Senator J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, was confronted on Sunday during an interview about his previous comments on wanting Donald Trump to fire “every civil servant in the administrative state.”
Since launching his political career, Vance has become one of Trump’s staunchest GOP Senate allies. More recently, he has been floated as a potential running mate to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
In a Sunday interview with ABC News’ This Week, host George Stephanopoulos, while discussing Trump’s bid for a second term as president, pointed to the senator’s previous remarks on a 2021 podcast.
In September 2021 interview with conservative podcast host Jack Murphy, Vance urged Trump to fire “every civil servant” in the administration and replace them during a second term while seemingly suggesting he ignore any Supreme Court ruling that ordered him to stop.
“I think that what Trump should do, like if I was giving him one piece of advice, fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people, and when the courts, because you will get taken to court, and then when the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say the Chief Justice has made his ruling, now let him enforce it,” Vance previously said.
Newsweek has reached out to Vance’s office and Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.
However, when asked by Stephanopoulos if he think it’s okay for the president to defy the Supreme Court, Vance said, “No, no, George, I did not say fire everyone in the government. I said replace the mid-level bureaucrats with people who are responsive to the administration.”
Vance’s comments come after Trump previously pledged to reintroduce an executive order known as Schedule F if he wins a second term. According to Reuters in December, it would allow Trump “the power to strip employment protections from government civil servants, potentially fire them and bring in loyalists willing to implement far-right policies.”
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A move Vance seemingly referred to on Sunday as he added: “We have a major problem here with administrator and bureaucrats in the government who don’t respond to the elected branches. If those people aren’t following the rules, then, of course, you’ve got to fire them, and, of course, the president has to be able to run the government as he thinks he should.”
However, this move could also be blocked by a hopeful proposed rule change by President Joe Biden, that would make it more difficult for Trump to re-introduce Schedule F. According to Reuters, the new rule, which could be implemented by Biden’s Office of Personnel Management by spring 2024, would allow federal employees whose job classification was changed to retain their current employment protections.
Although, still not directly answering whether the president had to abide by Supreme Court rulings regarding civil servants, Stephanopoulos continued to press Vance to clarify.
Vance responded by stating, “The Constitution says that the Supreme Court can make rulings, but if the Supreme Court—and look, I hoped that they would not do this—but if the Supreme Court said the president of the United States can’t fire a general, that would be an illegitimate ruling.”
Sunday’s interview came to a head when Stephanopoulos said, “You’ve made it very clear—you believe the president can defy the Supreme Court,” but before Vance could respond, his mic was cut.
Meanwhile, Trump, the frontrunner for his party’s 2024 nomination, has continued to gain momentum since winning the Republican caucus in Iowa last month. The former president also won the New Hampshire primary with 54.5 percent of the vote, ahead of second-placed Nikki Haley with 44.7 percent.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.