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,

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

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.

Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget, poses for a photo with Cabinet picks, other nominees and appointments, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Russell Vought, Project 2025 mastermind and Trump’s nominee for the Office of Management and Budget, had quite a testy confirmation hearing.

Russell Vought, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the White House budget office, downplayed his past comments about the usefulness of shutting down the federal government to achieve

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.

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.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Russell Vought downplayed Trump’s moves to strip protections from civil service employees.

Project 2025 contributing author Russell Vought is slated to resume his prior role of Office of Management and Budget director.

Democratic senators voiced their frustration Wednesday with answers from Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head up the White House’s budget office, about how he sees the limits of presidential power.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of the Laken Riley Act, which allows for the deportation and detention of any undocumented immigrant merely suspected of a nonviolent crime, with 46 Democrats joining every Republican in approving the bill.