New Acting IRS Head Appointed

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

President Obama will appoint senior budget aide Daniel I. Werfel as the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, as that agency manages a scandal stemming from its targeting of conservative groups.

Obama on Wednesday demanded and accepted the resignation of the acting IRS commissioner, Steven Miller, who is to step down in June. The president said it is important to have a new leader for the organization while it attempts to put in safeguards to ensure the special screening of political advocacy groups does not happen again.

Werfel has served for most of the Obama administration as controller of the Office of Management and Budget, overseeing federal procurement, financial disclosure and working to fight waste. A lawyer by training, Werfel has helped reduce the administration's level of improper payments to contractors and has been working to manage the mandatory budget cuts known as the sequester. He also worked for the George W. Bush administration.