WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service’s acting chief counsel, William Paul, has been removed from his role at the agency and replaced by Andrew De Mello, an attorney in the chief counsel’s office who is deemed supportive of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to two people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The people said Paul was demoted from his position because he clashed with the DOGE’s alleged push to share tax information with multiple agencies. The news also comes as the IRS plans to institute massive cuts to its workforce.

The IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts as part of the President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce. The administration is closing agencies, laying off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees through a “deferred resignation program” to quickly reduce the government workforce.

Already, roughly 7,000 probationary IRS employees with roughly one year or less of service were laid off from the organization in February.

Paul was named acting chief counsel to the IRS in January, replacing Marjorie A. Rollinson, and has served in various roles at the IRS since the late 1980’s.

Paul is not the first government official to be demoted after voicing concern about access to sensitive systems and taxpayer data.

Government officials across the Treasury Department, the Social Security Administration and other agencies have seen a wave of retirements, resignations and demotions for voicing concern about DOGE access to sensitive systems and taxpayer data.

After 30 years of service, Michelle King, the SSA’s acting commissioner, stepped down from her role in February after refusing to provide DOGE access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the official’s departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

“The series of IRS officials who have put the law above their personal job security join a line of public servants, stretching back to Treasury and IRS leaders during the Nixon era, who have resisted unlawful attempts by elected officials to weaponize taxpayer data and systems,” Chye-Ching Huang, executive director of the Tax Law Center at New York University School of Law, said in a statement.

Fatima Hussein, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A day before a shutdown deadline, Senate Democrats are mounting a last-ditch protest over a Republican-led government funding bill that already passed the House but failed to slap any limits on President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to gut federal operations.

Senate Democrats are under intense pressure to do whatever they can to stop the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, which is taking a wrecking ball to long-established government agencies by purging thousands of federal workers from jobs.

Democrats are pushing a stopgap 30-day funding bill as an alternative. But its prospects are dim in the Congress controlled by Republicans. And it’s unlikely the Democrats would allow a government shutdown, worried about the further chaos they say Trump and Musk could cause.

As the Senate opened Thursday, with one day to go before Friday’s midnight deadline, the Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said: “It’s time to fish or cut bait.”

Debates over funding the federal government routinely erupt in deadline moments but this year it’s showing the political leverage of Republicans, newly in majority control of the White House and Congress, and the shortcomings of Democrats who are finding themselves unable to stop the Trump administration’s march across federal operations.

In a rare turn of events, House Republicans stuck together to pass their bill, many conservatives cheering the DOGE cuts, leaving Democrats sidelined as they stood opposed. They House then left town, sending it to the Senate for final action.

Options for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are limited, especially as the party is wary of fully withholding their votes and being blamed for a full shutdown of services.

Schumer announced that Democrats were unified in pressing for a 30-day stopgap measure as an alternative to the House passed bill, which would instead fund operations through the end of the budget year in September.

With his party united, Schumer said the Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority, lack the support needed to reach the 60-vote threshold, which is required to overcome a filibuster.

But Senate Republicans have shown little interest in Schumer’s offer.

What is more likely is that senators will have a chance to vote on the Democrats’ stopgap measure, but if it fails as expected, the Senate would then turn to the broader bill for passage, hours before Friday’s midnight deadline.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to shift attention from Trump’s tariff tit-for-tat tariff war to a looming federal government shutdown.

“I can tell you what’s not good for the economy is this government shutdown,” Bessent said outside the White House. “I don’t know what Democrats are thinking here. They’re going to own it.”

But Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has called Trump and Musk “two billionaires to don’t know the first thing” about what American families need.

In an highly unusual turn, the House package also required the District of Columbia, which already approved its own balanced budget, to revert back to 2024 levels, drawing outcry from the mayor and city leaders who are pushing the Congress to revert course. They warn of steep reductions to city services.

“Both choices that we are being offered are full of despair,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.

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Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press

SAUGATUCK, Mich. (AP) — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to announce that he will not seek an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, a move that leaves the door wide open for him to seek a much bigger role as his party’s next presidential nominee.

Since his role in the Biden administration ended in late January, Buttigieg has spent months considering his next move, including a serious look at the unexpectedly open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, where he relocated in recent years. But many prominent allies he consulted believed he could not realistically pursue the Senate seat while keeping the door open for a 2028 presidential run.

Buttigieg is expected to announce later Thursday he will not seek Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, according to a person familiar with his plans who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. The news was first reported by Politico.

While Buttigieg’s decision could weaken Democrats’ chances of retaining a critical Senate seat in 2026, it may also strengthen the party’s search for new national leadership to counter President Donald Trump. Buttigieg’s announcement comes one day after New Hampshire Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced she will not seek re-election next year.

Buttigieg first ran for president as the little-known mayor of South Bend, Indiana in 2020 and outperformed far more experienced Democrats in the Iowa presidential caucuses. He later dropped out of the presidential race and was chosen by Biden to be his U.S. transportation secretary.

Widely regarded as one of the party’s most effective communicators, Buttigieg boasts a massive social media following, a national donor network, and a Midwestern appeal that resonates both in Fox News Channel interviews and more intimate settings. Now living in Traverse City, Michigan, Buttigieg has been rapidly building connections in his new home state — a key swing state and a likely host of one of the nation’s first presidential primaries.

Buttigieg’s decision not to run for Michigan’s Senate seat leaves the race wide open to replace Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who unexpectedly announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in 2026. Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow has been preparing a bid, while U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens is also considering a run.

A Republican hasn’t been elected to the U.S. Senate in Michigan this century, although Mike Rogers came within less than 1 percentage point last fall and is planning to run again.

Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — New North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein gave his first address to a joint General Assembly session Wednesday night, hitting on familiar campaign and early-term themes of helping Hurricane Helene victims, making living expenses affordable and focusing on bipartisan accomplishments.

Stein delivered the biennial State of the State message with a call to legislators in the ninth-largest state to work with him and avoid partisan animosity like what is now in Washington.

“We do not need to be pulled into those political games,” Stein said from the House floor near the close of his 42-minute speech, which was televised statewide. “We can create something better, something forward-looking right here in North Carolina, and we can do it together.”

Stein, the attorney general for the past eight years, was elected governor in November by defeating then-Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — continuing a trend on Democratic dominance at the Executive Mansion. Republicans have controlled the General Assembly since 2011, but now they are one seat shy of holding a veto-proof majority.

Stein’s speech emphasized finding areas where he and Republicans can agree.

Hurricane Helene relief

Stein kept Helene recovery a top priority, as it has been since before he was sworn in on Jan. 1. He has made several visits to the mountains, where last fall’s historic flooding led to over 100 deaths and close to $60 billion in damages and recovery needs. Stein highlighted repairs so far but also outstanding needs.

The governor asked lawmakers to send him quickly a bill for additional Helene relief that he will be ready to sign — even though competing measures written by House and Senate Republicans would provide roughly half of the nearly $1.1 billion that he requested last month.

House Speaker Destin Hall said this week there are differences to negotiate with the Senate over aid for agricultural losses and whether the package should include funds for delayed housing repairs in eastern North Carolina from past hurricanes. The final package also should include money to help local governments rebuild infrastructure for small businesses.

Stein and legislators anticipate even more Helene spending later this year.

“People need to get back in their homes. Roads and bridges need to be fixed. Businesses need to keep their doors open and their employees hired,” Stein told lawmakers. “We need that money now. Heck, we needed it yesterday.”

Washington on Stein’s radar

The whirlwind of activity originating from President Donald Trump’s administration and Congress served as a backdrop for some of Stein’s speech.

While a frequent critic of Trump, Stein pointed out how he was working with Trump, his Cabinet and the state’s congressional delegation to locate billions in additional dollars for Helene assistance.

The governor also urged Republicans to join him in protecting Medicaid from any potential cuts by Congress, pointing out that the two parties joined together in passing a 2023 law expanding Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of adults.

What’s next for Stein?

Stein’s next big reveal likely will be his state government spending proposal for the two years that begin July 1.

Stein’s proposal will reflect a new forecast that warns tax cuts already on the books and taking effect soon could lower overall state revenues by $825 million from the next fiscal year to the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Stein said Wednesday the state can’t locate all the funds to help residents with necessities like affordable housing and child care or middle-class tax cuts that he seeks if planned corporate tax cuts and individual tax cuts for the highest wage earners are allowed to occur.

“So what is it going to be?” Stein asked. “Are we going to give money to out of state shareholders, or invest in North Carolina families? We cannot afford to do both.”

Republicans, who will pass their own budget legislation and present it to Stein, have downplayed the forecast shortfall, saying previous income-tax reductions have boosted the state’s economy and fiscal picture overall.

Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press