Head of IRS Exempt Organizations Division Placed on Administrative Leave

An IRS executive on Thursday was put on administrative leave as part of the ongoing fallout from the agency’s recent scandal, multiple news outlets reported.

Lois Lerner, the director of the IRS’ exempt organizations division, sent an email on Thursday notifying staff about the change in her employment situation at the Cincinnati, Ohio, office where she worked, the National Review reported. 

“I know all of you will continue to support EO’s mission during these difficult times,” Lerner wrote.

Lerner has been at the center of the scandal currently facing the IRS. The agency has been accused of excessively targeting conservative groups for additional questioning in their bid to obtain non-profit status.

Multiple officials have already been affected by the scandal. Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller resigned from his position last week and was replaced by former Office of Management and Budget Controller Danny Werfel.

The news of Lerner’s leave comes after Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote a letter to Werfel urging him to suspend Lerner from her position.  They said that they had “lost confidence in [Lerner’s] ability to fulfill her duties as director of Exempt Organizations at the IRS.”

On Wednesday, Lerner went in front of a congressional panel and invoked her Fifth Amendment rights. She emphasized that she “[had] not violated any regulations” and had not broken any laws or statutes.