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The U.S. Senate has officially selected Russell Vought to control the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after what had been a controversial, lengthy confirmation process.
Senate Republican unanimously confirmed Vought to spearhead the same role he once occupied briefly during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Per The Hill, many Republicans have supported Vought for his plans to reduce wasteful federal spending as a component of the president’s cost-cutting agenda.
All 47 Democrats, meanwhile, opposed this nomination. Many within the party protested his appointment for 30 hours on Wednesday night by keeping the Senate in-session in effort to delay the confirmation vote, Fox News reported.
The OMB is responsible for overseeing and carrying out the president’s budget, and also working with the U.S. Congress to evaluate these financial goals.
Vought’s statements describing the Impoundment Control Act, which limits the president’s ability to restrict funding that had been supposedly approved by Congress, per The Hill, was also subject to scrutiny by Senate Democrats.
According to Fox News, however, Vought froze roughly $214 million in military aid for Ukraine in 2019, which was a factor which led to President Trump’s first impeachment.
