Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused the Internal Revenue Service of rushing an audit, claiming he and his wife owed over $33,000. Hegseth criticized the audit as a “sham” and posted evidence of a balance of $33,558.16 owed to the IRS.
The IRS has not commented on the audit, and it is unclear when it took place or what triggered it. Republicans have expressed concerns that increasing IRS funding may target middle-class taxpayers, while Democrats supported it to combat tax evasion by the wealthy.