It’s no secret that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is at odds with the current makeup of the federal government.
Now, as a leading Republican presidential candidate, DeSantis said this week he would look to shutter four different federal agencies if he were to win the White House in 2024. This is all a part of his effort to ensure that the size of the federal government shrinks.
During an interview he gave to Martha MacCallum of Fox News on Wednesday, DeSantis explained:
“We would do Education. We would do Commerce. We’d do Energy, and we would do IRS. If Congress will work with me on doing that, we’ll be able to reduce the size and scope of government.
“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 didn’t expand on his comments at all – about why he named those particular agencies, and how some of the major things that those agencies are responsible for would be handled. His campaign also didn’t respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
The Florida governor, once considered closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, has been working hard to distinguish himself from Trump. He’s done so by trying to move even further to the right than Trump on some issues.
Earlier this week, DeSantis vetoed a bill unexpectedly that was supported by members of both political parties in Florida that would’ve reformed criminal justice in the state.
Trump has also attacked how the Education Department operates, though he didn’t specifically say he wanted to eliminate the department. He did, however, propose that all federal funding be eliminated for “any school or program pushing critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto our children.”
DeSantis seems to disagree with that to a point, because it doesn’t go far enough in his eyes. During Wednesday’s interview, he took aim at Trump when he said:
“We need to fundamentally re-constitutionalize the government. We talked about draining the swamp in 2016; that didn’t happen. I think the better analogy is breaking the swamp.”
The IRS has drawn the ire of many Republicans in recent years, and it’s not the first time that DeSantis has suggested that the tax agency should be eliminated. In May, he appeared on “The Dana Show” and said the IRS was a “corrupt organization.”
Dana Loesch, the host of that radio show, asked DeSantis whether he’d sign a bill that would ultimately abolish the IRS. He replied:
“The answer is yes. We need something totally different.”
The Florida governor said that he would be in support of a flat tax for all U.S. residents, what is essentially being called “single-rate proposals.” As he explained:
“I would be welcoming to take this tax system, chuck it out the window and do something that’s more favorable to the average folks.”
