Washington Examiner  2013

"To see how meaningless the career-vs.-political distinction can be at the IRS, consider the case of Mark Ernst. He was H&R Block's CEO as recently as 2007, but when Obama took office in January 2009, Ernst joined the IRS as a deputy commissioner and helped craft new regulations governing tax preparers -- H&R Block and its competitors. How did this not violate Obama's revolving-door rules? "Mark Ernst is a civil servant at the IRS," an IRS spokesman explained to me. "He is not a political appointee."

But Ernst had spent decades in the private sector. He came in with the new administration. His stint at the IRS lasted less than two years. And he certainly was political: Federal Election Commission records show he contributed more than $49,000 to federal candidates and political action committees. His donations favor Democrats.
 
So, being a "career civil servant" doesn't mean you're making a career out of the job, or that you're not political."