Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his 2024 presidential campaign on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, following the Iowa Republican caucus. He stated, “We did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight. I’m looking at a need in our country and a job that needs to be done that I see very few people stepping up to actually deliver, which is to answer what it even means to be an American today — to revive our missing national identity, especially in the next generation of Americans.”
For Ramaswamy’s positions on the issues covered by ProCon.org during his candidacy, click here.
Vivek Ramaswamy, businessman
Candidacy announced: Feb. 21, 2023
Personal Life
Full Name: Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy
Birthdate: Aug. 9, 1985
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Marital Status: married to Apoorva Tewari, laryngologist specializing in swallowing disorders
Children:
- Karthik, born in 2020
- Arjun, born in 2022
Religion: Hindu
Pets: none found
Career, Education, & Publications
Career Highlights:
- Cofounder and Executive Chairman, Strive Asset Management, Jan. 2022-present
- Founder and CEO, Roivant Sciences, 2014-present
- Partner, QVT Financial LP, 2007 – 2014
- Cofounder and President, Campus Venture Network, 2007 – 2009
Education:
- JD, Yale Law School, 2013
- AB, biology, Harvard University, 2007
Select Publications:
- Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence, 2022
- Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, 2021
Internet & Social Media Presence
Campaign Website:
Facebook:
Instagram:
Linkedin:
TikTok:
Twitter:
YouTube:
Should the Use of Private Prisons Continue?
Not Clear
“Rule #1 of stakeholder capitalism: the more ruthless your business practices, the more you must issue progressive declarations. Meet the for-profit prison company who pats itself on the back for its ‘racial equity’ audits.”
Editors’ Note: Ramaswamy was replying to a tweet about Core Civic, a private prison company.
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, June 27, 2022
Should the U.S. Require Universal Background Checks for Gun Purchases?
Not Clear
“The ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives], is an agency beyond repair. I have already pledged to shut down the FBI and to rebuild a new federal law enforcement apparatus from scratch. This new apparatus can perform the function of background checks without creating a gun registry or shadow database – and I will shut down the ATF whose culture has become so toxic that it cannot merely be ‘reformed,’”
Editors’ Note: Universal background checks would require that even private sales go through NICS. Though Ramaswamy supports background checks, whether Ramaswamy endorses the expansion is unclear.
Brandon Gillespie, “GOP Hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to Call for Shut Down of ATF, Expanded 2A Rights in NRA Convention Speech,” foxnews.com, Apr. 13, 2023
Should the Death Penalty Be Legal?
No position as of Aug. 31, 2023.
Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal?
PRO
“Vivek is in favor of federal legalization of marijuana. The current state-level ‘legalization’ farce contributes to the culture of lawbreaking. It’s literally against the law. For us to pretend otherwise only undermines the rule of law in this country.”
Editors’ Note: The above is a statement from Ramaswamy’s campaign.
Ben Adlin, “GOP Candidate Ramaswamy Supports Federal Marijuana Legalization and Allowing Veterans to Use Psychedelics,” marijuanamoment.net, Aug. 15, 2023
Should Public Sector Employees Have the Right to Unionize?
CON
“Eliminate federal employee unions: repeal JFK’s executive order 10988”
Editors’ Note: President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10988 in 1962. The order allows federal employees to bargain only over pay and working conditions.
Vivek Ramaswamy, “America First 2.0,” vivek2024.com (accessed Sep. 27, 2023)
Source for Editors’ Note: Alexia Fernández Campbell, “Government Workers Don’t Have a Federal Right to Unionize. Democrats Want to Change That.,” vox.com. June 25, 2019
Should Washington, DC, Be Granted U.S. Statehood?
No position as of Aug. 31, 2023.
Should the U.S. Become Socialist?
Not Clear
“I think that’s created new fertile ground for the question of where American capitalism, where western capitalism more broadly, goes from here. And I’m trying to do my part in shaping that for the better…. I think our national success bred a culture of entitlement, entitlement bred a culture of laziness. And in some ways, victimhood fits laziness like a glove because no one wants to be lazy. You’d rather not work, not because you don’t feel like working, you’d rather claim you’re not working because you’re in the grand fight against the oppression of capitalism, which is what many in the anti-work movement, and that is a movement in the United States, now say as a justification for why they don’t want to return to work, despite the fact that the labor market becks them to return.”-
Gerry Baker, “The Pushback to Woke Capitalism,” wsj.com, Oct. 19, 2022
Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?
Not Clear
“Speaking as a former investor, a former CEO, and now as a private citizen, I do not want American capitalists to play a larger role than they already do in defining and implementing our country’s political and social values. The answers to these questions should, in my opinion, be determined by our citizenry—publicly through debate and privately at the ballot box.
Democratically elected officeholders like yourselves, not CEOs and portfolio managers, should lead the debate about what social values we ought to prioritize over others. Managers of corporations should rightly decide whether to build a manufacturing plant or a research lab; whether to invest in one piece of software or another; whether to promote one aspiring executive or a competitor.
But a democracy should not want or pressure its business leaders to make the moral judgment about whether a minimum wage for American workers is more important than full employment, or whether minimizing society’s carbon footprint is more important than raising prices on consumer goods. Investors and CEOs are no better suited to make these decisions than, with all due respect, any member of this committee is to make the day-to-day operating decisions of a biotechnology company.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, “Written Testimony of Vivek Ramaswamy Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Hearing Entitled ‘The Dignity of Work’ April 29, 2021,” banking.senate.gov, Apr. 29, 2021
Should the U.S. Implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI)?
Not Clear
“You know what I’m proposing, I’m proposing to gut them [“three letter government agencies” such as the FBI]…. These beuracracies have failed repeatedly…. I think actually I would just take that money [used to fund the government agencies]–here’s a general blueprint for how I’ll run the federal government, from health care to education policy, even to other areas of the federal government–take those savings and put that money back in the pockets of our citizens. Just send them a tax-free check, if that’s what it takes.”
Editors’ Note: The above is not a UBI plan. However, the idea of a tax-free payment is akin to UBI.
News Nation, “GOP Hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy Rises in the Polls | The Hill,” youtube.com, Aug. 15, 2023
Should the Federal Government Pay Reparations to the Descendants of Enslaved People?
CON
“Look, I think there was a time and place for reparations, back in 1870, right after the Civil War ended. That moment has passed. And now if we keep on looking backward, I don’t think we’re going to find a way to move forward as a country…. If you think about it there are going to be all kinds of implementation issues. Who counts as Black? You’re gonna have a lot of people who claim to be Black, who in the strict sense really ought not have been included in this program. Even the kids of immigrants who came over in the 60s or 70.
But even if you put the implementation issues aside, what does this really do? It creates an incentive structure for people to compete to be a victim. What about Japanese Americans whose parents or grandparents were in internment camps? Jewish Americans who’ve experienced discrimination. We get into this victimhood olympics. And there is no gold medalist in America’s victimhood olympics. There is only one loser in the end, and that is America. And that’s where this discussion takes us, as looking backward instead of looking forward which is where we need to go.”
America Reports, “Vivek Ramaswamy: Racial Reparations Create an Incentive Structure to Compete to Be a Victim,” foxnews.com, Feb. 9, 2023
Should Public College Be Tuition-Free?
No position found as of Sep. 29, 2023.
Should Parents or Other Adults Be Able to Ban Books from Schools and Libraries?
CON
“I’m no fan of many ideologies permeating our schools today. But here’s the right way to fix it: total transparency for parents about what’s actually being taught in public schools…paired with school choice. Transparency + accountability is the answer, not censorship.”
“Name ONE time in human history when the group fighting to ban books and censor speech were the good guys. I’ll wait…”
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, Jan. 31, 2022
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, Feb. 25, 2021
Should Any Amount of Student Loan Debt Be Eliminated via Forgiveness or Bankruptcy?
CON
“The Supreme Court just struck down Biden’s disastrous student loan forgiveness program. We have a bad habit in America of paying people to do the exact opposite of what we want them to do: more $$ to stay at home than to work, more $$ to be a single mother than married, more $$ for those who *fail* to repay loans than those who do. As a matter of policy, this decision helps reverse that trend. As a matter of law, this case builds upon West Virginia vs. EPA (2022) in setting a powerful precedent suggesting that *most* regulations promulgated by the Administrative State are unlawful. I will lead the Executive Branch accordingly: I will rescind *all* federal regulations that fail the Supreme Court’s new standard. This will unleash the American economy and restore the integrity of our 3-branch Constitutional Republic over the unconstitutional behavior of the Fourth Branch.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, June 30, 2023
Should Voters Be Required to Show Photo Identification to Vote?
PRO
“We missed a decisive moment 2 years ago when concerns election integrity & the peaceful transition of power came to a head, but we can still get this right & move our nation forward:
1. Make Election Day a National Holiday
2. Single-Day Voting
3. Paper Ballots
4. Government-issued voter ID matched to the voter file. I will lead us to get there & pledge to lead *all* Americans forward beyond concerns about election integrity after that. This is achievable.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, Aug. 27, 2023
Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16?
CON
“We’re not a direct democracy. We are a *constitutional republic.* We need to revive civic duty among young Americans. That’s why I’m announcing my support for a constitutional amendment to raise the voting age from 18 to 25, but to still allow 18-year-olds to vote if they either pass the same civics test required of immigrants to become naturalized citizens, or else to perform 6 months of military or first responder service. We must be ambitious. I understand not everyone will like this proposal and that it will take persuasion to convince many of its merits, but I’m ready to take that on.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, May 11, 2023
Should the Federal Government Intervene to Lower Prescription Drugs Costs?
PRO
“Audience member: How would you help lower our prescription drug prices?”
Ramaswamy: “Great question. And this is something… that is very personal to me because I began my career actually in the biotech industry developing medicines. And I saw from the front lines… probably the biggest invisible monster that is actually responsible for raising drug prices in this country that almost no one sees. That is the FDA [Food and Drug Administration]. Ok the FDA imposes the kinds of hurdles needed to develop a new medicine that make it far more costly than it needs to be. Billions of dollars and over ten years for a new medicine. That means when that hurdle is that high, that cost gets passed on to the consumer. So when it comes to prescription drugs, especially when it comes to innovative pharmaceutical products, the FDA is something that the next president can actually reform.
The second thing we need is more generic competition. Here the FDA plays a different role, too. Generics are supposed to hit the market when a patent expires. Companies play a lot of games. Pharma [pharmaceuticals] is a corrupt industry, but they only respond to the incentives that they’re given by a complex bureaucracy and government. And, so, I’m going to reform that. I’m going to simplify it. Streamline the process for getting new medicines to market. That’s great, maybe the pharmaceutical folks will like that. The part they won’t like it also making sure that generics get to market when they’re supposed to, rather than being delayed in what is really a corrpt process. And I know how to fix it.”
Adam Sexton, “Vivek Ramaswamy Answers New Hampshire Voter Questions about Lowering Prescription Drug Prices, Continued US Support for Ukraine,” wmur.com, May 12, 2023
Not Clear
“I don’t believe a federal abortion ban makes any sense and I say that as somebody who’s pro-life.”
Editors’ Note: Ramaswamy has expressed support for state-level abortion bans: “Life ends right when … brainwaves end — that’s how we determine when life ends on the back end. I think we should apply a consistent principle on the front end, that’s around the six-week mark that brainwaves do begin. This is not an answer for the president, because I think the federal government should be out of this. But if you’re a governor or you’re dealing with this in the states, I can share with you my opinion on it.”
Smerconish, “GOP Candidate Ramaswamy Shares Views on Abortion, Civics, Ukraine,” cnn.com, May 13, 2023
Source for Editors’ Note: Ryan King, “Ramaswamy Signals Support for Six-Week Abortion Ban at State Level,” washingtonexaminer.com, Apr. 26, 2023
Should the U.S. Continue Constructing a U.S./Mexico Border Wall?
PRO
“It’s not ‘Build-the-Wall’ anymore. It’s Build *Both* Walls. I visited the Northern & Southern Borders this month. This isn’t a technical challenge, the country that put a man on the moon can fix this. It’s a question of political will.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, twitter.com, Oct. 19, 2023
Should the U.S. Maintain Birthright Citizenship?
CON
“For a period of time, I think it’s [ending birthright citizenship] going to be necessary…. I’ll actually go one step further on this, Abby [Phillip, CNN interviewer], is that I don’t think someone just because they’re born in this country, even if they’re a sixth generation American should automatically enjoy all the privileges of citizenship until they’ve actually earned it. So one of the things I’ve said is that every high school student who graduates from high school should have to pass the same civics test that every immigrant has to pass in order to become a citizen of this country.”
Prem Thakker, “Vivek Ramaswamy Calls to Take Away Young People’s Right to Vote,” newrepublic.com, July 7, 2023
Should the U.S. Government Provide a Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants?
No position as of July 21, 2023.
Is Artificial Intelligence Good for Society?
Not Clear
“A temporary pause [on artificial intelligence development] amongst U.S. companies — if China is actually running forward with it — that doesn’t do anything in alleviating the risks of AI. It exacerbates them because Americans are at an even greater risk instead…. I do have some concerns with the advancement of AI. In the name of helping humanity, AI presents a lot of other risks to humanity that may be difficult to reverse…. It’s important as a U.S. president not to apply any constraints to the U.S. that China isn’t itself adopting, but to lead diplomatically in a way that we’re able to address those risks together. We can’t tie our own hands if China isn’t adopting the same constraints…. I have even run a company that used AI to discover and design drugs, even AI in the drug development process…. China represents a much greater risk to the US right now than AI does. We have to be eyes wide open to that fact.”
Kassy Dillon and Jon Michael Raasch, “‘Can’t Tie Our Own Hands’: Presidential Candidate Warns an AI Pause for Us Means ‘China Running with It’,” foxnews.com, Apr. 28, 2023