Project 2025 contributing author Russell Vought is slated to resume his prior role of Office of Management and Budget director.

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 the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, faced tough questioning from Senate Democrats during his Wednesday confirmation hearing.

After Trump's defeat, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank. In speeches he made in 2023 and 2024, Vought described how he helped create legal justifications to prevent military leaders and government lawyers from obstructing Trump's executive actions, ProPublica reported.

Russ Vought faces questioning during his confirmation about him wanting to make some federal employees more accountable to the president than to the bureaucracy.

Russell Vought, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Russell Vought, President-elect Trump’s choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

Democratic senators voiced their frustration Wednesday with answers from Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head up the White House’s budget office, about how he sees the limits of presidential power.

Russell Vought, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the White House budget office, downplayed his past comments about the usefulness of shutting down the federal government to achieve

“Ranking member Durbin, President Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States,” Bondi replied, avoiding a straightforward answer. “There was a peaceful transition of power; President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.”

If confirmed, Trump's budget pick Russell Vought could affect federal investments that are vital to Erie, environmental advocates say.

A New York Times reporter stepped into controversy this week when critics say he fundamentally misunderstood a constitutional law doctrine.