Republican presidential contenders (from left) Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson look on as Donald Trump answers a question during the debate.

Republican presidential contenders (from left) Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson look on as Donald Trump answers a question during the debate. Mark J. Terrill / AP

Here's Everything Federal Employees Need to Know About Wednesday's GOP Debate

Fifteen Republican presidential candidates square off on the size and role of the federal government.

The 11 top candidates for the Republican presidential nomination participated in the party’s third debate on Wednesday. The event, held in Boulder, Colo., focused on the economy, which throughout the night, turned into a discussion on the role of the federal government. Here are the main takeaways from the contenders on how they would change or reform federal agencies and their workforces.

  • Ben Carson: The retired neurosurgeon said there are 645 federal departments and agencies (a number that is disputed, depending on what one counts). “Anybody who tells me that we need every penny and every one of those is in a fantasy world,” Carson said. He didn’t get into specifics, but said the cuts would make up for the lost revenue from his reduced taxes.
  • Rand Paul: The Kentucky senator voiced his opposition to the budget deal that passed the House on Wednesday, saying “the debt ceiling should be used as leverage to reform government.” The deal would lift sequester caps. Paul noted the sequester was created to rein in federal spending, but it is no longer doing that. 
  • Carly Fiorina: Without getting into specifics, the former Hewlett-Packard executive said the only way to “level the playing field” is to rein in the bloated federal government. The CNBC moderators, who faced significant criticism throughout the debate, asked Fiorina if she thought the federal government should help private businesses establish retirement savings accounts for their employees, but Fiorina said government should stay out of people’s retirements. President Obama has proposed allowing all Americans to invest in the Government Securities Fund currently available to federal employees and retirees through the Thrift Savings Plan.
  • Mike Huckabee: The former Arkansas governor also took to criticizing the size of government, saying the military blimp that broke loose in Pennsylvania earlier Wednesday was a “perfect example” of a runaway government.
  • Ted Cruz: Like Paul, the Texas senator also called the budget deal terrible. Cruz was the first on the debate stage to suggest doing away with a specific federal agency. He called for tax returns to be filed on a postcard “so we can eliminate the Internal Revenue Service.”
  • John Kasich: The Ohio governor also tackled federal agency reform. He said the power of the Education Department to give out grants should be reduced. He also, however, seemed to make up a federal agency, saying he would reform the “welfare department.”
  • Chris Christie: The New Jersey governor also weighed in on things the federal government should not do, saying it should not regulate daily fantasy football websites that many say equate to gambling. Instead, Christie said the federal government should focus on securing the nation's borders, “protecting our people” and “supporting the values of the American people.” He also called the Justice Department overly political.

Paul pretty much summed up the sentiment of everyone on the stage, saying he would like to see a “government so small I can barely see it.” Fiorina followed that by saying she would shrink government and “hold it accountable.”

Before the main event, four candidates squared off in the undercard debate. They discussed the budget deal, the need to cut federal spending and their experiences in limiting government. Here are some takeaways:

  • Lindsey Graham: The senator from South Carolina answered his first question with a shot at Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for her comments last week in which she said the scandals at the Veterans Affairs Department were not as widespread as some had made them out to be. Clinton this week partially walked those comments back, saying she would roll out a VA reform plan next month. Asked about cyber attacks carried out by foreign governments against the United States, Graham -- after alluding to the hack of federal employees, retirees and clearance seekers -- said, “Make me commander in chief and this crap stops.” 
  • George Pataki: Like Graham, the former New York governor said he would support the bipartisan budget deal, but only because President Obama “held the military hostage.” 
  • Bobby Jindal: The Louisiana governor noted, “We have 30,000 fewer employees than when I took office,” suggesting he would do the same thing to the federal government. Jindal also said he did not support the budget deal.
X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.