The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate Budget Committee will move ahead on confirming President Donald Trump's pick for budget chief Russell Vought despite calls from top Democrats for a delay after an order halting all federal grants and loans.

The Senate Budget Committee, led by Republicans, is set to confirm Russell Vought as budget chief. This decision proceeds despite Democratic calls for a delay following a federal grants and loans halt directive.

Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russell Vought arrives to testify during a hearing of the House Budget Committee about President Trump's budget for Fiscal Year 2021, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Russell Vought has signaled he hopes to slash spending — and push the limits of presidential power to achieve Trump’s agenda.

President Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget faced a tough grilling from Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday.

Vought was OMB director during Trump’s first term. He already had a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, promised to help American taxpayers while undergoing a contentious confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

After Trump's defeat, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank. In speeches he made in 2023 and 2024, Vought described how he helped create legal justifications to prevent military leaders and government lawyers from obstructing Trump's executive actions, ProPublica reported.

Russell Vought, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

If confirmed, Mr. Vought will be at the center of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to upend the federal bureaucracy.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) grilled Russell Vought, President Trump’s nominee to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget, over a budget proposal created at the think tank where he worked,

Project 2025 contributing author Russell Vought is slated to resume his former role as Office of Management and Budget director following Senate approval Wednesday afternoon. Vought, 48 ...