White House budget director nominee Vought advances despite Democratic protest

The Senate Budget Committee on Thursday advanced Russell Vought’s nomination as White House Office of Management and Budget director, despite the panel’s 10 Democrats skipping the vote in protest.

All 11 Republicans on the panel had to show up for the vote to form a quorum. It took 17 minutes for them to assemble amid multiple conflicting committee meetings, but the panel’s Republicans all voted to send Mr. Vought’s nomination to the floor. 

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to advance Mr. Vought’s nomination earlier this month on an 8-7, party-line vote.

Democrats have universally opposed Mr. Vought’s nomination over disagreements about which branch of government has the final pull of the purse strings. 

Those disagreements were underscored earlier this week when OMB issued a memo freezing federal financial assistance across an array of grant and loan programs. The White House later rescinded the memo, but Democrats said they fear Mr. Vought will do more damage if confirmed. 

Mr. Vought, who served as OMB director during President Trump’s first administration, was reportedly involved in crafting the memo. Budget Committee Democrats have requested more information from the White House on his involvement but have not received a response, according to Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, ranking Democrat on the committee.

“Given the unlawful behavior of OMB this week, Senate Democrats will not move to advance Mr. Vought’s nomination any further — until he gives the American people more answers,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said in support of his colleagues’ boycott. 

Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, called on Mr. Vought to return for a second hearing before the Budget Committee, because his first was held before the OMB memo was issued and then rescinded. Mr. Trump has signed executive orders enacting more targeted funding freezes on foreign aid and climate-related spending from the Inflation Reduction Act that remain in effect. 

Democrats had requested the Budget Committee vote be delayed two weeks, but the panel’s chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, declined to move it. 

Once all Republicans had gathered in the room, Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, called Mr. Vought “a great pick” and moved quickly into the vote. He had not planned to acknowledge the Democrats’ absence until one of his colleagues asked where they were. 

“They chose not to be here,” Mr. Graham said. “It’s their right not to be here.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, Ohio Republican, called the Democrats’ protest “extraordinarily juvenile.”

“This isn’t high school musical here,” he said. “This is serious business [in] the United States Senate. For them to take their toys home and leave the playground is just really ridiculous. These are old men. Honestly, it’s just very, very pathetic.”

The Budget Committee Democrats held a press conference instead of attending the vote, saying their protest was in part because Republicans held the vote outside of the committee’s traditional meeting room. 

Members of the press were allowed to attend the vote, held in a room just off the Senate floor, but it wasn’t recorded on camera for the public to watch. 

“We’re not going to be complicit in a behind-the-scenes vote on a very consequential nominee,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, calling Mr. Vought “unqualified and unfit to head the OMB.”

Mr. Merkley said Democrats asked for a full debate on Mr. Vought’s nomination given the gravity of the role he will serve, “the chief engineer of the Trump train,” but Republicans denied the request. 

“If the vote had been moved to a hearing room where we could have a full debate and every member of the committee could express their views, we had confirmed that we would be there, but we were told that, ‘Too bad we’re not doing it that way,’” he said.

One of Democrats’ main issues with Mr. Vought is his stance that the Impoundment Control Act, a law that limits the president’s ability to block distribution of funds appropriated by Congress, is unconstitutional. Mr. Trump campaigned on that view and has said he plans to challenge the law in court. 

Democrats note that the Supreme Court has already validated the law and worry that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vought will illegally impound funds, which the Government Office of Accountability found they did during the president’s first term by withholding aid to Ukraine. 

“There should be no confusion about what he is up to and what he is doing,” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, New Mexico Democrat. “He did it when he was the OMB director before. He’s doing it now.”

Mr. Graham said after the committee vote that he does not anticipate any Republicans objecting to Mr. Vought’s nomination over the OMB funding freeze. 

Mr. Vought was confirmed in 2018 on a party-line vote and Republicans expect the same will happen again when his nomination hits the floor. 

“He’s going to fly through like green grass to a goose on my side,” said Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican. 

He said all Democrats will oppose Mr. Vought because “he is going to reduce spending, and my Democratic colleagues’ favorite type of spending is more.”