Trump's budget chief, slayer of big government, moves quickly in shutdown

Russell Vought is taking aim at Democratic priorities and projects

- Scott Patterson, Olivia Beavers & Siobhan Hughes

Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, posted that $8 billion in Energy Department funds for climate projects would be canceled in more than a dozen Democratic-leaning states.

(AP)

Russell Vought has been planning for this moment for years.

President Trump's budget chief—one of the main players in the government shutdown that has ground Washington to a halt—might also be one of its biggest beneficiaries, as the freeze gives him the opportunity to implement funding cuts he has long advocated.

Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, was quick Wednesday to target Democratic priorities and projects. In a move that affected Democratic congressional leaders from New York, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Vought posted on X that a hold had been put on $18 billion in federal funds for New York City infrastructure work: a Hudson River tunnel project and a subway extension.

The Transportation Department pinned the blame on the shutdown, saying a review of the projects’ contracting policies and their relationship to diversity, equity and inclusion requirements couldn't move forward. “Without a budget, the department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review,” the agency said in a statement.

Vought also posted that $8 billion in Energy Department funds for climate projects would be canceled in more than a dozen Democratic-leaning states, He didn’t specify which projects would be affected.