WASHINGTON (AP) — Russell Vought, Donald Trump’s President-elect for the job of White House budget director, declined Wednesday to fully commit to distributing funds approved by Congress, especially U.S. military aid, to Ukraine.
Vought faced questions during his confirmation hearing about his tenure as director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term. He emphasized that he would follow the law, just as he emphasized Trump’s desire to undo the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which requires congressional approval to repeal the spending.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., accused him of withholding $214 million in military aid to Ukraine in 2019, an event that led to Trump’s first impeachment.
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“I will always be committed to upholding the law,” Vought said, an answer that did not satisfy Peters.
As the hearings progressed, Vought’s response changed slightly when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked whether he would approve the distribution of $3.8 billion in aid to Ukraine because of the ongoing war against Russia.
“I’m not going to prejudge the policy response of the new administration,” said Vought, who in 2021 founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank.
Blumenthal responded: “I am amazed and dismayed that someone in this position of responsibility would, in fact, say that the president is above the law.”
Still, in response to questions from Republican lawmakers, Vought has previewed possible budget proposals by suggesting that spending cuts would be needed to address persistent budget deficits that have pushed the national debt above $28 trillion.
Vought, an architect of Project 2025, said the debt would make future generations poorer as more and more taxpayer money went to repay it.
“The president talked about the issue of fiscal responsibility and addressing our inflation situation,” he said, indicating that cuts could be applied to discretionary social programs and that money could be saved if more people had jobs .
In June, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a budget watchdog, reviewed the rise in debt during the presidencies of Trump and President Joe Biden. The analysis found that Trump’s policies increased the debt by $8.4 trillion, while Biden’s policies increased the debt by $4.3 trillion. Much of the additional debt resulted from the response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
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