IRS Agrees to Lift Hiring Freeze for Taxpayer Services Following Pressure from Warnock

In a new letter from IRS CEO Frank Bisignano to Senator Reverend Warnock, Bisignano shares that the IRS is lifting its hiring freeze following the Senator's request

Bisignano's response follows Senator Warnock's December 2025 letter pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lift the agency's hiring freeze to ensure the IRS and the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) can maintain the staffing needed to serve American taxpayers

IRS CEO Bisignano to Senator Warnock: "The IRS is now executing the approved staffing plan and hiring activities are underway"

Washington, D.C. - In a new letter from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frank Bisignano to U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Bisignano shares that the IRS is lifting its hiring freeze at the agency. Bisignano's response follows Senator Warnock's December 2025 letter pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lift the agency's hiring freeze to ensure the IRS and the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) could maintain staffing needs ahead of the 2026 tax season.

In his response to Senator Warnock, Bisignano shared that the IRS is moving to hire new workers as soon as possible.

"The IRS is now executing the approved staffing plan and hiring activities are underway…We remain committed to continuously improving service delivery and working to provide taxpayers with timely and effective assistance," said IRS CEO Bisignano.

This latest response from the IRS follows a June 9, 2026, letter Senators Warnock, Jon Ossoff, and Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA-04) sent to Secretary Bessent and IRS CEO Bisignano about reports of a severe rat and cockroach infestation at the IRS Atlanta campus. In the letter, the Georgia lawmakers urged IRS leadership to allow its employees to telework until the matter was sufficiently addressed. Shortly after the letter was sent, the IRS informed its Atlanta employees that they would be allowed to telework indefinitely.

A copy of the letter can be found HERE and text is below:

"Dear Senator Warnock,

"Thank you for your December 18, 2025, letter regarding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Taxpayer Advocate Service's (TAS) staffing levels, casework demands, and the effect of hiring restrictions on our ability to serve taxpayers. We appreciate Congress's continued oversight and interest in ensuring that taxpayers receive timely and effective assistance.

"The IRS has complied with all executive orders and policies related to the federal hiring freeze. The IRS submitted its Fiscal Year 2026 Staffing Plan in coordination with the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This plan reflects collaboration among the Human Capital Office and IRS operative divisions, including TAS, and incorporates hiring priorities and operational needs. In January 2026, Treasury informed the IRS that OPM and the Office of Management and Budget had approved Treasury's departmentwide staffing plan, and Treasury was no longer constrained by the July 7, 2025, Presidential Memorandum on federal hiring. The IRS is now executing the approved staffing plan and hiring activities are underway.

"The IRS is making meaningful progress to improve timeliness and outcomes for tax related identity Theft Victim Assistance (IDTVA) cases. The IRS has expanded trained staffing, increased overtime availability, implemented targeted case prioritization, and completed thousands of systemic closures, significantly reducing resolution times for prioritized cases. Additional improvements, including inventory corrections, new efficiency tools, and focused staffing strategies, are helping the IRS resolve identity theft cases more quickly and deliver refunds and other relief to taxpayers sooner.

"When casework demand exceeds available resources, TAS and the IRS prioritize cases based on urgency and potential taxpayer harm, with particular focus on matters involving immediate economic hardship or time-sensitive issues. This approach helps ensure that resources are directed to taxpayers with the most pressing needs, while other cases-such as systemic or non-time-sensitive matters-may require additional time for resolution. We remain committed to continuously improving service delivery and working to provide taxpayers with timely and effective assistance.

"I hope this information is helpful. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

"Sincerely,

"Frank J. Bisignano"

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