Senate Republicans on Thursday evening voted to confirm former White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Russell Vought to helm the office for a second time.
Senators voted 53 to 47 along party lines in favor of Vought. The OMB director-designate becomes President Donald Trump’s 13th cabinet nominee to be confirmed, doubling the confirmation pace of the Biden administration and first Trump administration.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, during a press conference on Tuesday, pledged that every Senate Democrat would oppose Vought’s nomination.
Vought’s confirmation comes after Democratic lawmakers spoke for 30 hours on the Senate floor to delay the OMB director-designate’s confirmation vote for as long as possible.
I’m all for a good fight, if you can win it.@SenateDems are just wasting time, and taxpayer dollars. Here’s an update on the Trump cabinet confirmation process: pic.twitter.com/gszImLnRyS
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) February 6, 2025
Senate Republicans reminded their colleagues that Vought had the votes to be confirmed and that Democrats’ refusal to expedite the OMB director-designate’s vote was a pointless exercise.
“They’re [Democrats] over there grasping for straws,” Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall told the DCNF. “They’re upset with Donald Trump. This is a barroom brawl right now, and President Trump’s really a good barroom brawler and I think this is the latest thing they can latch onto.”
“The Democrats continue to want to slow things down. Republicans are not going to allow it to happen,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on the Senate floor Thursday. “This week, we will have confirmed five cabinet members in four days.”
Senate Democrats opposed Vought’s nomination with a greater level of urgency than Trump’s previous cabinet nominees that have been brought to the floor. Many Democratic lawmakers appeared to cast the OMB director-designate’s looming confirmation in apocalyptic terms and openly mused what Trump getting his cabinet might mean for the future of American democracy.
“We’re going to be speaking all night,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “We want Americans, every hour, whether it’s 8 p.m. or 3 a.m., to hear how bad Russell Vought is and the danger he poses to them in their daily lives.”
Early Thursday morning, Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy warned from an empty Senate chamber that “darkness has descended” on America with Vought’s imminent confirmation.
“This is an urgent moment,” Murphy said in a video posted later on X. “We have days or weeks to be able to mount an effective opposition to stop this slide away from democracy.”
“What we’ve seen over the past few days flies in the face of what it means to live in a democratic republic,” Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock told the Daily Caller News Foundation prior to the confirmation vote, appearing to allege that Vought orchestrated the administration’s executive actions related to freezing federal funds and dismantling government agencies. “Mr. Vought’s actions are illegal and they’re unconstitutional, and the fact that he’s doing it doesn’t make it legal. So we’re continuing to fight.”
Senate Republicans largely ignored their colleagues’ alarmism over Vought’s nomination, emphasizing that the OMB director-designate will execute Trump’s mandate to roll back Biden regulations and cut wasteful spending.
“As director of OMB, Mr. Vought will have the chance to address two key economic issues — cutting burdensome government regulations and addressing excessive spending,” Thune said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Republicans are determined to alleviate that regulatory burden – for the sake of economic growth, and to improve the lives of hardworking Americans. And I know that Mr. Vought will make getting rid of burdensome regulations a priority.”
They also wondered whether their Democratic colleagues’ rush to oppose Vought’s nomination and hold overnight speeches railing against him could backfire with the American people who sent Trump to the White House and elected a GOP-controlled Congress.
“Russell Vought is going to get confirmed. Every Republican is going to get confirmed,” Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno told the DCNF. “So what did you [Democrats] accomplish?”
“The security has to be here extra hours. The poor [Senate] staff has to be here extra hours for a show,” Moreno added.
Democrats continued their display of opposition on the Senate floor, speaking out of order as they cast their vote against the OMB director-designate.
Vought served in Trump’s OMB during the first administration. He started as deputy OMB director and then was promoted to lead the office in 2019.
Myles Morrell contributed reporting.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Flickr/Architect of the Capitol)
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