In a controversial note, Vivek Ramaswamy, Indian-American entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate, has recently noted that he would fire over 75% of the federal work force if he is elected the US President. He further asserted that he will make a move to disband some major agencies like Department of Education, the FBI, the Food and Nutrition Service, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as per New York Times.
The report adds, about 2.25 million people work for the federal government in civilian roles. Cutting more than 75 per cent of that work force would result in more than 1.6 million people being fired, saving billions of dollars in the federal budget but also shutting down critical functions of the government
It is to be noted here, the pitch is very similar to former President Donald Trump — whom Ramaswamy dubbed as the best President of the 21st century.
“…Want to cut the federal civil workforce, by 75 percent after four years and want to see a 50 per cent reduction by the end of his first year,” he said in an interview with Axios
“Keep in mind that 30 per cent of these employees are eligible for retirement in the next five-year period,” Ramaswamy said.
“So it is substantial — no doubt about it — but it’s not as crazy as it sounds,” The Hill quoted him as saying.
According to Ramaswamy’s campaign website, he aims to “dismantle managerial bureaucracy” by shutting down “toxic government agencies,” eliminating federal employee unions, moving more than 75 per cent of federal employees out of Washington, DC, and “cut wasteful expenditures,” The Hill reported.
In a Trump-like manner, he also attacked parts of the federal government as a “deep state.”
“We will use executive authority to shut down the deep state,” Ramaswamy said on Wednesday at the America First Policy Institute in Washington, DC.
While Ramaswamy named several agencies he said he would abolish, he added that he would move many of their functions to other organizations — suggesting that many of the same jobs would still exist elsewhere.
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Updated: 15 Sep 2023, 07:20 AM IST