‘Far-right’: Trump budget chief Russell Vought faces fire from Dem senators

Democratic lawmakers grilled the president Donald Trump’s He chooses to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Wednesday on a range of issues, ranging from abortion to the constitutionality of the Reservoir Control Act.

While Republicans argue that Russell Vought is qualified for the role because he served as Trump’s OMB director during the president’s first term, Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have called Vought an ideologue “of ultra-right”.

Vought appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee for a confirmation hearing Wednesday and defended his earlier statements that the Reservoir Control Act is unconstitutional, an issue Democrats say should disqualify him from leading the Management and Budget Office.

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The law, passed in 1974, stipulates that Congress can oversee the withholding of budget authority from the executive branch and asserts that Congress holds the power of the purse. Ultimately, the law prohibits the executive branch from bypassing Congress and withholding appropriated funds.

The first Trump administration and Vought have come under fire after the Office of Management and Budget withheld $214 million in military aid for Ukraine in 2019, a decision that ultimately led to Trump’s first impeachment.

“You’re very comfortable assuming that the law doesn’t matter and that you’re just going to treat money from a program as a ceiling … instead of a required amount,” said Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Budget Committee. “Well, the courts have ruled otherwise.”

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In addition, the Supreme Court also ruled in 1975 that the executive branch cannot seize funds without congressional oversight.

In that case, Train v. City of New York, the Supreme Court determined that the Environmental Protection Agency must use the full funding included in the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments to 1972, even though then-President Richard Nixon issued orders not to use all the funding.

Lawmakers have pointed to that case in Vought’s confirmation hearings as further evidence that the executive branch cannot limit funding that Congress has approved.

Still, Vought told lawmakers in multiple exchanges that he believes the Reservoir Control Act is unconstitutional, because presidents historically could spend less than what Congress had passed before the Reservoir Control Act, and that Trump campaigned in that position.

Democrats aren’t the only ones worried about Vought’s views on the Reservoir Control Act. The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said he also shared some concerns and would reveal them at a markup hearing for Vought’s nomination.

Vought also faced questions about his views on abortion, given his connection as the author of Project 2025a policy initiative that The Heritage Foundation published in 2023 that called for policy changes, including a national ban on abortion drugs.

Other proposals included in Project 2025 include eliminating the Department of Education, cutting DEI programs, and reducing funding for Medicare and Medicaid.

“You’ve said you don’t believe in exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington. “Is that your position?”

“Senator, my opinions are not important. I am here on behalf of the president,” Vought said.

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Trump has repeatedly said he supports abortion in certain cases, and has said the “powerful exemptions” for abortion would remain in place under his administration.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pressed Vought on whether health care is a “human right.” Sanders has previously introduced legislation called Medicare for All Act which would establish a national federal health insurance program.

“You think we should join every other major country on Earth and say, ‘You know what? Whether you’re poor, whether you’re rich, whether you’re young, whether you’re old, health care is a human right,” Sanders said. “We have the richest country in the history of the world. Do you think we should do what every other major country on Earth is doing?”

Vought declined to divulge specifics, but said he believes it’s critical to provide “legitimate, evidence-based outcomes for people in the health care system and make sure we match every dollar that’s spent for that.”

After serving as director of the Office of Management and Budget under the first Trump administration, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America in 2021. The organization says its mission is to “renew America’s consensus as a nation under God,” according to his website. Vought also served as vice president of Heritage Action for America.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. he said his meeting with Vought only heightened his concerns about the nomination.

“I left the meeting even more deeply troubled,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Of all the extremists President Trump could have picked for OMB, he picked the godfather of the far right.”

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Vought has repeatedly told lawmakers that he would uphold the law and that his personal opinions are not important: What matters is carrying out Trump’s vision.

OMB is responsible for developing and implementing the President’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.