JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of protesters lined the streets of Downtown Jacksonville on Tuesday, voicing their opposition to Trump administration policies.

That included layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It’s part of a broader plan to reduce government spending.

Stephanie Rembert, an IRS employee attended the protest and spoke with First Coast News about the impact.

“Just two weeks ago, [I] lost a number of my new hire coworkers,” Stephanie Rembert said. “The IRS fired 6,700 of our new hires.”

Her husband, Bob Rembert, expressed frustration with the situation.

“The last 30 days have made me so angry I can’t even get it out,” Bob Rembert said.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan addressed the nationwide cuts earlier this week.

“You don’t want those cuts to be haphazard,” Deegan said. “They need to be intentional.”

At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, Dr. Michael Faulkender, nominee for Deputy Secretary of Treasury and former Trump administration official, addressed concerns about the reported cuts.

When questioned about plans to reduce the IRS workforce by half, Faulkender stated he was unaware of any such plans beyond the layoffs that have already occurred.

Faulkender says the current reductions would not disrupt the ongoing tax filing season.

“Those reductions would take us back down to IRS personnel levels that we had during the first Trump administration, where we continue to successfully collect revenues,” Faulkender said. “So I am not anticipating that there’s going to be any disruption in our ability to engage in this filings, to engage in the collections at the IRS this filing season or thereafter.”

According to Faulkender, the Treasury Secretary aims to modernize the IRS by 2025, focusing on improving collection, customer service and privacy while addressing the challenge of outdated technology systems.