Washington ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he will nominate John Koskinen , a veteran of both public service and the private sector , to take over the embattled Internal Revenue Service . A blog post on the White House website described Koskinen , who recently turned 74 , as `` a retired corporate restructuring expert '' who would become commissioner of the IRS upon confirmation by the Senate . The tax collection agency of 90,000 employees currently is headed by a temporary leader , Daniel Werfel , who was appointed by Obama in May in the aftermath of revelations that some groups seeking tax-exempt status were targeted for extra scrutiny based on political labels such as `` tea party . '' Republicans have claimed the targeting amounts to political attacks on government enemies , but investigators have so far found no evidence of political motivation or involvement from outside the IRS . If confirmed , Koskinen will face continuing investigation of the targeting by Justice Department , the Treasury inspector general 's office and House Republicans , as well as GOP efforts to undermine Obama 's health care law which will be administered in large part by the IRS . `` John is an expert at turning around institutions in need of reform , '' Obama said in a statement , adding that `` every part of our government must operate with absolute integrity and that is especially true for the IRS . I am confident that John will do whatever it takes to restore the public 's trust in the agency . '' Koskinen previously was acting chief executive officer of Freddie Mac , the federal mortgage agency , and was a deputy mayor of Washington D.C. as well as deputy director of management at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget after a business career with the Palmieri Co . In the Clinton administration , he was deputy director for management of the budget office and then oversaw efforts to manage the millennium conversion that occurred at the end of the year 2000 . He also has been a major figure in U.S. soccer , serving as vice chairman of the American Professional Soccer League and president of the United States Soccer Foundation .
John Koskinen is a veteran of both public service and the private sector . Koskinen , 74 , headed Freddie Mac and served in the Clinton administration . If confirmed by the Senate , he succeed acting IRS head Daniel Werfel . Werfel was appointed in May amid the IRS targeting controversy .