Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said during a Fox News interview on Wednesday that he would abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if he succeeds in becoming the next commander-in-chief.
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum pressed DeSantis on whether he would eliminate certain federal agencies if he becomes president.
“Are you in favor of eliminating any agencies? I know conservatives in the past have talked about closing the Department of Education, would you do that?” MacCallum asked. (RELATED: DeSantis Pledges To Defund Diversity, Equity And Inclusion At Public Universities)
BREAKING: Ron DeSantis was just asked if he’s in favor of eliminating any federal agencies.
He says he wants to eliminate the Departments of Education, Commerce, and Energy — and the IRS. pic.twitter.com/xwdA0GiJ9Y
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) June 28, 2023
DeSantis responded that he would nix a number of agencies.
“We would do Education, we would do Commerce, we’d do Energy, and we would do IRS,” DeSantis responded.
DeSantis added that if he couldn’t get Congress to agree to eliminate those agencies, he would use them to fight “woke ideology” in American institutions.
“But what I’m also going to do, Martha, is be prepared if Congress won’t go that far. I’m going to use those agencies to push back against woke ideology and against the leftism that we see creeping into all institutions of American life,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis also publicly shared his views on the IRS last month in an interview with radio host Dana Loesch.
Loesch asked DeSantis if he would “sign” a bill to defund the IRS if it landed on his desk. DeSantis responded “yes,” and added that he believes the IRS to be a “corrupt organization.”