Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday accused the Internal Revenue Service of rushing an audit of him, which ended up claiming he and his wife Jennifer Hegseth owed them over $30,000.

The tax returns and financial information of incoming Cabinet members are often scrutinized by Congress and the White House during the confirmation process, but this time Hegseth is criticizing the audit itself.

The secretary claimed that the audit was a "sham" and shared an image of the document on X, which showed that he and his wife allegedly owed $33,558.16. It also threatened penalties if he failed to pay the sum. 

"Of course the outgoing Biden IRS rushed an “audit” of the incoming SecDef," Hegseth wrote. "Total sham. The party of 'norms' and 'decency' strikes again. We will never back down."

The IRS has not commented on the letter or criticism so far. It is also not clear when the review was conducted, or what triggered the audit, according to The Hill.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.