President Trump moved to withdraw Donald Korb’s IRS nomination after fresh information about his background surfaced, a decision that set off criticism from Republicans who point to Korb’s connections with Democrats and past donations as reasons for concern.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump nominated Donald Korb to serve as chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The nomination, which started with confidence from the White House, hit a sudden snag when new details about Korb’s history and political ties came to light.

The president announced the pullback directly on Truth Social, a move that made the reversal public and immediate. In that post he wrote, “Please be advised that I am withdrawing the nomination of Donald Korb to be Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury.”

Journalist Eric Daugherty noted the reaction on social platforms, pointing out that conservative activists quickly dug into Korb’s background and flagged red flags. The pushback was loud and organized, and it landed squarely on questions of loyalty and judgement among Senate Republicans and conservative watchdogs.

One of the loudest critics, Laura Loomer, compiled a list of Korb’s ties that many on the right found alarming. She wrote that he “praised Chuck Schumer, donated to Democrats, received support from anti-Trump Democrat United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and mistreated IRS whistleblowers.”

Those are sharp accusations from a conservative activist and they were repeated across multiple conservative outlets and feeds. Loomer also highlighted a particular line that stuck with Republican voters and staffers: “Shockingly, Korb once referred to rabid Trump hater Chuck Schumer as ‘the guy who can get things done,'” Loomer went on to add.

Beyond social posts and activist claims, attention also centered on Korb’s campaign giving. Korb donated to the campaign of Gina Raimondo, a Democrat whose career moved from governor of Rhode Island to a Cabinet role, and that donation did not sit well with many GOP senators.

Republican staffers and lawmakers framed that connection as a deeper problem than a single check. “This will be a problem for Korb,” one former Senate Republican chief of staff said, adding that “A top priority for Senate Republicans is crushing the liberal deep state at the IRS.”

The same former chief of staff made the point many Republicans raised privately: “Most Senate Republicans are not going to trust a major Gina Raimondo donor to get the job done.” That distrust fed into a broader narrative that nominees must be aligned with the president’s mandate to reset and depoliticize enforcement.

On top of the party complaints, Senate counsel and other insiders voiced alarm about the agency itself and who leads it. “The IRS is the most weaponized and politicized agency,” a senior Senate counsel told reporters, and the concern was that Korb’s past choices signaled he would not be the reformer conservatives demand.

Another insider, described as close to the administration, predicted that having Korb in the IRS “would be a disaster,” asserting, “Trump wants to end the weaponization at the IRS, and Korb is simply out of step with his agenda.” Those comments underscore why loyalty and priorities matter to the GOP as it seeks to rein in federal overreach.

The withdrawal leaves a clear message: nominations that suggest sympathy for the modern Democratic machine or past support for high-profile Democrats will face tough scrutiny. Senators and staffers on the right are watching closely, and they’ll press for nominees who align with the goal of restoring fairness and stopping political targeting at tax agencies.