Larry Gibbs commented on the potential impact of the partial government shutdown, along with the failure of the Senate to confirm President Trump's nominee for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) chief counsel, on the 2019 tax filing season. "My sources tell me that, despite the shutdown, the IRS is ready and prepared for the 2019 tax filing season because of enormous efforts by the entire IRS organization throughout 2018 to get ready," said Gibbs, a former Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. "That said, one always worries whether enough seasonal IRS telephone tax assistors have been hired and adequately trained to handle the inevitable demand of taxpayers and their advisors who will be seeking to comply with the 2017 changes and new requirements."