Trump's OMB Director Nominee Russell Vought Faces Senate Scrutiny on January 15, 2025

Jan 15, 2025, 08:46 PM

Russell Vought, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on January 15, 2025. Vought, who previously held the same position during Trump's first term, faced scrutiny over his plans to significantly reduce the size of the federal government and his past actions, including withholding military aid to Ukraine and managing government shutdowns. During the hearing, Vought distanced himself from past statements about government shutdowns and expressed a desire to avoid them in the future. He also confirmed his last name is pronounced 'VOTE.' Vought's nomination comes at a time when Trump aims to overhaul the federal bureaucracy, with Vought seen as a key figure in implementing these changes. Vought has described the OMB as the 'nerve center' of the federal government and a tool for taming bureaucracy, with plans to claw back congressionally approved funding and overhaul the administrative state.