WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has launched a federal tax audit of Pete Hegseth, the incoming Secretary of Defense, and his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, just days before the Biden administration leaves office. The audit, revealed in a letter from the IRS, claims the couple owes a balance of $33,558.16.
Hegseth, a former Fox News contributor and key ally of former President Donald Trump, criticized the timing of the audit, calling it politically motivated. “Of course, the outgoing Biden IRS rushed an ‘audit’ of the incoming SecDef. Total sham,” Hegseth wrote on X.
The IRS has not publicly commented on the audit, and it remains unclear whether it was initiated as part of a routine review or due to specific concerns regarding the couple’s tax filings.
Republican lawmakers are expected to scrutinize the move, with some already calling for an investigation into whether the audit was politically driven.