This week on the GovNavigators Show, former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel joins us to unpack the Trump administration’s rapid-fire push to modernize the IRS—and what gets lost when speed outruns strategy. Drawing on decades of federal service, including senior roles at OMB and DOJ, Danny reflects on his team’s detailed IRS transformation plan, contrasts it with today’s approach, and raises big questions about transparency, workforce cuts, and cybersecurity risks. Plus, a bonus deep dive into the future of financial reporting under M-25-30, the limits of paperwork-based oversight, and why civics literacy might be the government’s most underrated reform tool.

Show Notes 

OMB: M-25-30

IRS: IRS FY25 Budget Justification 

JHS: Johns Hopkins School of Government and Policy

GAO: GAO Report on IRS IT Modernization