President Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget faced a tough grilling from Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday.

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.

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

Vought was OMB director during Trump’s first term. He already had a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

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

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) grilled Russell Vought, President Trump’s nominee to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget, over a budget proposal created at the think tank where he worked,

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)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer panned President Trump's budget director nominee Thursday, arguing that Russell Vought will use the position to implement Project 2025. Why it matters: The intensity of Senate Democrats' opposition to Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is notable: That nomination is usually more low-profile.

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

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.

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.

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.