Durbin Joins Senate Democrats To Speak Out Against Russell Vought's Nomination To Lead OMB
Durbin: Placing Mr. Vought in charge of OMB would be irresponsible
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senate Democrats in speaking out against President Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin outlined why Mr. Vought is unfit for the job, including his actions as Director of OMB during the first Trump administration and his part in crafting Project 2025— a policy proposal written by a conservative think tank outlining a sweeping, extreme vision forAmerica.
“Mr. Vought has been nominated by President Trump to run this agency… its job is to oversee federal agencies and administer the federal budget. Most of the time, when we are called on to evaluate nominations, we do our best to take a look and review the nominee’s qualifications and experience,” Durbin said. “But for Mr. Vought, there is no need for imagination. He already has served as Director of OMB during the last half of President Trump’s first term in office, and I believe he proved who he was in that period of time.”
Durbin continued, “When he served as Director of OMB during President Trump’s first term, Mr. Vought illegally refused to release hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine and delayed $20 billion in disaster aid for Puerto Rico… And when he left that role, Mr. Vought went on to become a key architect of ‘Project 2025’—a policy proposal written by a conservative a think tank outlining a sweeping, extreme vision for America’s future. Project 2025 included policies to consolidate power in the executive branch and undermine critical services that the federal government provides to the American families.”
During his speech, Durbin also slammed the Trump Administration for their decision to issue an OMB memo last week to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement” of trillions of dollars of Federal financial assistance, which caused mass confusion about the funding and operations of hundreds of government-funded programs ranging from Medicaid, to Head Start, to Violence Against Women Act grants.
Shortly before the federal funding freeze was set to begin, U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. Alikhan, who was confirmed under Durbin’s tenure as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, temporarily blocked the move by the Trump Administration. Another judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump’s measure. The Trump Administration rescinded the memo but claimed that the federal funding freeze would still take place.
“This latest attempt to put a sweeping freeze on federal funds is far from the first time Mr. Vought has broken the law and undermined Congress’s power of the purse that is set forth in the Constitution. It is clear from Mr. Vought’s comments and actions that he has contempt for Congress as a co-equal branch of government,” Durbin said. “It is appalling that so many of my Republican Senate friends voted to advance his nomination as he actively attempts to strip Congress of our Congressional authorities.”
Durbin continued, “We [Democrats] are not opposing Mr. Vought solely because he poses a threat to our ability to do our jobs in Congress. Mr. Vought has made it clear that he is targeting working families across the country. Both in his previous tenure as OMB Director and in policy proposals, Mr. Vought has proposed budget cuts that slash the social safety net for resources for tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Durbin concluded, “To my Republican colleagues—for the sake of the institution in which we work, the constituents we were elected to serve, and the constitutional foundations of our nation, please don’t vote for Mr. Vought. Maya Angelou once said: ‘When someone shows you who they are…believe them the first time.’ Well, from his tenure running OMB to his authorship of Project 2025, Mr. Vought has shown us exactly who he is and what he believes. He is a man with little respect for the Constitution and limited understanding of the plight of real working Americans. Giving Mr. Vought the reins of OMB is an invitation to a policy battle at the expense of our Constitution.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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