Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s idea for how to cut the size of the federal government is not getting a warm reception.
On Sunday, Ramaswamy suggested using federal employees’ Social Security numbers to decide who gets to keep their job.
“On Day 1, *instantly* fire 50% of federal bureaucrats. Here’s how: if your SSN ends in an odd number, you’re fired,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He added, “That downsizes government by half. Absolutely *nothing* will break as a result. It doesn’t violate civil service rules because mass layoffs are exempt. SHUT IT DOWN.”
This avoids civil service protections: no bureaucrat can claim their firings were politically motivated.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 12, 2023
Further firings can be executed with a chisel, but Step 1 needs to be an unrestrained chainsaw or else it just won’t happen.
He also suggested it would ensure “no bureaucrat can claim their firings were politically motivated.”
“Further firings can be executed with a chisel, but Step 1 needs to be an unrestrained chainsaw or else it just won’t happen,” Ramaswamy insisted.
However, his plan was not well received.
This man is a moron. https://t.co/MNArL0JAvd
— 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 ⚓️ (@Jay__Cost) November 12, 2023
Vivek Ramaswamy isn’t this stupid. He just thinks voters are. https://t.co/Spp70KBxk0
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) November 13, 2023
I love the idea of halving the government, especially its spending, but like most @VivekGRamaswamy's proposals, this is glib and uninformed, good for pep rallies but not actual change or reform. https://t.co/ish37DRPoc https://t.co/Cb41zWxe5r pic.twitter.com/eLUfOCgibU
— Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) November 13, 2023
Vivek is that dude at every Vegas bachelor party who is 100 % confident he has an ingenious trick that will help everyone beat the casino if they just put him in charge of the group for one Saturday night. https://t.co/MYXi1QObO6
— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) November 13, 2023
https://twitter.com/SohrabAhmari/status/1723857093868798152
I’ll take “Legally impossible Thanos takes for $300” Alex https://t.co/6PiuCwnA47
— Emily Domenech (@ehdomenech) November 13, 2023
Yeah I’m pretty sure firing someone because of the last digit of their SSN would invite one hell of a lawsuit
— Jen Monroe (@thatjenmonroe) November 12, 2023
But ok, very smart businessman https://t.co/seRnAhD200
Ramaswamy’s post comes as polls show he has slipped into fourth place for the Republican presidential nomination for 2024.