Earlier today, John Boehner was hankering for someone at the IRS to get prison time for the agency’s partisan-seeming scrutiny of conservative groups. So far, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, although a Justice Department investigation is under way. For now, critics will have to settle for the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS, Steven Miller, which was announced by President Obama during an end-of-day press conference.
Miller, a career bureaucrat who had only lead the agency since November, was not responsible for the IRS debacle, but someone needed to take the fall, and having that person be the head of the IRS is just good symbolism. “Given the controversy surrounding this audit, it’s important that we institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward,” Obama said. Obama also made clear, once again, that he is Very Upset About All of This, just like the rest of America. “It’s inexcusable, and Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it,” he declared.
Au revoir Steven Miller, whoever you are.
