Action 23: Reject Vought for OMB (Office of Management and Budget)

Feb 1

Background:

The miserable impoundment funding freeze that came down from OMB on Tuesday is right out of Project 2025, where Vought wrote that the OMB should establish a “reputation as the keeper of ‘commander’s intent,’” (P. 20)

An overview of what this means in practice is found in pp. 44-50 and elsewhere throughout the document. Project 2025 envisions the Director of OMB must have a policy role in determining how and what will be implemented throughout the bureaucracy. Therefore, it’s important to understand what motivates the Director, since it has become apparent that Trump himself doesn’t have a handle on how and what should be implemented, unless it benefits himself personally. But Vought and his ilk have a plan.

Vought founded a think tank, the Center for Renewing America (CRA – not to be confused with the Renew America Movement – RAM). CRA is a Christian nationalist organization that opposes critical race theory and advocates for the idea of America as a “nation under God”. CRA published an analysis of presidents using impoundment throughout the country’s history, with the authors concluding the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional. Look for the Supreme Court to draw on this analysis to overturn the legal challenges which Maine among many other states has brought over the funding freeze (see Action 22). Christian nationalism adherents advocate abolishing the separation of church and state, and have bought into the “great replacement theory” which claims that welcoming non-white immigrants is a

sinister plot to reduce the cultural and political power of white people.

Instead of curbing tax cuts for the rich, Vought has left a trail of support for measures intended to hurt the most vulnerable. It’s hard to square his advocacy of the following actions, with any legitimate practice of the Christian faith:

Cutting Medicaid by $2 trillion
Cutting the Affordable Care Act by $600 billion
Cutting food stamps by $400 billion
Eliminating LIHEAP (the low income home energy assistance program, so important in Maine)
Throwing children off Head Start
Cutting educational subsidies

Action:

Call the Senators on this nomination. Given the recent impoundment freeze, we’ve seen how the OMB under Trump will act to create chaos and destroy what Congress has built in good faith over the years, including programs that do so much to help Maine people. Tell them you support a NO on the Vought confirmation vote planned for Thursday in the Senate Budget Committee, or at least a NO ACTION vote on this deeply flawed nominee.

Contact:

Senator Collins (202) 224-2523 https://www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins

Senator King (202) 224-5344 https://www.king.senate.gov/contact

Extra Credit:

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5110881-senate-democrats-russell-vought-vote-freeze-memo/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-russ-vought-most-dangerous-101226877.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_nationalism

https://americarenewing.com/the-history-of-impoundments-before-the-impoundment-control-act-of-1974/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renew_America_Movement

https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/leader-schumer-floor-remarks-on-president-trumps-

dangerous-ultra-right-nominee-for-omb-director-russell-vought

https://www.lcv.org/bio/russell-vought/