USAID has ‘demonstrated pattern of obstructionism,’ claims top DOGE Republican in letter to Rubio
FIRST ON FOX: The Senate chair of the DOGE Caucus is exposing a “demonstrated pattern of obstructionism” at the U.S.’ top aid agency in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, outlined how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been “stonewalling” her office for years as she sought documents to ensure taxpayer dollars weren’t wasted at the agency, which is now under the microscope of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “USAID’s spending shows a blatant disregard for the wishes of American taxpayers, and it is time to disrupt the system,” Ernst told Fox News Digital. “The agency has been wasting millions of tax dollars on things like tourism in Lebanon, Sesame Street in Iraq, sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week and so much more.” In one instance, the Iowa Republican claims USAID misled her staff to believe that details about funds going to businesses in Ukraine were classified, funds that in some instances were used for travel to fashion shows and film festivals. ‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM In 2024, after months of delays, USAID finally agreed to offer Ernst’s staff a review of recipients of taxpayer-funded assistance to businesses in Ukraine, according to the letter. But the agency insisted the documents be reviewed in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), suggesting the records would be classified. “These requirements were all presented to my staff under the false pretense that this data was classified,” Ernst wrote to Rubio. “Only after demanding to speak to your USAID Office of Security, my staff uncovered that this data was, in fact, unclassified.” Ernst said that based on her staff’s review, it appears that over 5,000 Ukrainian businesses received U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance, with awards of up to $2 million each. WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS? That trade assistance was in some instances used to bankroll business owners attending glamorous film festivals and fashion shows in cities like Berlin, Paris and Las Vegas. She also accused the agency of “misleading” her office on the costs of indirect aid. Negotiated indirect cost agreements (NICRA) allowed contractors to use more than 25 percent of the total award on costs like “rent for a partner’s corporate headquarters, advocacy costs, and other miscellaneous expenses.” Ernst said her staff reached out in November 2022 asking USAID for information on NICRAs with grant recipients. The agency responded, “USAID does not have a system to track or report on this data, as it is not possible to compare indirect costs between for-profit and nonprofit organizations,” according to Ernst. In February 2023, Ernst followed up with a link to a publicly reported NICRA database that USAID confirmed does exist. The agency then said that it “protects the confidential business information of its implementing partners, including NICRAs… outside the scope of a formal oversight request by a committee of jurisdiction.” Then, Ernst partnered with former House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul to give USAID the request from a “committee of jurisdiction.” “Even then, USAID refused to permit my staff to acquire the documents or take substantive notes on the NICRA rates. The lack of transparency was alarming because the NICRA rates far exceeded staff’s expected range of indirect costs allowed.” USAID CLOSES HQ TO STAFFERS MONDAY AS MUSK SAYS TRUMP SUPPORTS SHUTTING AGENCY DOWN Ernst said: “In the wake of this series of significant misjudgments and oversight obstruction by USAID, it is of the utmost importance to conduct a full and independent analysis of the recipients of USAID assistance.” She also pointed to Chemonics, a government contractor that USAID’s inspector general found over-billed the U.S. government by $270 million through fiscal year 2019. Chemonics led a $9.5 billion USAID project to improve global health supply chains that, “led to 41 arrests and 31 indictments related to illicit resale of USAID funded commodities on the black market, and fueled ongoing allegations that Chemonics falsely portrays its projects’ outcomes to secure future contracts with USAID,” Ernst wrote. “No more stonewalling,” said Ernst. “We need to scrutinize every last dollar being spent by this rogue agency.” In a notice posted on its website Tuesday night, USAID announced that all direct hire staff would be placed on leave globally, except for designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. The Trump administration is now exploring merging the agency with the State Department and Rubio has been appointed its acting director. Rubio told reporters in El Salvador the “functions of USAID” must align with foreign policy and called it a “a completely unresponsive agency.” Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, staged a protest outside the USAID headquarters on Tuesday, arguing that the agency is essential for flexing U.S. soft power throughout the world, preventing and monitoring disease outbreaks, and safeguarding U.S. national security. “USAID is the backbone of America’s soft power, helping to stabilize fragile regions and protect U.S. interests abroad,” said Reps. Greg Meeks, top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sara Jacobs,Calif., top Democrat on the Africa subcommittee. “Weakening it will fuel global crises, endanger American security, embolden other nations like China and Russia, and leave the Trump Administration solely responsible for the fallout.”
Foreign policy experts split on whether Trump will follow through with Gaza takeover: ‘It’s a wakeup call’
Middle East and foreign policy experts are split on President Donald Trump’s eyebrow-raising call for the U.S. to “take over” Gaza, with some arguing it is a reversal of his “America First” policy and others saying it is just the catalyst required to secure lasting change in the region. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., led the charge opposing Trump’s proposal on Wednesday, declaring on X that taking over Gaza would be “yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers’ blood.” Some Middle East experts see Trump’s move differently, however. James Carafano, a senior counselor at the Heritage Foundation, argued that Trump’s proposal was “dressing down to the entire international community.” “[It’s] a wake up call that the world really needs to get serious. The notion that we could ever have a safe harbor in the Middle East where people can organize something like Oct. 7 again is unthinkable,” he told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “We are not going back to the bad old days of a hellhole run by Hamas and funded by UNRWA, so people need to start putting some serious equity on the table.” ‘LEVEL IT’: TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABILIZE MIDDLE EAST THE HISTORY OF GAZA AMID TRUMP’S PLAN TO REBUILD ENCLAVE Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East policy, argued that Trump’s offer is meant to be a catalyst for the region, rather than a real plan for the U.S. to deploy in Gaza. “President Trump obviously likes to be provocative, and his proposal on Gaza is certainly that,” Singh told Fox. “It will elicit strong reactions in the region, but at its heart are two principles that are spot on: America needs to take a leadership role in the Middle East on one hand, but our regional partners need to step up and do more on the other.” “I do not think the U.S. will take over Gaza; but if President Trump’s salvo prompts regional states to step forward with practical ideas of their own and to do more to address regional crises, it will have served its purpose,” he added. TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENVOY EXPLAINS GAZA TAKEOVER PROPOSAL: ‘MORE HOPE’ FOR PALESTINIANS’ FUTURES While delivering remarks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu on Tuesday, Trump said that Palestinians should be settled outside the Gaza Strip, and that the U.S. will transform the region, which he described as a “demolition site.” “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” Trump declared, saying, “we’ll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site … level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.” “I do see a long term ownership position,” Trump said of the region. Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies who focuses on Palestinian militant groups and Hezbollah, argues Trump is serious about his plan rather than using it as diplomatic posturing. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “A plan to end the cycle of violence is in the United States’ interest and does not conflict with Trump’s America First policy,” Truzman told Fox, noting that the weakened state of Hamas and Iran’s terrorist proxies in the region present a unique opportunity. “Trump is serious about his plan. Hamas, Iran, and other bad actors in the region who’ve been heavily invested in the conflict understand this. How they react in the coming days and weeks will be an important sign of what is in store for the region,” he added, predicting pushback from al-Qaeda and other groups that benefit from instability in the region.
Senators leapfrog House Republicans on anticipated Trump budget bill
FIRST ON FOX: The Senate will look to beat House Republicans to the punch next week on plans to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. Ahead of a weekly lunch meeting hosted by Senate Steering Committee Chairman Rick Scott, R-Fla., a plan was unveiled by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to push for a vote next week on a first bill, with plans for an additional reconciliation bill later in the year, a Senate Republican source told Fox News Digital. The first bill would include Trump’s priorities for border security, fossil fuel energy, and national defense. The second bill would focus on extending Trump’s tax policies from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). HOUSE DELAYS KEY VOTE ON TRUMP BUDGET BILL AFTER CONSERVATIVE FURY OVER SPENDING CUTS House leaders had intended to make the first move in the process. The Senate passing their own bill first, however, would essentially force the lower chamber to contend with whatever product comes from the other side of Capitol Hill rather than start from a position of their own choosing. It would also shift gears to a two-pronged reconciliation bill blueprint, in opposition to what many House Republicans have favored in a large, one-bill approach. Graham has notably been liaising with the House Freedom Caucus leaders on the subject all week, two sources told Fox News Digital. The caucus has notably preferred a two-pronged approach, in line with many Senate Republicans. Worry about this scenario playing out had already begun to surface in the House Republican conference. “I think there’s a lot of frustration right now,” one GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now.” They added, “There’s some concern now that if we don’t move forward with something soon, that the Senate is going to jam us.” Trump has espoused a preference for a one bill approach previously but held off from demanding it. He noted to lawmakers that he wanted to get the reconciliation process done and to do so quickly, leaving it in Congress’ hands. The Senate GOP source shared that senior White House staffers were present at the steering lunch on Wednesday.
Trump not committing to putting US troops on the ground in Gaza, White House says
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump isn’t committing to deploying U.S. troops to Gaza after suggesting Tuesday that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza strip. “It’s been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort, to ensure stability in the region for all people,” Leavitt told reporters Wednesday at a White House press briefing. “But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in a region.” Leavitt said that Trump is an “outside of the box thinker” who is “a visionary leader who solves problems that many others, especially in this city, claim are unsolvable.” TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABLIZE MIDDLE EAST Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip in a “long-term ownership position” to deliver stability to the region. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.” “Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he said. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.” Trump said that “all” Palestinians would be removed from Gaza under his plan. But Leavitt described their removal as “temporary” during the rebuilding process and said that Trump and his team were sorting out specific details with allies in the region regarding next steps. “Again, it’s a demolition site right now,” she said. “It’s not a livable place for any human being. And I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions.” ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER LAUDS TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP WHEN ASKED IF BIDEN SHOULD TAKE CREDIT FOR CEASEFIRE But the proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza has sparked massive backlash, including from Palestinian, Iran-backed militant group Hamas, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. “What President Trump stated about his intention to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip outside it and the United States’ control over the Strip by force is a crime against humanity,” a senior Hamas official told Fox News on Wednesday. Trump’s statements also left Democratic lawmakers in shock. “I’m speechless, that’s insane,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Jewish Insider. “I can’t think of a place on Earth that would welcome American troops less and where any positive outcome is less likely.” ‘PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH’: TRUMP AND NETANYAHU EXPECTED TO DISCUSS IRAN, HAMAS AT WHITE HOUSE MEETING Some Republicans also voiced caution, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Jewish Insider that the proposal “might be problematic,” but that he would “keep an open mind.” “We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that,” he said. “I think most South Carolinians would not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza.” Meanwhile, Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., didn’t appear phased by the remarks. “I think he wants to bring a more peaceful, secure Middle East and put some ideas out there,” Thune told reporters Wednesday. Fox News’ Emma Colton and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
DOGE targets Medicare agency, looking for fraud
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and has gained access to payment and contracting systems in search for potential fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Trump’s DOGE has already gutted USAID, but Musk argued on X that Medicare and Medicaid are where the “big money fraud” is happening. CMS oversees Medicare, the health coverage program for older and disabled Americans, and Medicaid, for lower-income enrollees, which provides insurance for over 140 million U.S. citizens. The CMS regularly deals with improper payments that represent fraud or abuse but might also be due to a state, contractor, or provider missing an administrative step. RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ WSJ reported, citing one of the people familiar with DOGE’s work at CMS, that Musk’s allies have not been given access to databases that include identifiable personal health information of Medicare or Medicaid enrollees. The new campaign comes just days after DOGE targeted USAID, leading to the firing of 50 top officials and the organization being folded into the State Department. AFTER RAUCOUS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP TO KEEP HIS FOOT ON THE GAS Signs were also removed from USAID’s headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., and the DOGE team took over the computer systems, sources said. USAID is responsible for distributing civilian foreign aid and development assistance to countries around the globe. Musk referred to the organization as a “viper’s nest.” The agency managed approximately $40 billion in appropriations last year, according to the Congressional Research Service. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NEEDS MORE PLANES TO CARRY OUT DEPORTATIONS: REPORT The actions came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting on Trump’s executive order, paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID. The 90-day pause has halted thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide and forced aid organizations to lay off hundreds of employees because they can’t make payroll. Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner, Chris Pandolfo, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Energy Sec. Wright outlines Day 1 priorities: Refilling SPR, promoting ‘energy addition, not subtraction’
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has outlined eight “Day 1 Priorities” he aims to accomplish, several of which he laid out in his inaugural address at the Energy Department headquarters Wednesday. Wright, the CEO of Colorado oilfield services company Liberty Energy, said he will prioritize refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), modernizing the U.S. nuclear stockpile, streamlining federal permitting for energy development, and abiding by the mantra: “Advance energy addition, not subtraction.” In his remarks at the department’s building near Pierre L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., Wright spoke about his childhood love of science and how that focus led him to pursue work in the field. Wright said he met President Donald Trump about a year ago, and the two businessmen connected over their support for unleashing American energy prowess and highlighting how U.S. energy dominance positively affects many other aspects of life. CHRIS WRIGHT CONFIRMED SECRETARY OF ENERGY Wright said Trump had a “simple vision” that “energy is good and that we need more” of it, particularly domestically-sourced. “So we just connected. And he asked me, ‘Would you be secretary of energy?’ And I said, ‘Boy, if I’m asked to serve my country, I don’t have to think about that one.’” He called the Energy Department the gem of the American government and said he has long been entranced by contemporary advancements in the field, from German chemist Otto Hahn splitting the atom in 1938 to Adm. Hyman Rickover creating the first nuclear-powered machines in submarines. “I want to better energize our country, strengthen our country, advance science… and get the politics out of all of this.” “Energy is not political: it is the basic infrastructure that allows us to live great lives, to allow whatever our dream is, whatever our vision is,” he said. TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN HITS BACK AS DEM CALLS FOUL ON TRUMP CONFIRMATION HEARINGS Wright added that there is no such thing as clean or dirty energy, and that in reality, there is “no free lunch” when it comes to the byproducts of the production process: “It’s about tradeoffs.” Other “day one” priorities Wright has outlined include a return to “regular order” on liquefied natural gas exports. Wright has been a longtime advocate of hydraulic fracturing – famously going as far as drinking fracking fluid to prove environmentalist critics wrong about its effect on nature. Pennsylvania and North Dakota are epicenters of fracking, while New York retains the subterranean resources to do so but is under a statewide ban. Wright has also pledged to strengthen the power grid’s reliability and security. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP There have been blackouts occasionally in recent years from overtaxed grid areas, notably in California around 2001. There have also been security threats to energy transmission, including from a Catonsville, Maryland, woman who conspired to destroy the region’s power grid. Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray said Sarah Beth Clendaniel “plotted to disable the power grid around the entire Baltimore region” in 2018, after becoming acquainted with a Florida man who espoused White supremacist “accelerationist” ideologies. Under Wright’s tenure, the Energy Department also plans to promote home appliance affordability and choice – a break from the Biden administration’s efforts to restrict usage of gas stoves. Former President Joe Biden also spent part of the nation’s SPR in what critics called a bid to assuage energy price spikes for political purposes. Wright said he would promote the refilling of the SPR, as well as modernize the U.S. nuclear stockpile, Fox News has learned.
Major California Democrat predicts Kamala Harris would be ‘field-clearing’ if former VP runs for governor
California Attorney General Rob Bonta says he will support former Vice President Kamala Harris if she decides to run for Golden State governor in 2026. Bonta, a former state lawmaker who has served as California attorney general since 2021, says he will run for re-election next year rather than launch a gubernatorial campaign, putting to rest speculation about his next political moves. “Kamala Harris would be a great governor,” Bonta said in an interview with Politico. THESE DEMOCRATS MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 “I would support her if she ran. I’ve always supported her in everything she’s done. She would be field-clearing,” he said as he added that he had not spoken directly with Harris about any potential run for governor. WHY CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM IS MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP AT THE WHITE HOUSE Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited and cannot run for re-election again in 2026. Harris served as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and represented the Golden State in the U.S. Senate before becoming vice president. There has been plenty of speculation since her election defeat last November to President Donald Trump regarding Harris’ next political move, with the two potential options likely being launching a 2026 gubernatorial run in her home state or seeking the presidency again, in 2028. VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT,’ BUT HERE ARE THE OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO MAY ALSO RUN IN 2028 Sources in the former vice president’s political orbit say no decisions have been made about any next steps. However, Harris, in a video message to the Democratic National Committee, as it huddled for its winter meeting last weekend, pledged to be with the party “every step of the way,” which appeared to be a signal she still has political ambitions. The Democrats’ field for governor in the heavily blue-leaning state is already crowded. Among the more than half-dozen candidates already running for governor are Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis – a Harris ally – and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Former Rep. Katie Porter, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Senate nomination last year, has expressed interest in launching a campaign. Additionally, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who served in Congress and as California attorney general before joining the Biden administration, is also seen as a potential contender.
Former GOP leader McConnell falls while exiting Senate chamber after Turner confirmation vote
Former Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fell on a small set of stairs on Wednesday as he was exiting the Senate chamber after a confirmation vote for Housing and Urban Development secretary nominee Scott Turner. McConnell, who is 82 years old and a survivor of childhood Polio, fell down the stairs and was quickly assisted by Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. It is not clear whether he suffered any injuries, but Fox News was told the former leader appears to be OK. McConnell’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
Trump’s Small Business Administration nominee advances to Senate floor
The Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee voted Wednesday by a 12–7 margin to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s pick for the Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator to the Senate floor. Kelly Loeffler, a prominent business executive and philanthropist who served as a senator from Georgia for two years, appeared before the committee on Jan. 28 and pledged to donate her annual $207,500 salary to charity. Loeffler and her husband, Jeff, created a Fortune 500 financial services and technology company together. “Like President Trump, Senator Loeffler left behind a successful career in the private sector to advance the America First agenda,” Loeffler spokeswoman Caitlin O’Dea told Fox News Jan. 28. “Should she be confirmed, she will continue the practice of donating her federal salary to charities and nonprofits across the country — and put her full focus on working to make the Small Business Administration a gateway to the American Dream for entrepreneurs across the country.” TRUMP CABINET NOMINEE LOEFFLER PLEDGED TO DONATE SALARY IF CONFIRMED Loeffler, whose net worth is estimated at roughly $1 billion, previously donated her annual Senate salary of $174,000 between 2019 and 2021 to more than 40 Georgia charities and nonprofits. Those organizations included food banks, faith groups and organizations opposed to abortion, foster care/adoption groups as well as organizations promoting health care, agriculture, education, law enforcement and disaster relief. Loeffler also sparred with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass, during her confirmation hearing over the Trump administration’s announcement that it would freeze federal funds and grants. On Jan. 27, the Office of Management and Budget released a memo ordering a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. LEAVITT PUSHES BACK ON MEDIA’S ‘UNCERTAINTY’ ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE The White House pulled the memo on Jan. 29, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the move didn’t equate a “recission of the federal funding freeze.” Markey asked Loeffler whether she believed the move was lawful or not, amid concerns from members of Congress that the Trump administration attempted to circumvent Congress and withhold funds. “I fully agree with President Trump’s decision to stop wasteful spending,” Loeffler told Markey. “It resulted in a landslide victory that many Americans were waiting for relief against excessive government spending.” Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Senate tees up Trump budget chief pick Russell Vought for final confirmation vote
The Senate on Wednesday advanced President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, to a final confirmation vote. The cloture motion passed with a strictly party-line vote, 53-47. The entire Democratic caucus opposed Vought, as they promised to do. Republicans have backed Vought’s nomination and claim he is prepared for the role since he led the office during Trump’s first administration. But Democrats remain staunchly opposed due to Vought’s stance on the Impoundment Control Act – a 1974 law that reinforces Congress’ power of the purse. Vought told lawmakers in multiple confirmation hearings he believes the act is unconstitutional, and argued presidents historically could spend less than what Congress had approved prior to the legislation. ‘ULTRA-RIGHT’: TRUMP BUDGET CHIEF PICK RUSSELL VOUGHT FACES FIRE FROM DEM SENATORS Vought’s statements on the issue left Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., “astonished and aghast” during a confirmation hearing with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC). “I think our colleagues should be equally aghast, because this issue goes beyond Republican or Democrat,” Blumenthal said last month. “It’s bigger than one administration or another. It’s whether the law of the land should prevail, or maybe it’s up for grabs, depending on what the president thinks.” Some Republicans have also appeared concerned with Vought’s views on impoundment. Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last month he also shared some concerns and would disclose them at a markup hearing for Vought’s nomination. Meanwhile, other Republican lawmakers share Vought’s stance on impoundment. For example, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation in December 2024 that would repeal the Impoundment Control Act. Lee argued that the law’s “unconstitutional limitations” on the executive branch have “contributed to a fiscal crisis.” TRUMP’S TREASURY NOMINEE TURNS THE TABLES ON SANDERS IN TESTY EXCHANGE ABOUT BIDEN’S ‘OLIGARCHY’ COMMENTS Vought’s nomination sparked additional outrage after the OMB issued a memo late last month ordering a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. The White House rescinded the memo two days later, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move didn’t equate to a “recission of the federal funding freeze” and that the executive orders mentioned in the memo still remain in effect. Democrats claimed the memo was an attempt to bypass Congress and was an overreach of power from the executive branch. “As much as Trump desires it, the president is not a king. As much as Trump desires it, a law is not a suggestion,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Budget Committee ranking member, told reporters. In response, Democrats urged the Senate to reject Vought’s nomination following a Budget Committee vote to advance him, cautioning that Vought would attempt to impound funds again if he’s confirmed. TRUMP TREASURY PICK: EXTENDING TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ISSUE’ Trump ought to pull Vought’s nomination altogether, or else he will “become baggage” for the American people and for the Trump administration, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters. “What happened this week should be a lesson to President Trump,” Schumer said. “Mr. Vought will be the architect of more losing for President Trump.” But HSGAC Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Vought is the person Washington needs to “say enough is enough” and cut government spending. “Mr. Vought has been a consistent advocate for fiscal sanity and has continually suggested strategies to decrease excess spending,” Paul said during a confirmation hearing before HSGAC. OMB is responsible for developing and executing the president’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch.