FBI? Gone. IRS? Gone. CDC? Gone. ATF? Gone. Welcome to a Vivek Ramaswamy presidency

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Vivek Ramaswamy wants to make massive cuts to the government workforce, and he didn't want Iowans to forget it.

Standing on stage at a brewery here on Thursday morning, he declared that there are "government agencies that should not exist because they have become so corrupted that they have abandoned their true purpose." Hours later he outlined to a crowd in Decorah "how we drain the swamp."

During an evening rally at a lodge in Waterloo, he called for "eight-year term limits for the bureaucracy." And at Saturday evening's Faith and Freedom banquet, he explained that bureaucracy was "sucking the air and lifeblood out of our constitutional republic."

The 38-year-old businessman and 2024 presidential candidate's swing through eastern Iowa was preceded by a speech in Washington, D.C., where Ramaswamy homed in on a central plank of his candidacy: gutting the federal workforce at unprecedented levels.

Through five stops and speeches over a day and a half in the first caucus state, he pitched his plan to Iowans in no uncertain terms.

"If our founding fathers were walking the streets of D.C. or our country today, would they be proud or would they be appalled?" Ramaswamy said in comments to reporters Thursday. "I think today they would be appalled. After we've done that downsizing of the federal government, I think they'll be proud and rest in peace once again, as they deserve to."

Even in a Republican presidential field where many candidates have proposed cuts to federal agencies, Ramaswamy's plan stands out: Fire more than 1 million civil servants, with a goal of cutting the headcount by 75% in his first term; shut down several agencies and programs entirely, including the Department of Education, FBI and IRS; and consolidate functions within existing departments and commissions.

He's also proposed 8-year term limits for federal workers, in an effort to filter out career bureaucrats that he, former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have decried as "the swamp."

Such a plan would almost certainly encounter fierce opposition from federal workers with civil service protections, members of Congress and interest groups. Ramaswamy insists such cuts would be his constitutional duty.

The president leads the executive branch like a CEO does a company, he argues — so why shouldn't a president be able to fire executive branch employees? (Elsewhere in his stump speech, he characterizes the federal bureaucracy as a "fourth branch," and a "shadow government.") The ills of governance, he tells potential caucusgoers, don't stem from Congress or the Oval Office, but from within agency offices and meeting rooms.

"Bureaucracy is the source of the regulations that act like a wet blanket on the entire U.S. economy, including in Iowa," he said.

Ramaswamy pledged Saturday that if elected, his selections to the judicial branch would reinforce that sentiment. The judges on a list of potential Supreme Court and appellate nominees his campaign has released, he said, "share my fundamental skepticism of the existence of the administrative state."

He expects — and looks forward to — litigation if his agenda is realized.

"As painful as it will be for me, I hope we are sued," he said. I expect we will be, to take it to the Supreme Court, so we can codify that view of the constitution into judicial precedent."

Agencies on Vivek Ramaswamy's chopping block: IRS, CDC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Iowans interested in hearing about Ramaswamy's plan to make cuts likely came away with their fill. He made it a cornerstone of his initial remarks — and frequently found a way to work the plan into his answers to audience questions, of which he took several at every stop.

"The problem is, when you have a bunch of people reporting to work who should have never had that job in the first place, they find things to do," Ramaswamy said in Waterloo, explaining why he'd gut the Federal Reserve after being asked for his opinions on the country's monetary policy.

In Decorah, asked by a woman about how to "end child trafficking," he said he would shut down the FBI, moving 15,000 agents to the U.S. Marshals Service, who he said "have actually been much more effective."

Among the agencies he wants to eliminate are the Department of Education (a popular target among Republicans, many of whom are campaigning on school choice and curriculum changes), FBI, IRS, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

By far the most popular proposed cut among the Iowa crowds on Thursday was that of education, earning applause among conservatives who disapprove of public schools or teachers unions.

"The Department of Education, they've got it choked up with the unions and the teachers," said Cruz Florez of Dubuque. "And it's not the layperson; it's what they're being told from up above. Teach this philosophy. It's not good."

Also popular was the elimination of the FBI — primarily for what potential caucusgoers viewed as a broader conspiracy among federal law enforcement against the former president.

"Trump's done whatever he's done; the courts will figure it out. But it seems like it's one target after the other," said Kim White of Davenport. "It's getting out of hand, and I think everybody sees that. I think we've got to start over, rebuild, do something."

Iowa elected officials have been less enthusiastic about the agency's elimination. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, interviewing Ramaswamy on stage Saturday evening, said it serves "an important role" and asked him to clarify whether he would simply reform the agency or eliminate it entirely.

"I don't think reform of that agency is actually possible," Ramaswamy said. "I think you have to shut it down."

In a later interview with the Register, Bird said she believes "a federal law enforcement agency is really important to have," but said she believes that "what's happening in the D.C. office of the FBI is wrong."

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, during a taping of "Iowa Press" on Iowa PBS, was frank in his assessment.

"Anybody that takes that position is stupid for saying it," Grassley said Friday. "We've got to have an FBI."

Vivek Ramaswamy, frequently urging cuts, finds support among Iowans

When Ramaswamy ticked through eliminating agencies such as the IRS, ATF, CDC and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he earned polite applause throughout the day Thursday. Iowans asked about the plan by the Register were largely supportive of the principle behind broad cuts.

Shea Rea of Decorah said he had previously been "100% for Trump" but came away from Ramaswamy's event having signed a caucus pledge card for him.

"I really wanted to get Trump back in, because he was gonna cut them three-letter agencies," Rea said. "They do run Washington, and it's ridiculous. Also lobbyists, big pharma, things like that. I mean, if (Ramaswamy) can deliver, it's gonna be one of the best presidencies ever."

Bill Knipp of Waterloo, who's committed to caucus for Ramaswamy, said "there's just way too much government," and expressed support for term limits on civil servants — likening career federal employees to the head of his union when he worked as a John Deere autoworker.

"Our president at the UAW was in for well over 15 years, and he wasn't really understanding what we really needed as a union, because he kind of got soft," Knipp said. "He wasn't in the trenches where he needs to be. So I think a term limit is huge. Especially if the president can only be in there eight years. Why should anybody else be able to stay in there for a career?"

But some who supported Ramaswamy's proposed cuts harbored lingering doubts that such massive cuts to government — which sound familiar in concept — are actually feasible.

"I want to know how," said Lisa Helms of Bettendorf. "I mean, everyone says they will."

Stephen Gruber-Miller and Brianne Pfannenstiel contributed reporting.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.