On Tuesday, one of the top Republican senators in the caucus revealed a set of policy proposals to eliminate one-quarter of the federal workforce, as well as cap the pay and tenure of civil servants as early as 2023, if his plans were to be enacted. 

This senator is Rick Scott, R-Fla., and these changes mentioned above are outlined in his “Rescue America” plan, which is a would-be scenario, assuming the new majority party expresses support for it if Republicans win control of Congress in the midterm elections this year. Senator Scott, under his newly drafted 11-point plan, would create 12-year term limits on all “government bureaucrats,” with exceptions only allowed for national security interests. The same restrictions would also apply to his colleagues, other members of Congress.  

“The permanent ruling class in Washington is bankrupting us with inflation and debt, so they must be removed,” Scott said.  

Scott has vowed to propel a majority of federal agencies out of Washington and sell off “nonessential” government buildings, assets and land. Federal employee pay would be capped at five times the median individual income in the United States, or around $179,000 as of 2020. That is a higher salary than any federal employee on the General Schedule, but would simultaneously lower pay for around 63,000 employees that are on other pay scales.  

Senator Scott currently serves as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He is on record saying that his “Rescue America” draft is not reflective or representative of that organization. As far as the rest of the Republican party, they have yet to reveal a governing plan, assuming the party reclaims the majority.  

“The American people are very likely to put Republicans in control of the Senate and House in 2022,” Scott said. “But then, what? If Republicans return to Washington’s business as usual, if we have no bigger plan than to be a speed bump on the road to America’s collapse, we don’t deserve to govern.” 

Of major importance and concern, senator Scott boasted that he would spearhead the initiative to cut 25% of the federal workforce within five years. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where management has long suffered severe staff cuts, would see its rolls cut in half under “Rescue America”. Scott failed to detail whether lawmakers would force agencies to start laying off employees or alternatively rely on attrition, but he did note that there would be a large shift of many responsibilities moved to the private sector. Scott seemed to speak for Republicans when he stated that the future plan was to “eliminate truly non-essential government employee positions, because they are non-essential.” 

Senator Scott continued, swearing to make sure that federal retirement dollars, such as those in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), would not be supervised by “woke fund managers and companies that put left-wing politics ahead of profits.” He was one of the senators to support the ban on TSP investing in Chinese companies.  

Currently, Scott’s blueprint for how a Republican majority would govern does not have an official endorsement from the rest of the caucus. President Biden would likely veto his initiatives, regardless of support from Scott’s colleagues in Congress.   

In recent news, senator Scott halted attempts to reform federal operations when he blocked the Senate from rapidly approving a landmark bill to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service. Scott expressed concern that the measure had not gone through the committee process on the Senate side and about the funding for a potential increase in Medicare costs. The Congressional Budget Office said in a recent score the measure would save the government $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. Lawmakers have estimated it will save the Postal Service $50 billion over the same period. Congress is still expected to send the bill to President Biden’s desk in the coming weeks. 

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