Russell Vought

Maga's spending 'bulldog' is playing Cromwell to Trump's Henry VIII, writes Andrew Anthony

- Andrew Anthony

With his balding head, grey beard and tortoiseshell glasses, Russell Vought looks like a man who could pass unnoticed in his own home.

Yet in recent weeks, as the US government has entered into shutdown, the man who Steve Bannon calls "Maga's bulldog" has emerged as one of the most powerful men in Washington.

Ten days ago Donald Trump shared an Al-generated video portraying Vought (pronounced Vote) as the grim reaper, accompanied by a soundtrack of Blue Oyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Although presented as a sophomoric joke, it carried a serious and threatening message.

Vought, 49, is director of the White House office of management and budget, a position that doesn't usually attract much attention. However, all eyes are on him because, with Congress having failed to agree government funding, he has come out swinging a metaphorical scythe.

Rather than placing government workers on furlough, the practice in previous shutdowns, Vought is seeking to sack large numbers and further reduce the reach and capability of federal agencies, which both he and Trump view as a liberal bureaucratic conspiracy.

"Russ knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end weaponised government," Trump wrote when nominating Vought.

Vought is also responsible for a $25bn freeze in funding for infrastructure in Democratic-voting states. His reason for closing down a subway project in New York City was that it might have been unconstitutionally influenced by DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] policies, which led to suggestions he had invented a new engineering concept of "woke tunnels".

If the administration is stacked with poseurs and yes men, Vought is the inconspicuous exception. While his profile may not match that of Peter Hegseth or RFK Jnr, by contrast he knows what he's doing.