President Donald Trump just pulled the plug on a controversial nomination that had conservatives raising more red flags than a matador convention.
According to the Daily Caller, in a swift move on November 14, 2025, Trump announced the withdrawal of Donald Korb’s nomination for Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury and Chief Counsel for the IRS, citing concerns over Korb’s past political ties to Democrats.
Let’s rewind a bit—Korb’s nomination had been chugging along, even getting a nod from the Senate Finance Committee in October 2025, where both Republican majority members and Democratic Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse voted to advance it to the full Senate.
But the wheels started to wobble when Korb’s history of political donations came under the microscope, particularly his contributions of several thousand dollars to Gina Raimondo, former Rhode Island Governor and current Biden Commerce Secretary, between 2013 and 2019.
Raimondo, during her gubernatorial tenure, spearheaded a 2020 coalition of progressive groups aimed at pushing liberal priorities and defeating Trump in key states—a fact that didn’t sit well with many on the right.
As Commerce Secretary, Raimondo also pushed to secure agency funds before leaving office and hosted the department’s first “Equity Town Hall,” moves seen by conservatives as doubling down on a progressive agenda.
Republican concerns weren’t just whispers in the hallway; they grew louder over Korb’s ties to Raimondo and his earlier praise for figures like Chuck Schumer, which didn’t exactly scream “MAGA loyalist.” Then, on November 12, 2025, Laura Loomer threw gasoline on the fire, publicly urging Trump to reconsider Korb’s nomination due to these questionable affiliations.
Loomer’s critique wasn’t a lone voice—many conservatives were already skeptical about Korb’s commitment to reforming and depoliticizing the IRS, a key priority for those wary of bureaucratic overreach.
On November 14, 2025, Trump took to Truth Social to deliver the final blow, stating, "Please be advised that I am withdrawing the nomination of Donald Korb to be Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury."
He followed up with a polite but firm, "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" (Trump, Truth Social, November 14, 2025). Well, that’s one way to end a nomination—with a digital mic drop.
Now, let’s not pretend Korb is a one-sided player; he’s donated to Republicans like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, and Maine Senator Susan Collins, showing he’s not strictly in the blue camp.
Still, his connections to Raimondo and his tenure under George W. Bush as IRS Chief Counsel from 2004 to 2008 left some conservatives wondering if he’d truly prioritize the kind of IRS overhaul they’re after.
Korb’s resume is no lightweight—he led Sullivan & Cromwell’s Tax Controversy Practice, a firm that’s donated nearly $2.7 million to Democrats, ranking third among U.S. law firms for such contributions, which only added fuel to the skepticism.
Earlier in his career, Korb served at the IRS as an attorney advisor and assistant to the commissioner, even helping implement the Tax Reform Act of 1986, but past credentials couldn’t outweigh present doubts about his political leanings.
