IRS whistleblowers rewarded with promotions to treasury leadership roles

Courage pays off in the new Washington, D.C. climate as two IRS whistleblowers were just rewarded with roles in the Treasury Department.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced departmental leadership roles for Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, the two men who stepped forward in 2023 with information about Hunter Biden’s preferential treatment. The whistleblowers alleged retaliation for their efforts.

“I am pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the @USTreasury Department, where they will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS,” Bessent announced Tuesday.

I am pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the @USTreasury Department, where they will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS. These veteran civil servants join us to help further the agency’s focus on collections, modernization, and customer…

— Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) March 18, 2025

Bessent spoke with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo about the new roles on “Mornings with Maria.”

“The culture of being able to come forward when you see wrongdoing is a central part of our democracy. I saw these two fellows before the President’s address to Congress in Speaker Johnson’s office. They came over to me and said, Sir, we’re still being harassed. I had been in touch with Senator Grassley about what was happening to them, but seeing them in person really brought it home for me,” he said Tuesday.

.@SecScottBessent on promoting the IRS whistleblowers: “The culture of being able to come forward when you see wrongdoing is a central part of our democracy… seeing them in person really brought it home for me. I went and decided I would bring them into Treasury, give them a… pic.twitter.com/RDGwHj4lA0

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 18, 2025

“I went and decided I would bring them into Treasury, give them a year to investigate the wrongdoing that’s going on at the IRS, and then they will go back in. Mr. Shapley will serve as the Senior Deputy for Investigation and Enforcement,” Bessent explained.

“We’ll have them in Treasury. We’ll learn what’s been going on at the IRS, what’s been wrong, how could this Hunter Biden nonsense have happened, and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone again, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, or independents,” the secretary declared.

Sen. Chuck Grassley celebrated the “justice” on social media.

HOORAY/JUSTICE FOR GARY SHAPLEY & JOE ZIEGLER who blew the whistle on Hunter Biden tax case at IRS &were retaliated against 2day r PROMOTED to leadership roles at Treasury

Pres Trump& Scty Bessent action send a clear signal that pointing out wrongdoing is an honorable thing 2do

— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 18, 2025

Journalist Catherine Herridge, who interviewed Shapley and Ziegler last year, noted she had written to Bessent about reinstating whistleblowers who have been retaliated against as it would “send a clear signal that pointing out wrongdoing is an honorable thing to do. It will help change the culture of our bureaucracy.”

NEW: Hunter Biden Whistleblowers promoted to fix IRS. @ChuckGrassley and the team @EMPOWR_us stood with Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler from the beginning.

“As I noted in my letter to @SecScottBessent last month, if we reinstate whistleblowers who have been retaliated… https://t.co/J97IwfBb2W

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) March 18, 2025

Reactions poured in on X where many applauded Bessent’s decision.

Sweet vindication, indeed.

I cannot think of any similar elevation of whistleblowers to senior leadership positions in the history of the U.S. government. https://t.co/OyoAxnSQT8

— Jason Foster (@JsnFostr) March 18, 2025

Deserved! These are good people. https://t.co/OTLnZGFXMh

— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) March 18, 2025

Thank you @SecScottBessent for having the courage to do why is unprecedented—the executive leader at a cabinet level position—honor and restore whistleblowers who have alleged reprisals for their whistleblowing. May others follow your lead. https://t.co/zOjQhnQ1xw

— Pedro Israel Orta ✝️️ (@PedroIsraelOrta) March 18, 2025

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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