A top IRS lawyer who once advocated for action to “resist” President Donald Trump has been placed on administrative leave as officials probe whether he has put his words into action at the powerful tax-collecting agency, The Daily Wire has learned.
The inquiry was launched after The Daily Wire reported on Wednesday that Anthony Sacco, a lawyer for the IRS Chief Counsel’s office, has a history of advocating for far-left positions, including fighting back against Trump, whom he now serves under. Sacco holds a key role at the IRS, where he interprets how convoluted federal tax law is applied in specific situations.
Sacco was brought on by the Biden administration as a career employee in September 2022. The vast majority of positions at the IRS are considered career roles, with only the commissioner and chief counsel being politically appointed. Before joining the IRS, Sacco worked under Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden for the Senate Finance Committee, according to his LinkedIn.
READ MORE: Top IRS Lawyer Under Trump Pledged To ‘Resist’ President, Is Former Dem Aide
In his role at the IRS, Sacco has co-authored multiple revenue rulings under both Biden and Trump, including as recently as April 17, 2025. Revenue rulings are authoritative IRS interpretations of how tax laws are applied by agency officials.
Sacco locked his X account shortly after The Daily Wire reached out to him for comment, but not before his posts were archived. His posts included calls for Democrats to “pack” the Supreme Court as a way to “resist” Trump.
“The Republican Party has completely obliterated principles, integrity, and norms. Screw ‘going high.’ Pack the Court. #resist #gop #election#vote #packthecourt,” he posted to X in September 2020 ahead of the vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Sacco X post.
The disciplinary action came as the Trump administration works to root out government bureaucrats who may attempt to stymie the president’s agenda.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent received a briefing from IRS officials that included a discussion of the Trump administration’s push to de-weaponize the federal government, the department told The Daily Wire. They discussed Bessent’s desire to make the IRS a non-political agency after years of accusations that it was targeting Christian groups and conservative advocacy organizations.
Present at the meeting were IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who investigated Hunter Biden over his shady tax practices. Both Shapley and Ziegler said the Biden administration retaliated against them based on their investigation into Hunter.
End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships
When made aware of the posts, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) called for Sacco to be fired.
“With deep state leftists in its leadership, it is no wonder the IRS has repeatedly targeted conservatives and conservative organizations,” Cotton told The Daily Wire on Wednesday. “This individual should be fired immediately.”
In another post, he shared a call from anthem-kneeler Colin Kaepernick to “abolish” the “white supremacist institution of policing” and another post that claimed “policing is based on race” and that the job itself was “racist.”
Sacco retweet.
Outside of social media, Sacco helped prepare a lengthy academic article published by the Harvard Law Review that argued that prisons should be abolished. In the article, the primary author argued “that white supremacy is deeply woven into the fabric of every legal institution in the United States.”