Vivek Ramaswamy: Firing federal workers will be good for them
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Photo: Aspen Security Forum/Julian Haber
Vivek Ramaswamy told Axios' Mike Allen at the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday that he's "hopeful" that slashing the federal workforce could be "good for many of the individuals who make a transition from government service back to the private sector."
Why it matters: As co-chair alongside Elon Musk of the newly created "Department of Government Efficiency," Ramaswamy hopes to dramatically reduce federal government headcount.
- He said Wednesday that the reduction is not "really about saving costs," but addressing what he sees as an "overgrown federal government that is doing things that were never supposed to be done by the federal government in the first place."
What he's saying: Ramaswamy believes that cutting the workforce will improve the "productivity" of the U.S. economy, "because I don't believe that the highest and best use of any of those talented people is what they're doing in the federal government today."
- He said that because cutting the size of the workforce is not about cost-cutting, it gives DOGE "a lot of latitude" to treat federal employees and their families "in a respectful way, in a way that doesn't leave them in a lurch, it might even be by private sector standards, generous in transitioning."
Reality check: Despite that optimistic view, federal workers are unlikely to thank Ramaswamy for recommending they lose their jobs.
Between the lines: When he was running for president last year, Ramaswamy said that he would immediately fire 50% of "federal bureaucrats" if he was elected.
- But actually achieving those cuts will be much harder in practice, especially given that DOGE is only a non-governmental advisory committee.
- Musk and Ramaswamy could also face blowback from lawmakers who don't want their constituents who are federal employees to be out of work.
Go deeper: Vivek Ramaswamy to Axios: DOGE not planning cuts to Social Security, Medicare
