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,

Senate hearings for Trump’s Cabinet nominees progress this week, with Russell Vought (OMB) and Brooke Rollins (Agriculture) set for January 22 and 23. Other nominees, like Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Tulsi Gabbard,

Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget, poses for a photo with Cabinet picks, other nominees and appointments, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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.

The Senate has confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state, giving President Donald Trump the first member of his Cabinet. The vote was unanimous.

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 Trump’s nominee to be director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testifies Wednesday with the Senate Budget Committee. You can watch his opening state

Russell Vought, Donald Trump's pick to direct the Office of Management and Budget, will appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Wednesday around 1:00 p.m. Vought held this position in Trump's first term and has since worked on the RNC's platform committee and the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025.

Russell T. Vought, President Trump’s nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, said he supported work requirements for the program that supports low-income Americans.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of the Laken Riley Act, which allows for the deportation and detention of any undocumented immigrant merely suspected of a nonviolent crime, with 46 Democrats joining every Republican in approving the bill.

Trump began his second term with a series of executive actions. The 47th US president ordered a crackdown on immigration and withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organization.