Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 election, has made a bold promise to drastically reduce the size of the federal government if elected. In a recent interview, Ramaswamy outlined his plan to dismantle several federal agencies, including the Department of Education, the FBI, the ATF, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the IRS, the Department of Commerce, and the CDC.
Ramaswamy’s vision involves a significant reduction in the administrative state under the executive branch. He believes that the regulatory state has been a hindrance to businesses across the country and that its reduction would stimulate economic growth and restore the constitutional republic.
The presidential hopeful also expressed his intention to reduce the federal employee headcount by over 75% by the end of his potential second term in January 2033. He described this as an effort to uproot the “unconstitutional fourth branch of government.”
Ramaswamy’s plans include a significant overhaul of the FBI, which he described as an agency “that was made to be corrupt” since its inception with J. Edgar Hoover. He argued that the DEA’s separate pursuit of drug cases from the FBI is a redundancy and a waste of money and bureaucracy.
In addition to these changes, Ramaswamy pledged to sign an executive order to publish records showing any instance of government agencies pressuring private entities like social media companies and banks to do things “what government couldn’t do through the front door.”
On the topic of abortion, Ramaswamy, who identifies as “unapologetically pro-life,” refrained from committing to sign a bill that would ban abortions at either six, 15, or 20 weeks. He believes the abortion debate is a state-level issue, though he would commit to defunding Planned Parenthood.
When asked about the electability of former President Trump, Ramaswamy stated that he believes most of the Republican candidates in the field, including Trump, could beat Biden. However, he emphasized that he is the only candidate who can secure a “landslide” victory.
Ramaswamy has recently launched a new fundraising program, “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet,” which allows supporters to earn a 10% commission of the money they raise for his campaign. His campaign has already met the RNC’s fundraising prerequisite to participate in the first GOP primary debate, having exceeded 60,000 unique donors in early July.
