By Amanda Becker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Tuesday that if elected to the White House she would ask for the resignations of all of President Donald Trump's political appointees on her first day in office, including the 93 United States attorneys.
Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts who has made anti-corruption the central theme of her presidential bid, is locked in a tight race for the chance to take on Trump in the November 2020 election with less than two weeks to go before Iowa kicks off the party nominating contests.
Warren is in the top tier of 12 Democrats vying for the party's nomination but trails former Vice President Joe Biden and fellow U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in most national opinion polls.
Warren said on Tuesday she would ask for the resignation of all of Trump's political appointees except those in "positions necessary to preserve continuity and protect national security during the transition period."
"One year from today, the next president will begin her first full day of work. She will be inheriting a government in crisis," Warren wrote on the website Medium.
She also said she would strengthen the enforcement of rules designed to prevent political appointees from converting their roles to career positions and establish a task force at the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate corruption during the Trump administration and hold current and former government officials accountable for any illegal activity.
"My transition will move faster than any transition in modern history to identify appointees and develop plans for making change starting on day one. Unlike previous transitions, we will not be able to assume good faith cooperation on the part of the outgoing administration," Warren wrote.
She pledged to announce her Cabinet picks by Dec. 1, 2020 and other top nominations by Dec. 15, 2020 if elected, and fully staff senior and mid-level White House roles by the January inauguration.
Warren has said previously she would not hire registered lobbyists or appoint campaign donors to diplomatic posts. Senior members of her administration would be asked to make a lifetime commitment not to accept lobbying positions after leaving the government.