The Senate on Wednesday advanced President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, to a final confirmation vote.
The cloture motion passed with a strictly party-line vote, 53-47. The entire Democratic caucus opposed Vought, as they promised to do.
Republicans have backed Vought’s nomination and claim he is prepared for the role since he led the office during Trump’s first administration. But Democrats remain staunchly opposed due to Vought’s stance on the Impoundment Control Act – a 1974 law that reinforces Congress’ power of the purse.
Vought told lawmakers in multiple confirmation hearings he believes the act is unconstitutional, and argued presidents historically could spend less than what Congress had approved prior to the legislation.
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Vought’s statements on the issue left Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., “astonished and aghast” during a confirmation hearing with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC).
“I think our colleagues should be equally aghast, because this issue goes beyond Republican or Democrat,” Blumenthal said last month. “It’s bigger than one administration or another. It’s whether the law of the land should prevail, or maybe it’s up for grabs, depending on what the president thinks.”
Some Republicans have also appeared concerned with Vought’s views on impoundment. Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last month he also shared some concerns and would disclose them at a markup hearing for Vought’s nomination.
Meanwhile, other Republican lawmakers share Vought’s stance on impoundment. For example, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation in December 2024 that would repeal the Impoundment Control Act.
Lee argued that the law’s “unconstitutional limitations” on the executive branch have “contributed to a fiscal crisis.”
Vought’s nomination sparked additional outrage after the OMB issued a memo late last month ordering a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency.
The White House rescinded the memo two days later, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move didn’t equate to a “recission of the federal funding freeze” and that the executive orders mentioned in the memo still remain in effect.
Democrats claimed the memo was an attempt to bypass Congress and was an overreach of power from the executive branch.
“As much as Trump desires it, the president is not a king. As much as Trump desires it, a law is not a suggestion,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Budget Committee ranking member, told reporters.
In response, Democrats urged the Senate to reject Vought’s nomination following a Budget Committee vote to advance him, cautioning that Vought would attempt to impound funds again if he’s confirmed.
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Trump ought to pull Vought’s nomination altogether, or else he will “become baggage” for the American people and for the Trump administration, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters.
“What happened this week should be a lesson to President Trump,” Schumer said. “Mr. Vought will be the architect of more losing for President Trump.”
But HSGAC Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Vought is the person Washington needs to “say enough is enough” and cut government spending.
“Mr. Vought has been a consistent advocate for fiscal sanity and has continually suggested strategies to decrease excess spending,” Paul said during a confirmation hearing before HSGAC.
OMB is responsible for developing and executing the president’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch.
