The President was briefed this afternoon by Secretary Lew and Principal Deputy Commissioner Werfel on today’s report. The President appreciates the effort put into reviewing operations within the IRS, and most importantly, making sure that agency moves quickly to restore the public’s trust.
As the President has made clear, the misconduct identified in last month’s Inspector General report is unacceptable. He will not tolerate inappropriate behavior in any agency and the President believes that IRS personnel must operate with absolute integrity, fairness and neutrality.
The President believes Principal Deputy Commissioner Werfel’s report is an important step in ensuring accountability for any staff that acted inappropriately, identifies the failures in their systems that allowed the misconduct to happen, and takes a forward-looking systemic view at the agency’s management. The Administration is committed to making sure the IRS continues to reform itself with the goals of providing the highest quality service and reflecting the principles of fairness and neutrality.