President Trump is appointing a longtime loyalist and budget hardliner, Russell Vought, to take over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) when Elon Musk leaves.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, is expected to cut the federal government with a sharp pen, with even Republicans voicing opposition to his plans for the military.
While Musk's bold, tech-driven approach to reforming government was fast and disruptive, Vought comes with an extensive background in government policy and budgeting that could help DOGE's reforms stick.
Trump acknowledged at a recent Cabinet meeting that Musk is headed back to the private sector, although Trump told the Tesla billionaire he is "invited to stay as long as you want—at some point he wants to get back home to his cars.”
Vought is expected to push for a $9.3 billion rescissions package that would claw back funding from the State Department, USAID, National Public Radio and PBS. Musk has already gutted USAID to a large degree, and Trump has said NPR and PBS should lose public funding because of their left-wing bias.
Vought has shown dedication to Trump's MAGA mission, having worked for Trump in his first term as OMB director before returning to the role this year.
Among Democrats, Vought is a figure both reviled and feared because of his role in crafting the conservative policy agenda known as Project 2025.
Democrats have ripped his hardline approach - which envisions using the impoundment power to claw back federal spending - as a threat to Congress' control over the public purse.
A senior OMB official said during a recent call with reporters that impoundment hasn’t been taken “off the table.”
Vought is also likely to focus on cutting federal regulations and implementing Schedule F, a civil service reform first introduced by Trump at the end of his first term that weakens job protections for federal employees.
But it isn't just Democrats who are voicing concern with Vought's approach. Some Republicans are up in arms over what they argue is a cut to the military.
Trump's 2026 budget proposal gives the Pentagon $1 trillion for the first time. But Republican defense hawks dismiss the number as gimmicky, since it includes a one-time supplement of defense spending through a process called budget reconciliation, which Republicans are using to pass Trump's "big, beautiful bill" without Democratic support. The Pentagon's annual budget would otherwise stay flat at more than $890 billion.
Trump's budget calls for a $163 billon cut across the federal government, bringing domestic spending to its lowest level since the 1960s.
On the other hand, the budget surges spending for the Department of Homeland Security by 65% to support Trump's deportation agenda and calls for a 13% increase in defense.
