Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson says he wants to bring an end to the Department of Homeland Security in order to save money.
The candidate views the Homeland Security department as “just another layer of bureaucracy,” he told Fox Business Network.
He went as far as to ask a rhetorical question: “Homeland Security, what do they really do?”
“Why are there armed Homeland Security agents walking the streets now? Why are those black, unmarked vehicles Homeland Security? What do they do?" he asked. "I just think the morale is low within the Department of Homeland Security and nobody knows really what they do.”
Johnson said he would pull from the resources that are used for war and put them in motion right here at home.
He went on to suggest the idea of the FBI taking over Homeland Security and all of the duties that come along with it. However, he’s yet to outline what that plan would look like exactly if he were elected.
“I would just devolve those agencies back to where they came from in the first place. Put the FBI in charge of all this. I think we can all recognize the FBI’s been around for a long time, they’ve got a great reputation and going forward this would be FBI-driven,” he told Fox Business Network.
Johnson’s comments came on the same day the New York City and New Jersey bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami was captured.
The Department of Homeland Security was put in place after the 9/11 attacks and was designed to focus on antiterrorism, disaster prevention, cybersecurity, and border protection.