DeSantis Vows To Relocate Department Of Agriculture If Elected President

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has vowed that, if elected president in 2024, he will relocate the Department of Agriculture from Washington, D.C., to a state that actually understands and takes part in farming.

As part of his pledge to reduce the federal government’s physical presence in D.C. by half, DeSantis told Iowans in a speech on Saturday that he would be moving the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to Iowa.

“You guys will have first dibs on the Department of Agriculture. We’ll send it to Iowa, and you guys can take care of it,” the Republican presidential candidate said in a speech in Newton, Iowa.

DeSantis went on to explain that the American people would rather have these agencies located in the communities they serve than in Washington, D.C., with the bureaucrats.

“A number of people said that they don’t like USDA Washington bureaucrats interfering with how people are farming and they would much rather have this agency be run with people from their own communities,” he argued.

DeSantis shared a clip of his speech on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with the caption: “We’re going to be laser focused on returning the government to We the People. We will answer the call on what people have suggested here in Iowa. You guys will have first dibs on the Department of Agriculture. We’ll send it to Iowa!”

This campaign stop in Newton was just the latest in what the DeSantis team has dubbed his “Full Grassley” tour — named after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). DeSantis has said that this tour followed in Grassley’s footsteps, as the Iowa senator visits every county in his own state each year.

There are 99 counties in Iowa, and DeSantis visited all of them as part of this tour — which comes ahead of the state’s “first in the nation” primary next year.

The Florida governor has claimed that his visit to every county in Iowa was not “just about” the Iowa caucus.

“I don’t think doing the 99 counties is just about the caucus. By the fact that I’m willing to do this, that should show you that I consider myself a servant — not a ruler. That’s how people that get elected should consider themselves,” he wrote in a post on X.

Despite all of his campaigning, DeSantis is far behind in the national primary polls, even falling behind establishment GOP candidate Nikki Haley. However, DeSantis does have a lead over Haley in Iowa, though both of them are far behind former President Donald Trump in the state, and in national polling.