Donald Trump has proposed expanding presidential power to allow for presidents to fire any executive branch employee, a comment that demonstrates the extent to which the former president seeks to consolidate political power if he retakes the White House.
Mr Trump made the remarks when speaking over the weekend in Florence, South Carolina.
“We will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the president of the United States,” he said. “The deep state must and will be brought to heel. It’s already happening.” The so-called “deep state” is a reference to a group of career officials in the federal government whom Mr Trump believed were out to get him, despite no evidence to support the claim.
Throughout his tenure, Mr Trump ousted and fired numerous officials, including FBI Director James Comey, which led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Throughout the special counsel investigation, plenty of Democrats worried the president would fire the special counsel – and Mr Trump reportedly came close to doing so, before being talked out of it by aides. Similarly, Mr Trump had hinted firing chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci.
But as Business Insider reported, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 prevented presidents from firing or demoting employees covered by the law. The law intended to curb the “spoils system”, which allowed for presidents to hand out presidential appointments to political allies and supporters in exchange for a merit-based system.
The law reportedly covers more than 2.9 million positions in the federal government, according to the National Archives.
The former held the rally where he railed against his political rivals, including South Carolina Republican Reps Nancy Mace and Tom Rice.
