WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Russell Vought, a key architect of , speaks as a general marshaling troops to tame a 鈥渨oke and weaponized鈥濃�痜ederal government.
Vought has said political opposition is 鈥渆nemy fire that鈥檚 coming over the target" and has urged allies to be 鈥渇earless at the point of attack." He has described his policy proposals as 鈥渂attle plans.鈥�
If former President Donald Trump wins a second term in November, Vought, his former White House budget chief, may get the opportunity to go on the offensive; he is expected to be appointed to a high-ranking post in a second Trump administration.
Here are some things to know about Vought and his plans if Trump returns to power.
Project 2025
Vought did not respond to an interview request or to questions first emailed in February to the , the pro-Trump think tank he established after leaving government.
The center joined a coalition of conservative organizations, led by the Heritage Foundation, to launch the 920-page Project 2025, a detailed blueprint for governing in the next Republican administration. The project鈥檚 public-facing document, examined nearly every corner of the federal government and urged reforms large and small to bridle a 鈥渂ehemoth鈥� bureaucracy.
As part of his work on Project 2025, Vought is at work to speed the plan鈥檚 implementation to avoid a repeat of the chaotic start that dogged Trump鈥檚 first term.
Project 2025 calls for the U.S. Education Department to be shuttered, and the Homeland Security Department dismantled, with its various parts absorbed by other federal offices. Diversity, inclusion and equity programs would be gutted. Promotions in the U.S. military to general or admiral would go under a microscope to ensure candidates haven鈥檛 prioritized issues like climate change or critical race theory.
In his public comments and in a Project 2025 chapter he wrote, Vought has said that no executive branch department or agency, including the Justice Department, should operate outside the president鈥檚 authority.
鈥淭he whole notion of independent agencies is anathema from the standpoint of the Constitution,鈥� Vought said during a recent appearance on .
Critics warn this may leave the Justice Department and other investigative agencies vulnerable to a president who might pressure them to punish or probe a political foe. Trump, who has faced four separate prosecutions, .
Controversial blueprint
Democrats have used Project 2025 as a political weapon, tying it to Trump and arguing to voters that the plan is extreme.
Trump has sought to distance himself from the project. He posted on social media last month that he has not seen the plan and has 鈥渘o idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it.鈥�
On Tuesday, his disavowed and criticized the blueprint, with his presidential campaign stating That same day, the project鈥檚 executive director stepped down.
The effort to disavow ties to Project 2025 is complicated by the connections Trump has with many of its contributors. Vought and more than two dozen other authors served in his administration.
Vought knows how to operate levers of power
Vought is among a small cadre of former officials who have a mechanic鈥檚 understanding of how Washington operates.
He honed his credentials as a fiscal hawk on Capitol Hill. When Trump was elected in 2016, Vought became deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Combative and loyal to Trump, Vought would later take over as OMB's top official.
A typically sedate office, OMB builds the president鈥檚 budget and reviews proposed regulations. With Vought at the helm, OMB was at the center of showdowns between Trump and Congress over federal spending and the legal bounds of presidential power.
After lawmakers refused to give Trump more money for his southern U.S. border wall, the budget office siphoned billions of dollars from the Pentagon and Treasury Department budgets to pay for it. Under Vought, OMB also withheld military aid to Ukraine and his son.
underscored his proximity to Trump. If Vought were to return to the White House as OMB director, he doesn鈥檛 intend to be a paper-pushing, number-crunching bureaucrat. He has also been mentioned as a potential White House chief of staff, among the most powerful jobs in all of Washington.
Richard Lardner, The Associated Press
