Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, promised to help American taxpayers while undergoing a contentious confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

If confirmed, Mr. Vought will be at the center of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to upend the federal bureaucracy.

Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget, poses for a photo with Cabinet picks, other nominees and appointments, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Vought, a co-author of Project 2025 who served as budget director in Donald Trump's first term, has signaled he will take a more aggressive approach to helping the president-elect carry out his agenda of shrinking the federal government.

President Donald Trump’s pick for the Office of Management and Budget director was condemned Thursday by Democratic Senate leadership, whereas his Interior and Energy secretary nominees got approval r

Director of the Office of Management and Budget nominee Russell Vought came under fire during his nominee hearing today in the U.S. Senate.

Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, faced tough questioning from Democrats.

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That roped Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsay Graham into the heated back and forth, who impressed on Vought that he did not have attorney-client privilege to evade a line of questioning as some of Trump’s other nominees did. “I am not claiming a privilege, Senator,” Vought said.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Office of Management and Budget Director nominee Russell Vought discuss potential reforms to Medicaid, examining the program's current structure and questioning its effectiveness in serving its originally intended populations at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee.

U.S. Senate Democrats, including Sen. Ben Ray Luján of NMwas, lambast Trump nominee Russell Vought over his involvement with Project 2025