US Senate confirms Russell Vought as head of budget office chief amid Democratic opposition

Washington DC [US], February 7 (ANI): Senate Republicans on Thursday approved Russell Vought to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in President Donald Trump's administration, despite strong opposition from Democrats due to his connections with 'Project 2025', The Hill reported.
The Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Vought to lead the OMB.
The Project 2025 is a Presidential Transition Project which is being organised by The Heritage Foundation and builds off Heritage's longstanding "Mandate for Leadership," which has been influential for presidential administrations. Most recently, the Trump administration relied heavily on Heritage's "Mandate" for policy guidance.
Earlier in November 2024, Trump had selected Vought as his pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
In a post on social media platform Truth Social in November, Trump wrote, "I am very pleased to nominate Russell Thurlow Vought, from the Great State of Virginia, as the Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He did an excellent job serving in this role in my First Term - We cut four Regulations for every new Regulation, and it was a Great Success."
He added, "Russ knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government, and he will help us return Self Governance to the People. We will restore fiscal sanity to our Nation, and unleash the American People to new levels of Prosperity and Ingenuity. I look forward to working with you again, Russ. Congratulations. Together, we will Make America Great Again!"
As per the White House, Vought has previously served as Deputy Director and Acting Director as Director of OMB in July 2020. In his role, he was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the President's policy, management and regulatory agendas across the Executive Branch.
Prior to serving in the Trump administration, Vought spent over 20 years working in Washington DC with grassroots and public policy organizations. Before joining the administration, he worked for seven years as Vice President of Heritage Action for America.
Prior to this, he worked on Capitol Hill, serving as the Policy Director for the House Republican Conference, under then-Chairman Mike Pence, and as the Executive Director of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), and as a legislative assistant for US Senator Phil Gramm.
Director Vought graduated with a BA from Wheaton College (IL) in 1998 and a JD from the George Washington University Law School in 2004. (ANI)