New Acting IRS Head is Arlingtonian Dan Werfel

Daniel L. Werfel, of Arlington, was named the new acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), President Obama announced Thursday afternoon.

"Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an effective leader who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill," Obama said in an emailed statement. "The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time."

Werfel, who now lives in Arlington, was controller of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and had a long career at OMB. He was also an attorney in the Department of Justice Civil Rights division. He graduated from Cornell University, graduated from Duke University with a degree in public policy and got his law degree from the Univeristy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to his White House bio.

Werfel’s appointment came after acting commissioner Steven Miller departed in the wake of an IRS scandal for allegedly targeting conservative groups in audits in 2012.

In Miller’s resignation note to IRS employees, he wrote, “This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency. I believe the Service will benefit from having a new Acting Commissioner in place during this challenging period.”