“In other words, the President can only use his bully pulpit. The LAW TO ELIMINATE A DEPARTMENT still has to come from Congress.”
You’re right. But a few lines in a stump speech during campaign season hardly constitutes aggressive lobbying by a President against Congress, and if the President REALLY doesn’t like the department XYZ he doesn’t have to request funding for it or make appointments to it. The President is not a potted plant.
Not sure how it will go down politically if a President suddenly REFUSES to request for funding for all the following departments: Education, Energy, Commerce and EPA.
As for the IRS, it would be totally impractical for him to not request funding for it to enforce the laws. Like it or not, the monstrosity called the IRS is a creation of the legislative Frankenstein called Congress.
In other words, elimination of the IRS *and* the total overhaul of our tax laws will have to come side by side — SIMULTANEOUSLY.
I can’t see it done any other way.