Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican presidential candidate whose strident and sometimes unrealistic proposals have helped him stand out in the crowded primary field, said in a policy speech on Wednesday that he would fire more than 75 percent of the federal work force and shutter several major agencies.
Among the government organizations that Mr. Ramaswamy vowed to disband are the Department of Education, the F.B.I., the Food and Nutrition Service, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Mr. Ramaswamy, 38, also claimed he could make the changes unilaterally if he were to be elected president, putting forward a sweeping theory that the executive wields the power to restructure the federal government on his own and does not need to submit such proposals to Congress for approval.
His pitch was another echo of former President Donald J. Trump, whom he has modeled himself after and who sought to expand political control over the federal work force near the end of his term.
Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Ramaswamy has also attacked parts of the federal government as a “deep state.”
Persons:
Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Donald J, Trump, ”
Organizations:
Republican, Department of Education, Food and Nutrition Service, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives
![Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Koretski_Headshot.Jpg](/find/mix/0?q="Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Koretski_Headshot.Jpg"){kind=link}