Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) grilled Russell Vought, President Trump’s nominee to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget, over a budget proposal created at the think tank where he worked,

Russell Vought, President Trump’s nominee to be director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testified Wednesday before the Senate Budget Committee. Below is his opening statement: You can watch the ongoing hearing live,

If confirmed, Mr. Vought will be at the center of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to upend the federal bureaucracy.

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Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, faced tough questioning from Democrats.

After Trump's defeat, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank. In speeches he made in 2023 and 2024, Vought described how he helped create legal justifications to prevent military leaders and government lawyers from obstructing Trump's executive actions, ProPublica reported.

Russell Vought, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Vought was OMB director during Trump’s first term. He already had a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee praised President Donald Trump’s pick, Russell Vought, to lead the Office of Management and Budget. “I think you’re qualified for the job. I know why he picked you,

Trump began his second term with a series of executive actions. The 47th US president ordered a crackdown on immigration and withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organization.

For the many people considered enemies by President Donald Trump, his return to the White House has sparked anxiety about how much power he has to upend their lives.