Ramaswamy says he wants to cut 1M civilian federal employees

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to cut 1 million civilian federal employees from the government if elected to the White House next year.

In interviews with Axios and Semafor, Ramaswamy said he wanted to make drastic cuts to the federal government. He listed the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Education, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the IRS, the Commerce Department and the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services as potential subjects for the cuts.

The tech entrepreneur told Axios he wants to cut the federal civil workforce, which comprises 2.2 million people, by 75 percent after four years. He added he wants to see a 50 percent reduction by the end of his first year.

“Keep in mind that 30 percent 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.”

He told Semafor he would unveil more details of his plan during a speech Wednesday at the America First Policy Institute.

According to his campaign website, Ramaswamy aims to “dismantle managerial bureaucracy” by shutting down “toxic government agencies,” eliminating federal employee unions, moving more than 75 percent of federal employees out of Washington, D.C., and “cut wasteful expenditures.”

Ramaswamy is not the only Republican pushing to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would cut the “footprint” of all D.C. federal agencies in half if he is elected to the White House in 2024. DeSantis has also suggested eliminating several federal agencies, including the IRS.