GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for the White House in 2024, said in an interview this week that as president he would shut down a slew of government agencies, including the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
DeSantis made the remarks in an interview with Fox News’ Martha McCallum on Wednesday.
“Are you in favor of eliminating any agencies? I know conservatives in the past have talked about closing the Department of Education. Would you do that?” McCallum asked.
“So we would do education. We would do commerce. We’d do energy, and we would do IRS. So, if Congress will work with me on doing that, we’ll be able to reduce the size and scope of government,” he said.
“What I’m also going to do, Martha, is be prepared if Congress won't go that far, I’m going to use those agencies to push back against woke ideology and against the leftism that we see creeping into all institutions of American life,” DeSantis added.
Fox News’ Martha MacCallum: “Are you in favor of eliminating any agencies?”
— The Recount (@therecount) June 28, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL): “We would do Education, we would do Commerce, we'd do Energy, and we would do IRS.” pic.twitter.com/oxo2nfAoVn
DeSantis’ statement comes shortly after he unveiled a sweeping immigration plan that would end U.S. birthright citizenship and crack down on border security, including continuing construction of a border wall.
“We will take action to end the idea that the children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship if they are born in the United States. Dangling the prize of citizenship to the future offspring of illegal immigrants is a major driver of illegal migration. It is also inconsistent with the original understanding of 14th Amendment, and we will force the courts and Congress to finally address this failed policy,” DeSantis’ campaign website states. The plan was unveiled during a visit to the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, the Miami Herald reported.
Last month, former President Donald Trump vowed to end birthright citizenship through an executive order, NBC News noted. The former president and 2024 candidate argued that it would “choke off a major incentive for continued illegal immigration.”