IRS official Lois Lerner placed on leave amid scandal The IRS did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday evening. Lerner's attorney, William W. Taylor, also did not return requests for comment. Lerner's removal comes after acting commissioner Steven T. Miller resigned last week at the request of President Obama. In his place, Obama installed Danny Werfel, a former White House budget official, who will oversee the agency until Sept. Werfel confirmed Lerner's removal in an e-mail to employees Thursday afternoon by saying that he had selected Ken Corbin, a deputy director from another IRS division, to lead the tax-exempt unit. Werfel said Corbin "is a proven leader during challenging times" and has experience "leading large work groups," skills that make him "an ideal choice" to lead the unit "through this difficult period." On Thursday, Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who lead the Senate Committee on Investigations, wrote to Werfel urging him to remove Lerner, saying that failing to do so "would erode public trust and confidence" in the IRS. In a statement Thursday, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said that Werfel had asked Lerner to resign and that she had refused, leading to her being placed on leave. The federal government does not track how often career employees like Lerner are placed on paid administrative leave, but cases involving accusations of wrongdoing can stretch for months or even years as the employees continue to collect a paycheck. Despite her removal, Lerner may still face further congressional scrutiny. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he wants Lerner to come back before his committee to face more questions in the case. But Issa said he will wait for recommendations from congressional lawyers before making a final decision on whether to call Lois Lerner before the committee again. Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment in her refusal to testify before the oversight panel Wednesday, but the fact that she gave a lengthy opening statement defending herself and verbally verified the contents of a document prompted some lawmakers to suggest that she had essentially waived her right against self-incrimination. Issa said Thursday that he is awaiting recommendations from committee lawyers, the nonpartisan House Counsel, other outside legal experts and committee Democrats before proceeding. But he said that he is inclined to agree with GOP colleagues who raised a point of order during the hearing and objected to Issa's decision to dismiss Lerner.