Trump Picks Russell Vought, Key Figure in Project 2025, to Lead OMB
President-elect Donald J.Trump on Friday picked a key figure in Project 2025 to lead the Office of Management and Budget, elevating a longtime ally who has spent the last four years making plans to rework the American government to enhance presidential power.The would-be nominee, Russell T.
Vought, would oversee the White House budget and help determine whether federal agencies comport with the president’s policies.The role requires Senate confirmation unless Mr.
Trump is able to make recess appointments.The choice of Mr.Vought would bring in a strongly ideological figure who played a pivotal role in Mr.
Trump’s first term, when he also served as budget chief.Among other things, he helped come up with the idea of having Mr.
Trump use emergency power to circumvent Congress’s decision about how much to spend on a border wall.Mr.Vought was a leading figure in Project 2025, the effort by conservative organizations to build a governing blueprint for Mr.
Trump should he take office once again.Mr.
Trump tried to distance himself from the effort during his campaign, but he has put forward people with ties to the project for his administration since the election.Mr.Vought’s role in Project 2025 was to oversee executive orders and other unilateral actions that Mr.
Trump could take during his first six months in office, with the goal of tearing down and rebuilding executive branch institutions in a way that would enhance presidential power.In an interview with The New York Times in 2023, Mr.Vought laid out an agenda of eliminating the independence of certain regulatory agencies that operate outside the direct control of the White House, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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