Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, during his recent campaign stop in New Hampshire, reiterated his commitment to drastically reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy if elected President.
What Happened: DeSantis, while addressing the crowd on Wednesday, said, “We are going to start slitting throats on day one.”
"We're going to have all of these deep state people, you know, we are going to start slitting throats on day one," DeSantis said, The Hill reported.
This wasn’t the first time DeSantis expressed his desire to eliminate several government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Education.
See Also: DeSantis Agrees To Clash With Newsom On Fox News
Back in June, he expressed his desire to slash government agencies if elected to the White House.
DeSantis reaffirmed his intentions in July while discussing his plans with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News. “You also have to bring this administrative state to heel, the bureaucracy in Washington is totally out of control,” DeSantis said.
“It is exerting power that is not therefore under the Constitution, and we need a President to come in and really, really clean house and I will do that on day one.”
Why It Matters: DeSantis’ comments were met with mixed reactions from the audience. The head of the American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union representing over 650,000 federal workers, condemned DeSantis’ remarks, calling them “disgusting, disgraceful, and disqualifying.”
“These public servants deserve respect and commendation from our nation’s leaders,” said Everett Kelley.
“No federal employee should face death threats from anyone, least of all from someone seeking to lead the U.S. government. Governor DeSantis must retract his irresponsible statement.”
DeSantis’ position in the upcoming Republican presidential primary will be closely watched, as he currently trails behind former President Donald Trump by 37% points, according to a recent New York Times survey.
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Read Next: Ron DeSantis Calls For Joe Biden Impeachment Inquiry
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