Ron DeSantis pledged on Wednesday that he would eliminate four federal agencies if he were elected president: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, and Department of Education.
“If Congress will work with me on doing that, we’ll be able to reduce the size and scope of government,” the Florida governor said in an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum. “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.”
Presidential candidates have long tried to eliminate federal agencies, but cannot do so unilaterally, needing Congress to go along with the plan. Rick Perry, the former Texas governor, had one of the most embarrassing moments in a presidential campaign in recent memory during a 2011 debate, when he forgot one of the agencies he wanted to eliminate. Donald Trump later tapped him to lead that agency, the Department of Energy.
DeSantis offered the proposals as he continues to significantly lag behind Donald Trump in polls for the GOP presidential nomination. The Florida governor is moving to run to the right of Trump on key issues, hoping to mobilize the GOP’s conservative base.
DeSantis is also facing scrutiny over his use of government resources in Texas, the Daily Beast reported. On Monday, when he visited the Texas-Mexico border, his campaign posted a photo of him standing in front of a helicopter owned by the Texas department of public safety (DPS).
It’s not clear who paid for the effort, but Texas ethics rules bar the use of state resources to assist in a political campaign. As a candidate for president, DeSantis is also required to pay “fair market value” for non-commercial flights.
DeSantis’s office told the New York Times his visit was both in a campaign and official capacity. The Texas Department of Public Safety told the Times that the purpose of the trip was so DeSantis could see how Florida government equipment was being used to curb migration. Texas and Florida have a joint immigration enforcement program, Operation Lone Star, which was announced in May.
“The briefing included an aerial tour which was provided by DPS in order to give Governor DeSantis a clearer understanding of how Florida’s resources are being utilized along our southern border and see the challenges first hand,” Ericka Miller, a DPS spokesperson, told the Times.
Earlier this year, DeSantis’s former state political committee in Florida transferred $82.5m to a federal Super Pac supporting him – a move critics said ran afoul of federal law because Super Pacs are supposed to be independent from candidates. DeSantis also signed a law in Florida making it more difficult to track his travel and see who is paying for it.
DeSantis was also given a tour of the Rio Grande river on a boat owned by the Florida government, the New York Times reported. After the event, he gave a lengthy campaign speech on immigration.
