WASHINGTON — Despite Democrats’ worries about his policy views and behavior in the same position under the past administration, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget seemed headed for confirmation during a hearing on Wednesday.
With one notable exception, Russ Vought, who has been the head of a conservative think tank for the past four years, consistently declined to explain how he would advise Trump on a range of policy matters during the two-hour hearing.
According to Vought’s testimony, he and Trump both think that the president has the exclusive power to revoke congressionally sanctioned funds through a process known as impoundment, which is currently prohibited by a legislation from the 1970s.
Vought stated at the hearing that the president has run on the topic of impoundment and has reminded the nation that this power has been used by presidents for 200 years. And after his administration takes office, we’ll be formulating our strategy and approach to this problem.
In an effort to maintain Congress’s power of the purse, the matter may turn into one of the few times that Republicans and Democrats work together to oppose the executive branch. Should Trump decide to freeze funds after taking office, the argument would probably reach the Supreme Court.
Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan and the committee’s ranking member, questioned Vought about how Congress could negotiate bipartisan legislation in good faith if a president could just decide not to fund programs that they disliked for political or policy reasons.
Wouldn’t the president essentially have the authority to choose who gets government financing if he could refuse to spend expenditures approved by Congress? He inquired.
Vought served as deputy director, acting director, and director of the Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump administration. Peters also harshly attacked Vought for his conduct during that time.
“Unfortunately, there are significant concerns regarding your ability to lead this vital agency that affects every aspect of the federal government, given your record and actions in these roles,” Peters stated. Above all, your actions that showed complete disdain for the laws approved by Congress, especially those pertaining to the use of taxpayer funds, worry me.
Peters mentioned:
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The Trump administration broke federal law by ordering some federal agencies to stay open during the 2018–19 shutdown, according to a set of eight reports from the Government Accountability Office. The reports covered the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Interior Department, the National Archives and Records Administration, OMB, the Smithsonian Institution, the Treasury Department, the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, and the early payment of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits.
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According to an AGAO investigation, the Trump administration violated federal law by refusing Ukraine security aid.
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OMB improperly postponed disaster relief funding for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, according to a report by the inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Trump administration broke federal law by ordering some federal agencies to stay open during the 2018–19 shutdown, according to a set of eight reports from the Government Accountability Office. The reports covered the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Interior Department, the National Archives and Records Administration, OMB, the Smithsonian Institution, the Treasury Department, the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, and the early payment of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits.
According to an AGAO investigation, the Trump administration violated federal law by refusing Ukraine security aid.
OMB improperly postponed disaster relief funding for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, according to a report by the inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Vought denied the findings of those reports, claiming that he had never broken the law or the Constitution and that, if proven, he had no intention of doing so.
I’ll always be dedicated to following the law. “I don’t agree with the way the General Accounting Office is described,” Vought stated. At OMB, we have always complied with the law and will continue to do so.
In addition to delivering the president’s annual budget request to Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, sometimes known as the White House budget office, has broad control over government agencies and regulations.
Later, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut questioned Vought on his commitment to providing all of the approximately $100 billion in disaster aid that Congress had approved in a budget package in December.
Several federal departments received the funds, including the Department of Transportation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration, and the Agriculture Department.
As we always did with the FEMA dollars, we will keep releasing the funds that have been properly allocated for these communities, Vought stated.
Vought responded differently when Blumenthal asked if he would make a similar pledge for the remaining military and humanitarian aid that Congress had authorized for Ukraine.
Vought stated that he would not overrule the president on a foreign policy matter of this significance concerning Ukraine.
Rand Paul, R-Ky., the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, praised Vought’s qualifications for the position and expressed optimism that he could control federal spending and regulations.
According to Paul, Mr. Vought has consistently argued for fiscal restraint and offered ideas to cut back on wasteful expenditure. With our government in debt of over $36 trillion and the Congressional Budget Office projecting an average of almost $2 trillion annually for the next ten years, the director of OMB is crucial to our economy. There is no conclusion in sight.
We need someone like Mr. Vought, who has the moral fortitude to stand up, bring the hammer down, and say enough is enough.
