The Trump administration has dismantled 18F, a federal digital services team responsible for building the IRS’s free tax-filing site and modernizing government websites, according to a General Services Administration (GSA) spokesperson on Saturday.
Thomas Shedd, GSA’s Director of Technology Transformation Services, informed 18F employees that their roles had been eliminated after being classified as non-critical. As a result, roughly 90 employees were immediately locked out of their devices.
The GSA stated that the move was aligned with several executive orders, including the Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, issued on February 11.
Musk’s Influence and Digital Overhaul
Billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency team, appeared to endorse the shutdown earlier this month. When a user on X (formerly Twitter) referred to 18F as a far-left government-wide computer office, Musk responded that the group had been deleted.
Originally founded in 2014 under President Barack Obama, 18F operated within the GSA and played a crucial role in improving digital accessibility, upgrading federal technology, enhancing data transparency, and making government services more user-friendly.
Despite the team’s disbandment, the IRS’s free direct-file tax website remains operational.
Data Privacy Concerns
As the shutdown unfolds, concerns over data privacy are mounting.
According to The Washington Post, officials from Musk’s team have expressed interest in using personal tax records to check federal benefits payments for fraud.
Additionally, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked the IRS to disclose home addresses of approximately 700,000 undocumented immigrants as part of deportation efforts.
So far, the IRS has denied these requests, but the shutdown of 18F raises questions about the future of government transparency, digital security, and taxpayer data protections under the current administration.
