TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday doubled down on claims that the federal justice system has become politicized and weaponized, a view that a growing number of Republicans have championed in the days since former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment.
In an interview with conservative radio personality Hugh HewittDeSantis said that if elected president in 2024, he would “radically reduce the size” of the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and “refocus” the functions of federal law enforcement.
DeSantis did not directly address the case against Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump faces 37 felony counts related to allegations that he illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructed the FBI’s efforts to investigate.
Instead, DeSantis spoke more broadly about what he perceives to be the “weaponization of agencies.”
“We’re going to end weaponization, but the only way to end weaponization is accountability. And that means, of course, a new FBI director, cleaning house at all these agencies,” said the ‘GOP presidential hopeful.
Without providing specific examples, DeSantis said he would use “the full scope” of Article II of the US Constitution, which outlines the process by which civil servants can be removed from office.
DeSantis said he would use those powers to “bring the bureaucracy closer.”
“I do not accept this idea that the president cannot remove a person from ‘career’. When they’re abusing power and going beyond what’s appropriate, they should be terminated and terminated quickly,” DeSantis said. “So we will. I think we’re going to do it in a big way.”
His promise is consistent with how DeSantis has performed as CEO in Florida. As governor, he has not been afraid to use law enforcement, the courts, or the expansion of his own executive powers to pursue his own agenda and fight the “woke” and his political opponents.
More broadly, DeSantis appears to be in tune with Americans’ mistrust of the federal government, a view most Americans hold, according to surveys.
The Republican governor made it clear he believes the problem goes beyond Trump’s impeachment. For example, he said he would like to see changes in the way the federal government investigates civil rights cases.
“Yes, of course you don’t discriminate against a racial minority, but you also have to look at corporate America, the government, academia, how they use things like DEI. [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] in a discriminatory manner against other people,” he said. “And so we’re going to say zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination, regardless of whether you’re in the majority or the minority.”
The interview comes as the 2024 Republican presidential primary kicks into high gear this summer, with Trump and the rest of the GOP camp bracing for the possibility that the former president could face two rounds of impeachment earlier that voters vote in November 2024.
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Trump is currently under federal indictment over his handling of classified documents, and accused in New York of falsifying business records to conceal extramarital affairs in the months leading up to the 2016 election. But he faces additional state and federal charges related to the investigations into his conduct during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and the 2020 election in Georgia.
He will be arraigned in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.
DeSantis did not address those allegations during Monday’s interview.
Trump, who has vowed to fight the case, has added fuel to baseless claims that his indictment stems from a biased federal law enforcement system.
“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice will go down as one of the most horrific abuses of power in our country’s history,” Trump said. said Saturday at the Georgia Republican Party’s annual convention.
“This brutal persecution is a travesty of justice,” he said.
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