers who had been hired under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a pledge that received huge cheers as he spoke at a rally in Las Vegas...

 

[Tall Timbers]

Musk's post comes days after Donald Trump vowed to terminate almost 90,000 IRS workers who had been hired under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act

Did they actually get hired? I thought that money ended up getting pulled.

 

[Hol]

Did they actually get hired? I thought that money ended up getting pulled.

Good question. During Biden years there was a dark fog of confusion

I found this from about a year ago, and it’s that rag Politico:

“By BENJAMIN GUGGENHEIM
04/06/2023 02:09 PM EDT
Updated: 04/06/2023 03:57 PM EDT

The IRS released a much-anticipated report on Thursday outlining how it will spend new funding on ambitious hiring plans and increased enforcement aimed at wealthy taxpayers and big corporations — but left a long list of questions unanswered, which is bound to aggravate lawmakers.

The report describes the agency’s objectives for the $80 billion cash infusion that was provided by Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, including plans to create “world-class” customer service for taxpayers seeking assistance; develop data management systems so IRS employees can have a 360-degree view of a taxpayers’ information; and hire specialized lawyers and accountants who can help audit the most complex corporate and partnership returns.

…

The IRS, which counted around 78,700 employees in 2021, says in the report that it plans to bring on nearly 20,000 new employees by the end of fiscal year 2024. That would include 7,239 hires in enforcement and 6,489 in taxpayer services and surely offset some attrition in the agency’s ranks from retirements.

The agency intends to spend $2.8 billion of the funding in 2023 and $5.4 billion in 2024 and, over a 10-year period, allot a hefty sum of $41.7 billion alone to scrutinizing the most sophisticated, high-income taxpayers.“

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/06/irs-releases-plan-with-critical-details-missing-00090811

 

[Hol]

From a different article posted on the IRS website: “Recent data shows the IRS grew its workforce to more than 100,000 total employees, a staffing milestone the agency hasn’t cracked in nearly 30 years.”

So about 22,000 are newbies.