US Senate confirms Trump budget director pick Vought

WASHINGTON — 

The Republican-led U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee Russell Vought arsenic fund manager connected Thursday, placing the reins of authorities backing successful the hands of a hard-line blimpish who has advocated for reducing Congress's powerfulness implicit payer dollars.

The Senate voted 53-47 to corroborate Vought aft a marathon overnight league during which Democrats denounced him arsenic a unsafe far-right ideologue and blasted Republicans for rubber-stamping Trump's nomination.

Vought, who besides headed the Office of Management and Budget during Trump's archetypal statesmanlike term, raised concerns among members of some parties by criticizing a 1974 instrumentality preventing presidents from unilaterally blocking congressionally approved funding, a signifier known arsenic "impoundment."

In his 2 confirmation hearings, Vought repeatedly said helium believed a 1974 instrumentality was unconstitutional, a presumption that adjacent the Republican committee chairmen said they did not afloat support.

Last week, the White House Budget Office issued a memo freezing hundreds of billions of dollars successful national grants and loans. The White House said the frost was indispensable to guarantee assistance programs were aligned with Trump's priorities including his enforcement orders to extremity diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The White House rescinded the memo and a national justice temporarily blocked the freeze, but not earlier the enactment raised wide fears astir the aboriginal captious government-funded services and concerns that Trump could instrumentality unilateral enactment against different authorities funding.

Democrats sought to nexus Vought's relation successful the hard-right Project 2025 argumentation inaugural to a scope of medication actions, including the Trump administration's unilateral actions to fundamentally shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development and occurrence prosecutors astatine the Justice Department.

"Whether it's with national workers, whether it's astatine USAID, whether it's hurting Justice Department prosecutors, each of that is Russell Vought astatine work," Senate Democratic person Chuck Schumer said connected a level speech.

"He's moving to wounded you, Mr. and Mrs. America."

Republicans championed Vought’s acquisition arsenic fund manager and the relation they expect him to play successful cutting wasteful authorities spending.

"Identifying ways to rein successful our spending – and to people authorities discarded – has to beryllium a priority. And I’m assured that Mr. Vought volition assistance pb that charge," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this week. "There is nary question that helium volition beryllium capable to deed the crushed running."