The Senate on Wednesday teed up a closing vote on the nomination of Russell Vought to guide the White Home funds workplace.
The Senate voted 53-47 alongside social gathering traces on Wednesday to restrict debate on Vought’s nomination to guide the Workplace of Administration and Funds (OMB) within the face of staunch opposition from Democrats.
Until Democrats conform to yield again time, a closing vote is prone to happen Thursday night.
Democrats have come out strongly in opposition to Vought’s nomination within the wake of a memo that OMB issued final month directing companies to briefly pause disbursement of loans, grants and different monetary help to find out if spending is consistent with the president’s agenda.
The White Home has since rescinded the sweeping memo amid confusion over what packages can be impacted and authorized challenges. However officers have vowed to work to implement President Trump’s earlier orders that additionally goal some funding accepted by Congress below the earlier administration.
In the meantime, Republicans are lining up behind the nominee, who served in the identical publish throughout Trump’s first time period in workplace.
“Any nominee who gets unanimous consent out of committee of Republicans I’m supporting, subject to any kind of change or additional information, like I had to do with Pete Hegseth,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) advised The Hill shortly after Vought’s nomination was reported out of committee final week.
“Generally speaking, I got to defer to people that have staff and access to information I don’t have about the nominee,” he mentioned.
Republicans on the Senate Funds Committee voted 11-0 to advance Vought’s nomination after Democrats boycotted the vote in opposition.
Democrats had grilled Vought throughout latest hearings, notably on the chief department’s spending powers and the nominee’s ties to Undertaking 2025, the conservative blueprint produced by the Heritage Basis that was typically the goal of Democratic assaults throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle.
Whereas Vought has vowed the administration will uphold the legislation, he additionally reiterated his place in hearings that the Impoundment Management Act, which units limits on the president’s powers to limit funding accepted by Congress, is unconstitutional.
