In the New York Times, Andrew Duehren and Alan Feuer report as follows:
The Justice Department is holding internal discussions about settling President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in the coming days, according to three people familiar with the deliberations, a move that could involve the government directly providing taxpayer funds or another public benefit to the president.
* * *
Given that Mr. Trump oversees the I.R.S., the agency that he is suing, the judge in the case has taken a series of novel legal steps to probe whether there is a genuine controversy between the Justice Department and Mr. Trump. . . . The judge has ordered Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers — along with the Justice Department, which represents the I.R.S. in federal court — to submit briefs by May 20 explaining whether they are in conflict with one another.
White House and Justice Department officials have in recent days been exploring ways to potentially settle the suit before that deadline, according to the people.
Previous TaxProf Blog Coverage:
- Amici Appointed in Trump v. IRS (May 6, 2026)
- NY Times: Justice Dept. Struggles to Respond to Trump’s Suit Against I.R.S. (Apr. 1, 2026)
- Trump IRS Lawsuit Puts Him on Both Sides of the Case (Feb. 3, 2026)
