Nov. 13 (UPI) — Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy says that if he is elected president of the United States, he would cut 50% of the government workforce at random on his first day in office.
Ramaswamy, who has been a proponent of downsizing the government, said in a tweet Sunday that former President Donald Trump was stopped from “firing bureaucrats” by civil service protections.
“Here’s the solution: randomness,” Ramaswamy said. “Non-discretionary firings are legally defensible and avoid civil service rules.”
Ramaswamy suggested using a random method to the firings, such as firing employees whose Social Security number ends in an odd number.
“If that sounds too random, that’s exactly the point: No bureaucrat can allege their firing was discriminatory or politically retributive,” he added. “Absolutely *nothing* will break as a result.”
He has previously proposed eliminating government agencies, including the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service. He has also been outspoken against U.S. support for Ukraine.
During the Republican primary debate last week, he said support for Ukraine has been a “disaster” and Ukraine is “not a paragon of democracy,” and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a Nazi.
Ramaswamy has often launched attacks against his fellow GOP candidates on the debate stage. He called on Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to step down during Wednesday’s debate, blaming her for Republicans underperforming in recent elections.
