Trump’s Budget Chief Moves Quickly in Shutdown

The Wall Street Journal Reports Trump’s Budget Chief, Slayer of Big Government, Moves Quickly in Shutdown

Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, was quick Wednesday to target Democratic priorities and projects. In a move that affected Democratic congressional leaders from New York, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Vought posted on X that a hold had been put on $18 billion in federal funds for New York City infrastructure work: a Hudson River tunnel project and a subway extension.

The Transportation Department pinned the blame on the shutdown, saying a review of the projects’ contracting policies and their relationship to diversity, equity and inclusion requirements couldn’t move forward. “Without a budget, the department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review,” the agency said in a statement.

Vought also posted that $8 billion in Energy Department funds for climate projects would be canceled in more than a dozen Democratic-leaning states. He didn’t specify which projects would be affected.

Last week, Vought issued a memo directing federal agencies to craft plans for widespread layoffs in the event of a shutdown. He told House Republicans on a conference call Wednesday that layoffs likely would begin in another day or two, according to people on the call. While he didn’t specify how many layoffs were in the pipeline, one person familiar with the call said Vought indicated it would be consequential.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), a close Trump ally, predicted a shutdown might not last long, in part because of the specter of Vought. “This OMB guy, you need to watch him,” Graham said. “I think there’s definitely a downside to a shutdown for the system…I think he will try to wreak havoc on the workforce.”

Vought “has been thinking for his entire life and career about how to downsize the government,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) told The Wall Street Journal, adding that “he’s acting very judiciously.”

The extent to which Vought plans to follow through on his threat remains to be seen. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.) said he thought it was more a negotiating tactic, but “no one should doubt Director Vought’s willingness to carry out the threat. I know I don’t.”

Rep. Sean Casten (D., Ill.) said Vought was “threatening to fire federal employees for political reasons and without concern for the impact on the government.”

Vought is “very dedicated to the idea of shrinking the government, getting rid of federal employees, and he’s really clever in finding a way to do that in any situation,” said David Graham, author of “The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America.”

Vought has argued that Congress doesn’t have full control of the purse when it comes to federal spending, despite a 1974 law that limits the White House’s ability to rescind money appropriated by Congress. In January, he told the Senate Budget Committee that he thinks the 1974 law, called the Impoundment Control Act, was unconstitutional.

Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, denounced the White House move as an apparent attempt to bypass Congress and “a clear violation of the law.”

“You have an appropriations process where the president can just turn around and say, I’ll just do what I want to do,” said Sharon Block, a professor at Harvard Law School who served at OMB in the Biden administration. That process, she said, “sits at Russ Vought’s door.”

Tremendous Irony in This Setup

I side with Susan Collins. Much of this is a clear violation of the law and the Constitution.

If the Court upholds this, just wait until Democrats get their turn at things, especially related to DEI, the environment, and military spending.

The forward risks are greater than any short-term gain.

That’s the big fear in this Trumpian shell game of pretending to do something about the deficit.

Trump Expands Government Meddling

Also note the irony of Vought trying to reduce government while Trump has gone overboard the other direction.

Thanks to Trump, the government has a stake in Intel, NVDIA, and US Steel. He is telling corporations and universities how to run their businesses.

Republicans were once a champion of free speech. Not anymore. And Trump is targeting political opponents out of revenge after pledging the process would stop.

Trump has profited personally in crypto schemes that amount to influence peddling to the highest bidder.

And finally, Trump is promoting TrumpRX, a government sponsored discount drug exchange. That’s with Pfizer, infamously related to mRNA covid vaccines.

Small Government Indeed!

Never before has government meddled in more things than now.

Republicans look the other way on every bit of this.

Those who dare to speak out like Thomas Massie or Rand Paul are ostracized, called RINOs and threated with primaries.

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“The American people deserve full transparency.”

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The Result of Trump’s Small Government Push

Please note US Debt Now Grows by $1 Trillion Every 150 Days

US national debt just topped $37 trillion and is growing fast.

Don’t be fooled by Trumpian small-government talk. Trump has done nothing but expand government spending while meddling in private business the most in history.

Point this out and you get labeled a RINO and politically targeted.

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