Donald Trump’s plans to remake American government center on one man and one agency: Russ Vought and the Office of Management and Budget. Vought, Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, “is starting to upend Washington,” said The Washington Post.
Vought was a key figure in the creation of Project 2025, the conservative policy manual that called for “sweeping transformations of the federal bureaucracy.” Trump’s early actions bear Vought’s fingerprints, with the president issuing orders to “freeze some federal funding, block diversity initiatives and make it easier to fire career government employees,” said the Post. Next up: Plans to trigger “a quiet, early exodus of career civil servants” from government. Vought will perhaps be the “key factor in getting the bureaucracy moving in the same direction” as Trump’s desires, said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
What is the Office of Management and Budget?
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), with its approximately 500 employees, is a “small but powerful agency” that acts as the “central nervous system of the federal government,” said The Conversation. The OMB oversees all budgetary matters but also coordinates and reviews drafts of agency regulations and executive orders. The agency plays a “critical role” in executing a president’s agenda because the agency’s staffers have the “combination of authority, expertise and intragovernmental relationships” to turn those ideas into reality.
Vought — if confirmed by the Senate — would be well-placed to “implement many of the key aspects of Trump’s agenda,” said Axios. There would be no learning curve either because Vought has already led the agency once, during Trump’s first term. Vought has since “raised eyebrows” with harsh rhetoric about federal employees when he was out of office. Trumpist conservatives want those employees to “not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains,” he said in a 2023 speech. Vought “defended the comments” during his confirmation hearing in January, Axios said.
Will Vought be confirmed?
Senate Democrats say stopping Vought’s nomination is a “top priority,” said Government Executive. Vought is an “appalling nominee,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Democrats are particularly concerned about Vought’s willingness to not spend money on programs that have funding already approved by Congress, a process known as “impoundment.” Vought has said the Watergate-era federal law that prohibits impoundment by a president and the executive branch is unconstitutional. If Vought is “not willing to follow our laws,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), “well, then you cannot be trusted to implement our laws.”
Republicans control the Senate and most want to confirm Vought even though he is “famous for defying Congress,” said CNN. “When you win, you get to pick people,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). At least one GOP senator expressed skepticism about Vought’s views on impoundment. “The power of the purse is Congress,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). That won’t stop him from backing Vought. There is “no doubt he will be swiftly confirmed,” Paul said.