Kautter worked at EY for more than three decades, and was head of RSM US’s Washington national tax group, before joining the US Treasury department as assistant secretary for tax policy in August 2017.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: ‘I look forward to having David Kautter as acting commissioner of the IRS. David will provide important leadership while we wait to confirm a permanent commissioner.

‘Assistant Secretary Kautter has had an illustrious 40-year career in tax policy, and I am confident that the IRS and the American people will benefit from his experience and insight.’

Kautter will continue to carry out his assistant secretary duties, including working on tax reform, while serving as acting commissioner.

His predecessor, Koskinen, was widely expected not to have his term renewed as he was a Barack Obama appointee, and leaves on 12 November. Whoever is appointed to replace Koskinen on a permanent basis faces two immediate challenges: helping implement Trump’s ‘once in a generation’ tax reforms and overseeing an audit of the president’s tax returns, as Trump did not publish the information as requested during his election campaign.

Report by Pat Sweet