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| Head of I.R.S., Facing Censure, Relishes a Job Few Could Love | Head of I.R.S., Facing Censure, Relishes a Job Few Could Love |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — By John A. Koskinen’s reckoning, at nearly 77 years of age, he might finally have his best job ever: commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. | WASHINGTON — By John A. Koskinen’s reckoning, at nearly 77 years of age, he might finally have his best job ever: commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. |
| “If it’s a job where the first thing people say is, ‘Why would you do that?’ then it’s got to be a good job,” he said in an interview. | “If it’s a job where the first thing people say is, ‘Why would you do that?’ then it’s got to be a good job,” he said in an interview. |
| Little could Mr. Koskinen have imagined how “good” the job would get. | Little could Mr. Koskinen have imagined how “good” the job would get. |
| On Wednesday morning, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to draft a resolution of censure, accusing Mr. Koskinen of engaging “in a pattern of conduct inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him,” urging his “resignation or removal” and requiring forfeiture of his government pension “and any other federal benefits for which he is eligible.” | On Wednesday morning, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to draft a resolution of censure, accusing Mr. Koskinen of engaging “in a pattern of conduct inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him,” urging his “resignation or removal” and requiring forfeiture of his government pension “and any other federal benefits for which he is eligible.” |
| And that, some Republicans say, will just be a prelude to his impeachment. Besides two presidents, no federal executive has been impeached since the secretary of war, William W. Belknap, in 1876. | And that, some Republicans say, will just be a prelude to his impeachment. Besides two presidents, no federal executive has been impeached since the secretary of war, William W. Belknap, in 1876. |
| Meantime, though, thank you for your service. | Meantime, though, thank you for your service. |
| “Anybody who’s willing to take on the job of being head of the I.R.S., well, you know, I can only think of one other job with a lower approval rating, and that’s being a member of Congress,” said Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a Republican in the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative faction pushing for impeachment. “So kudos to him for being willing to do that.” | “Anybody who’s willing to take on the job of being head of the I.R.S., well, you know, I can only think of one other job with a lower approval rating, and that’s being a member of Congress,” said Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a Republican in the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative faction pushing for impeachment. “So kudos to him for being willing to do that.” |
| Mr. Koskinen became the nation’s top tax collector in December 2013 to steady an agency rattled by political upheaval, the latest in a string of knotty assignments he has gotten from presidents of both parties. Since then, things have not gone so smoothly. Critics say Mr. Koskinen obstructed justice and misled Congress as House Republicans continued their inquiries into allegations that I.R.S. employees discriminated against conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status in 2010 and beyond — scrutiny that began before Mr. Koskinen’s arrival. | |
| He has denied the allegations and said his testimony about missing agency emails that turned out to be wrong was based on what he believed to be true at the time. Other investigators — including the Treasury’s inspector general, a Republican, and a bipartisan Senate Finance Committee — criticized Mr. Koskinen’s lapses but found no evidence politics played a role. | He has denied the allegations and said his testimony about missing agency emails that turned out to be wrong was based on what he believed to be true at the time. Other investigators — including the Treasury’s inspector general, a Republican, and a bipartisan Senate Finance Committee — criticized Mr. Koskinen’s lapses but found no evidence politics played a role. |
| Censure by the House, because it does not require Senate action, could well be the most severe punishment that Republican critics, goaded by influential Tea Party groups, can exact. If the House votes to impeach Mr. Koskinen, the Senate would not hold a trial and could not muster the necessary two-thirds vote to convict him if it did, Republicans say. | Censure by the House, because it does not require Senate action, could well be the most severe punishment that Republican critics, goaded by influential Tea Party groups, can exact. If the House votes to impeach Mr. Koskinen, the Senate would not hold a trial and could not muster the necessary two-thirds vote to convict him if it did, Republicans say. |
| However it ends, the turmoil has been a harsh introduction to the broader public for Mr. Koskinen beyond his narrow world of senior management, and one that belies the reputation he acquired over decades as a go-to first responder for management crises. | However it ends, the turmoil has been a harsh introduction to the broader public for Mr. Koskinen beyond his narrow world of senior management, and one that belies the reputation he acquired over decades as a go-to first responder for management crises. |
| The genial septuagenarian has long enjoyed a sort of behind-the-scenes prominence, well known to Washington insiders and business leaders. He is also well known to fans of soccer and Duke University — his dual passions — and the soccer stadium there, Koskinen Stadium, is named after him. Mr. Koskinen won the prestigious Elliot L. Richardson Prize this year “for excellence and integrity in government service,” timing that suggested the selection panel’s indifference to well-publicized complaints of congressional Republicans. | |
| “People like that who are sort of turnaround specialists and willing to take on hard jobs, there aren’t that many of them. And people know who they are,” said Alice M. Rivlin, an economist who worked with Mr. Koskinen in the Clinton administration, then in overhauling the government of Washington, D.C., after Congress stripped city officials of their budget power after years of mismanagement. | “People like that who are sort of turnaround specialists and willing to take on hard jobs, there aren’t that many of them. And people know who they are,” said Alice M. Rivlin, an economist who worked with Mr. Koskinen in the Clinton administration, then in overhauling the government of Washington, D.C., after Congress stripped city officials of their budget power after years of mismanagement. |
| In Mr. Koskinen’s telling, he does not get hired; he is “dragooned” — he used the word more than once during an interview in a spacious, if drab, office with few personal touches besides family photos and mementos from previous jobs. | In Mr. Koskinen’s telling, he does not get hired; he is “dragooned” — he used the word more than once during an interview in a spacious, if drab, office with few personal touches besides family photos and mementos from previous jobs. |
| “I never apply for jobs. I just keep getting them,” Mr. Koskinen said. “I say I’m going to go into the witness protection program, and they’ll never find me again.” | “I never apply for jobs. I just keep getting them,” Mr. Koskinen said. “I say I’m going to go into the witness protection program, and they’ll never find me again.” |
| He has a physics degree from Duke and a law degree from Yale, and held varied government jobs from the mid-1960s to early 1970s: clerk to the chief judge of a federal appeals court; adviser to a national commission on urban riots; aide to the New York City mayor John V. Lindsay, a Republican, and then to Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff, Democrat of Connecticut. | |
| Next came 21 years in the private sector at the Palmieri Company, a management firm that revamped failed entities, where he ultimately became the chief executive. Among them were the Penn Central, a Teamsters union pension fund and Mutual Benefit, at the time the largest life insurance company to have failed. | Next came 21 years in the private sector at the Palmieri Company, a management firm that revamped failed entities, where he ultimately became the chief executive. Among them were the Penn Central, a Teamsters union pension fund and Mutual Benefit, at the time the largest life insurance company to have failed. |
| Clinton administration recruiters enticed Mr. Koskinen to re-enter government in 1994, first as the deputy for management at the Office of Management and Budget and later as President Clinton’s so-called Y2K czar in 1998, leading the governmentwide effort to prevent a technological breakdown if computer coding malfunctioned in the transition to the year 2000. | Clinton administration recruiters enticed Mr. Koskinen to re-enter government in 1994, first as the deputy for management at the Office of Management and Budget and later as President Clinton’s so-called Y2K czar in 1998, leading the governmentwide effort to prevent a technological breakdown if computer coding malfunctioned in the transition to the year 2000. |
| When the Y2K job ended without computer chaos, Ms. Rivlin recommended Mr. Koskinen to Washington’s newly elected mayor, Anthony A. Williams. Mr. Koskinen became city administrator and deputy mayor, helping local officials reclaim powers that Congress had transferred to a board of outsiders headed by Ms. Rivlin. | When the Y2K job ended without computer chaos, Ms. Rivlin recommended Mr. Koskinen to Washington’s newly elected mayor, Anthony A. Williams. Mr. Koskinen became city administrator and deputy mayor, helping local officials reclaim powers that Congress had transferred to a board of outsiders headed by Ms. Rivlin. |
| “Who in their right mind would want to take on a job like that?” asked Joel L. Fleishman, a longtime friend of Mr. Koskinen’s and a law professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. He put that question to Mr. Koskinen then, and again 13 years later when his friend told him about the I.R.S. job offer. | “Who in their right mind would want to take on a job like that?” asked Joel L. Fleishman, a longtime friend of Mr. Koskinen’s and a law professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. He put that question to Mr. Koskinen then, and again 13 years later when his friend told him about the I.R.S. job offer. |
| “John said, ‘Well, somebody’s got to do it,’” Mr. Fleishman recalled. | “John said, ‘Well, somebody’s got to do it,’” Mr. Fleishman recalled. |
| In September 2008, Mr. Koskinen received an emergency call from the administration of President George W. Bush. As a snowballing financial crisis threatened the global economy, an assistant to the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., summoned Mr. Koskinen for a new job. | In September 2008, Mr. Koskinen received an emergency call from the administration of President George W. Bush. As a snowballing financial crisis threatened the global economy, an assistant to the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., summoned Mr. Koskinen for a new job. |
| The administration then announced the takeover of the nation’s two failing housing-finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — with Mr. Koskinen becoming Freddie Mac’s new chairman. | The administration then announced the takeover of the nation’s two failing housing-finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — with Mr. Koskinen becoming Freddie Mac’s new chairman. |
| “I don’t know how they even got my cellphone number,” Mr. Koskinen said. | “I don’t know how they even got my cellphone number,” Mr. Koskinen said. |
| For a time, he was also Freddie Mac’s chief executive and chief financial officer. He spent three years rebuilding the entity until he reached 72, the mandatory retirement age. | For a time, he was also Freddie Mac’s chief executive and chief financial officer. He spent three years rebuilding the entity until he reached 72, the mandatory retirement age. |
| “Freddie needed some stronger management, so we selected him, and he accepted the job,” said James B. Lockhart III, Mr. Bush’s chief housing-finance administrator. “And we were thankful.” | “Freddie needed some stronger management, so we selected him, and he accepted the job,” said James B. Lockhart III, Mr. Bush’s chief housing-finance administrator. “And we were thankful.” |
| At the I.R.S., Mr. Koskinen continues to try to meet even hostile lawmakers in their offices — 115 to date — though several House Republicans chose to come to him, including Mr. Meadows and Representative Peter Roskam, Republican of Illinois and chairman of a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the I.R.S. | At the I.R.S., Mr. Koskinen continues to try to meet even hostile lawmakers in their offices — 115 to date — though several House Republicans chose to come to him, including Mr. Meadows and Representative Peter Roskam, Republican of Illinois and chairman of a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the I.R.S. |
| “The lost opportunity was for someone with his experience to come in, do a clean slate and just start over,” Mr. Roskam said. “But my experience was, he chose to be very defensive of the institution at a time when the institution didn’t deserve defending.” | “The lost opportunity was for someone with his experience to come in, do a clean slate and just start over,” Mr. Roskam said. “But my experience was, he chose to be very defensive of the institution at a time when the institution didn’t deserve defending.” |
| Only after Mr. Koskinen accepted the I.R.S. offer did he learn that four years remained on a five-year term. “I leave Nov. 9 of 2017, but who counts?” he said — implicitly unconcerned about being ousted before then. | Only after Mr. Koskinen accepted the I.R.S. offer did he learn that four years remained on a five-year term. “I leave Nov. 9 of 2017, but who counts?” he said — implicitly unconcerned about being ousted before then. |