Can Ron DeSantis really abolish the IRS as he promises?

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) Joins the Ranks of Republicans Promising to Eliminate Federal Agencies

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) made headlines this week by joining a long list of Republican candidates who have made bold promises to eliminate entire federal agencies if elected president. In an interview with Fox News, DeSantis outlined his plan to target the Departments of Education, Commerce, Energy, and the IRS.

“We would do Education, we would do Commerce, we’d do Energy, and we would do IRS,” DeSantis confidently stated.

While DeSantis acknowledged that Congress might not approve such a plan, he expressed his determination to use the power of these agencies to “push back against woke ideology.” However, the feasibility and consequences of such an effort raise significant questions.

Practically speaking, eliminating these agencies would result in tens of thousands of people losing their jobs. The IRS alone employs nearly 80,000 individuals, while the Department of Commerce employs over 47,000. The combined workforce of the Education and Energy departments amounts to nearly 20,000 people.

While many conservatives agree that federal agency payrolls have become bloated, the mass firing of employees could prove politically challenging. Additionally, there is the crucial issue of how the government would continue to fulfill the important functions currently performed by these agencies.

For instance, the Department of Commerce houses vital offices such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Census Bureau. The Department of Energy oversees nuclear security and efforts to protect the electric grid from cyberattacks, among other critical responsibilities. Furthermore, the IRS is responsible for collecting the revenue that sustains the entire federal government, a task that other agencies may struggle to fulfill.

It is worth noting that DeSantis is not the first Republican to propose an overhaul of the Cabinet agencies that conservatives strongly oppose. Similarly, progressives during Donald Trump’s presidency called for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to concerns about mistreatment of immigrants at the border.

Historically, Republican presidents and candidates have made similar promises. President Ronald Reagan initially pledged to abolish the Department of Education but later retreated in the face of opposition. Republican nominee Bob Dole vowed to eliminate the IRS during his 1996 presidential campaign, but he never had the opportunity after losing to Bill Clinton.

Congressional Republicans in 1996 attempted to dismantle the Department of Energy through legislation, arguing that the agency had deviated from its original purpose. Their proposal involved transferring some functions to the Pentagon and privatizing others, but it ultimately failed.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry also made a memorable pitch to scrap agencies during his 2012 presidential run. However, he infamously forgot the third department he intended to eliminate during a debate, which significantly impacted his campaign. Ironically, the department he forgot was the Department of Energy, which he later led as energy secretary under President Donald Trump.

During his presidency, Trump proposed a budget that would have eliminated funding for 19 smaller agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. However, these proposals faced skepticism from the Republican-controlled Congress and were not implemented.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also advocated for abolishing the IRS during his 2016 presidential run. He provided more detailed plans on how to achieve this goal, including a simplified tax code that would reduce the need for a large bureaucracy to enforce it.

Prior to his recent remarks, DeSantis had already expressed his intention to challenge the federal government’s bureaucracy by relocating some agencies outside of Washington, D.C., where he believes power is excessively concentrated.

While the idea of eliminating federal agencies may appeal to some, the practicality and consequences of such actions remain subjects of debate and scrutiny.

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