IRS Shake-up and Panama Power Play

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Leadership turmoil continues to plague the Internal Revenue Service as Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause becomes the third chief to resign in just four months. Her departure, coming at the height of tax season, appears to be a direct protest against a controversial data-sharing agreement that will allow taxpayer information to be used for identifying undocumented immigrants. The agreement, signed directly between Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Homeland Security Secretary Christie Gnome, notably bypassed Krause's authority, suggesting significant internal tensions over immigration enforcement priorities.

The resignation highlights the complex intersection of tax administration and immigration policy. For years, many undocumented immigrants have filed taxes using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, with an understanding that tax compliance existed separately from immigration enforcement. This new agreement fundamentally alters that dynamic, potentially creating ripple effects across both tax compliance and immigration communities. What makes this particularly noteworthy is the timing - just before the April tax deadline when the IRS is already stretched thin with processing returns.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made headlines with a forceful stance at the Panama Canal, directly challenging China's growing influence in the region. Standing with the strategic waterway as his backdrop, Hegseth declared: "China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal and China will not weaponize this canal." His promise to "take back the canal from China's influence" signals a broader shift in America's approach to Beijing's economic expansion, from high-level diplomatic confrontations to grassroots resistance in small towns like the Michigan community that successfully blocked a CCP-linked battery factory. As tariffs escalate and tensions mount, these developments reveal a multi-pronged strategy to counter Chinese influence both domestically and globally.

Want to dive deeper into these shifting policy landscapes and what they mean for America's position on the world stage? Listen to the full episode now and join the conversation at anamericanist.com – your perspective matters in these critical discussions about America's future.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, good morning, happy Wednesday.
Let's have a good one, and Ithink we shall.
All right, we are going overhere to talk about a couple of
articles from the New York Post.
The first one is head of IRS toresign in protest as Agency
Inc's deal to share tax data onillegal immigrants with DHS.

(00:24):
Now I don't know why shedecided to resign over this, who
knows?
However, she's the third one inthis year to resign and this is
only April.
So we're doing one a month.
Right Now.
We need a fourth one, sincethis is April, and I think Doge
the other day.
I saw a couple days ago I sawon X where Doge said they were

(00:49):
headed over to the IRS andthat's what they were doing next
.
So here we go.
This is what we're finding outover here, apparently.
Now let me go find my article.
It's disappeared.
All right, here we go.
Oh, my gosh, gosh, y'all.
I'm so sorry.
Okay, the acting head actinghead because they have not done

(01:10):
a permanent one, since twoothers had resigned before her.
The acting head of the uhinternal revenue service will
resign in the wake of a dealstruck on behalf of the agency
that will see it share tax dataon undocumented immigrants.
So who penned this deal?
She had to have done that right, and then why would she resign?

(01:32):
I don't know.
I don't know.
Um to share this is to.
The deal was to share the datawith the, with the other agency,
the.
Let's read on.
Melanie krause, a commissionerat the irs, who is the third

(01:52):
person to serve as its chiefsince the start of the year,
will pack up her desk as part ofthe deferred resignation
program offered by the trumpadministration.
The treasury departmentannounced tuesday.
The news of her plans to leavethe federal agency comes less
than a week before the deadlinefor individual tax returns.
Huh, I wonder if we're going toget our money late.

(02:14):
Oh, I'm not getting any moneyfrom the federal government,
that's for sure.
Excuse me.
Krause decided to resign in anapparent protest to the Trump
administration action.
Sources told the Washington PostMelanie Krause has been leading
the IRS through a time ofextraordinary change.

(02:34):
A Treasury Departmentspokesperson told the outlet,
adding the department was in themidst of breaking down data
silos that for too long havestood in the way of identifying
waste and fraud and abuse,bringing criminals to justice.
The tax collecting agency hadjust finalized an agreement with

(02:57):
the department of homelandsecurity to share taxpayer data
to help the immigrationauthority identify undocumented
immigrants.
Since she was the head of it,didn't she have to sign off on
that?
Um, but yet she's resigning inprotest over it.
The data sharing deal wassigned monday by treasury

(03:18):
secretary scott besant andhomeland security secretary
christie gnome, bypassing Krauseas the head of the IRS, which
is part of the TreasuryDepartment.
Okay, well, there you go, that'swhy.
So what does this tell you?
That immigrants?
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Let me correct myself thatillegal aliens coming here,

(03:38):
crossing our borders criminal isa criminal act.
Yet the IRS, or whoever underthe Biden administration, was
passing out social securitynumbers, giving them $1,500 a
month, all this other aid goingto them, probably passing out
driver's licenses, you know,because voter ID, uh, yeah,

(04:02):
which is probably why theDemocrats don't want voter ID,
so they don't have to mess withgiving out the driver's license.
But yet you know the illegalsare getting driver's license.
Look around All these.
Oh, just, it's terrible, it'sterrible.
All right, we're going to moveon to the next story, and then I
have the question of the dayfrom Mr Shons.
All right, pete Hegseth in thePanama Canal.

(04:27):
He went down there, I guess, totake back Panama Canal from
China's influence.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethpledged that the Trump
administration would take backthe Panama Canal from Chinese
influence on Tuesday during avisit to the key shipping lane.
China did not build this canal.
You did not build this China.
China does not operate thiscanal and China will not weapon

(04:48):
build this canal.
You did not build this China.
China does not operate thiscanal and China will not
weaponize this canal.
The Pentagon chief said inremarks from Panama with the
strategic waterway as hisbackdrop.
Together with Panama in thelead, we will keep the canal
secure and available for allnations.
Together, we will take back thecanal from China's influence.
Pete added we are getting hotand heavy with China, are we not

(05:11):
?
Didn't the tariffs just go uplike 104?
Why 104 percent?
I think I swear I read thatsomewhere.
Somebody said 104 percentbecause you know, we put the
tariffs in place, chinaretaliated and then we did it
again.
We upped it again to why 104?
I don't know, maybe I'mincorrect on that.
President Trump has sought toreclaim the canal from Panama

(05:35):
City, citing national securityconcerns yes, over Chinese-owned
companies being allowed tooperate port facilities on both
the entry and exit points of thewaterway, as well as much of
the infrastructure that surroundus.
So, yeah, china is definitelyelbowing their way in to

(05:57):
anything America.
There was a small town, I think,in Michigan and I wrote about
it on the Victory Girls blog.
I'll go find the link becauseit's like a week or so old, so
it's buried down in the in thewebsite somewhere and I will put
it out on X.
But I it was a really goodstory that I wrote about the
small town in Michigan somewheredecided to first toss out all

(06:23):
of their city governing peoplebecause they were not doing what
they wanted to do and then,once they got the new people in
place I guess they voted down.
Or I wrote about it over there,you have to go read it.
This Chinese company wanted tocome in and build a factory to
make batteries, you know, forelectric cars over here and the

(06:46):
people were not having itbecause it's Chinese, they had
ties to CCP, all this stuff.
It's long and drawn out, butbasically the little people in
this town of like 1,200 peoplestood up and said no, we're not
having it.
Maybe it was 3,200 people, itwas a small number but they
organized and they did it.
I was very impressed and itgave me hope and inspiration

(07:09):
that you know we still have ithere in America, that we can do
this.
All right, mr Shons wants toknow, with Holy Week fast
approaching, what is yourfavorite movie slash film about
the life of Christ?
And I'm going to have to sayit's going to be the Mel Gibson
one, the Passion of the Christ.
Wow, I saw that in theaterswhen it came out.
Oh goodness gracious, that wasa good one.

(07:32):
Yeah, that's good.
My question, in fact I wasthinking about this on the way
to work because I'm listening tothe podcast A Bible in a Year.
I have lots of questions, butthe first question is, since I'm
listening to this, I guesswe're coming up on the end of
the Old Testament that's whatChristians call it, the Old

(07:53):
Testament before Christ cameinto the scene, and I think
we're wrapping it up.
We're on like 240, 250something days now.
I'm like when are we going toget into, you know, the New
Testament, because you onlydon't know how many days left if
it's a Bible in a year and yougot Revelations to talk about,
oh, my gosh.
Anyway, my question is oh gosh,I forgot my question.

(08:15):
Hold on.
So right now, father Mike istalking about Daniel and he I
can't remember exactlyeverything he talked about in
this current episode that I'mlistening to, but he was saying
how God used people flawedpeople to fulfill or, you know,
to make things or to not makethings happen, but I guess make

(08:36):
things happen I don't know ifthat's the right word, the term
I'm looking for and he talkedabout Judas, you know, when he
betrayed Jesus.
My question it kind ofcontradicts everything.
You know, if this was allsupposed to be fulfilled anyway,
as we've always been taught,this whole, you know, it was a
prophecy.
Jesus knew this was going tohappen.

(08:58):
Maybe he didn't know how it wasgoing to happen.
I'm not sure, but I mean to mehe didn't know how it was going
to happen.
I'm not sure, but I mean to me,uh, judas was supposed to do
this right.
I mean, if this to order inorder for it to happen, okay, I
think you know what I'm talkingabout.
I hope you know what I'mtalking about.
Okay, I gotta go.
Uh, we're coming up on 10minutes anyway, so lots to talk

(09:20):
about.
Okay, gotta go.
Thanks for listening.
Go check out anamericanistcomComment.
Share my content over there,please.
Okay, gotta go.
Thanks for listening.
Love y'all.
Bye.