Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said he wants to cut the "footprint of all agencies in D.C. by 50%" in an effort to reduce bureaucracy in the federal government.
The Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate said the regulations from administrative agencies have hurt the economy and that he would "rip out" President Joe Biden's "executive orders and the regulations" if elected president. His comments came while speaking on CNBC's Last Call.
UP FOR DEBATE: WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND REST OF REPUBLICAN 2024 FIELD STAND ON KEY ISSUES
"We're gonna take all the executive orders and the regulations that Biden has done and we’re going to rip them out. If you look at a lot of what’s been done, a lot of weight on the economy with these administrative rules, and these are things that are not appropriate. And you see that in every agency from the EPA, SEC, all these different agencies, so you’re going to have a huge amount of freedom from these rules and regulations. We’re going to rip them out, and we’re going to let the economy function again. We are going to — our goal is going to be to reduce the footprint of all agencies in D.C. by 50%," DeSantis said.
DeSantis said the reduction would be accomplished by a combination of retirements and transferring people to other parts of the United States, along with layoffs.
"The agencies in our government have grown 50% since 2019 if you look at their funding level. I don’t think there’s any American that thinks they're 50% better off for those agencies having grown by 50%," he added.
The Florida governor also discussed how regulations being carried out by federal agencies, rather than Congress, creates an accountability problem.
"These are being done by nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are not being done by our elected representatives, and that creates a problem with constitutional government because if you do something — if you’re in Congress and vote for something people don’t like, your constituents can hold you accountable. Congress has given so much power to the bureaucracy, and it exercises this power over us," he said.
"I think it's bad for the economy, for sure, but it is bad for self-government. I mean, we want power to be accountable, and too much is not right now," DeSantis said.
He also said voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are more concerned with the "regulatory burden" hurting small and medium-sized businesses, adding that more regulation gives an advantage to "biggest, most entrenched companies."
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DeSantis is currently in second place in the Republican primary, per the RealClearPolitics polling average, only behind former President Donald Trump.
The Florida governor is one of several candidates participating in the first GOP presidential debate next week in Milwaukee. Trump has not said if he will attend the debate.