A senior Internal Revenue Service official long associated with the agency's controversial targeting of conservative groups was fired Monday, Fox News Digital reported.
Sources told Fox News Digital that Holly Paz, who served as commissioner of the IRS's Large Business and International Division and was a close aide to former IRS official Lois Lerner, was terminated by the agency. The report said the firing came amid renewed attention to the agency's past handling of conservative and nonprofit political groups.
Paz has been a senior career official at the IRS and previously worked closely with Lerner, who became the central figure in congressional investigations after disclosures in the early 2010s that the agency had singled out conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status. Those revelations prompted extensive congressional inquiries and public scrutiny of IRS policies and procedures.
Fox News Digital characterized the terminations as part of a broader "Scandal at the IRS" package in its politics newsletter, which highlights developments it described as politically consequential. The newsletter also summarized other items across the political landscape, including the White House's reaction to a major revision in U.S. payroll data, deployment of the National Guard to assist ICE operations in Arkansas, and appointments to congressional probes related to Jan. 6.
One of the newsletter's other political items noted that Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, was named among Democrats assigned to a Republican-led subcommittee investigating the events of Jan. 6. Crockett's inclusion in that committee drew attention from both parties as lawmakers continue to examine the January 2021 Capitol attack.
The report on Paz's termination did not include details from the IRS about the rationale or the timing beyond the indication that the move occurred on Monday. Federal agencies typically address personnel matters internally, and public statements are not always released when career officials are reassigned or removed.
Paz's role as commissioner of the Large Business and International Division placed her over tax enforcement and policy matters concerning major corporations and international tax issues. Her association with Lerner, who led the IRS's Exempt Organizations Unit and later became the figure at the center of allegations that the IRS had inappropriately scrutinized conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, has been highlighted by critics of the agency.
The firing comes as federal tax authorities and the IRS more broadly remain a focus of political debate. Congressional Republicans have frequently criticized the agency's actions in the past decade, while Democrats have defended the need for effective enforcement of tax laws. The renewed attention to personnel linked to past controversies may intensify scrutiny from Capitol Hill and advocacy groups on both sides of the political spectrum.
Fox News's newsletter also covered other national political items, including reporting that the White House criticized a large jobs-data revision and pressed for lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve, as well as local political developments such as primary and special elections that Republican and Democratic strategists are watching for broader implications.
The pace of turnover among senior IRS officials and the agency's internal reforms have been topics of ongoing coverage in recent years. Congressional committees previously held extensive hearings into the agency's handling of tax-exempt applications and oversight practices. Any new departures of senior staff with historical ties to earlier controversies are likely to prompt questions from lawmakers about accountability and the current direction of IRS leadership.
The Fox News Digital report cited unnamed sources for Paz's termination. The agency and the White House were not quoted in the report. Further details about the circumstances of the firing and any potential internal or external investigations were not included in the newsletter item.