Daijiworld Media Network – Washington

Washington, Oct 5: Washington is witnessing a dramatic power play, with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), emerging as one of the most influential figures after former President Donald Trump. The right-wing ideologue is using the current US government shutdown to push his vision of radical executive control over federal bureaucracy, raising alarm among Democrats and observers.

Unlike typical shutdowns that place hundreds of thousands of federal workers on temporary unpaid leave, the White House has now signaled that mass firings are “imminent.” Trump has reportedly relied on Vought to identify which federal agencies, particularly Democrat-led ones, should face cuts, even sharing an AI-generated video portraying Vought as the grim reaper walking through Washington.

Vought, 49, is the chief architect behind the far-right governance blueprint, Project 2025, which envisions a sharply reduced federal government under expanded executive authority. During his reelection campaign, Trump distanced himself from the plan but now publicly refers to Vought as “he of PROJECT 2025 Fame.”

Democratic lawmaker Rosa DeLauro, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, accused Vought of “engineering” the shutdown. “He has been scheming, hoping and planning for this since he was last in office, building his plan to dismantle essential government functions with no regard for the working class, the middle class, and vulnerable Americans who depend on them,” she said on the first day of the shutdown.

A Connecticut native, Vought graduated from an evangelical Christian college and earned a law degree before working as a staffer for Republican lawmakers and as a lobbyist for the Heritage Foundation. He first became OMB director during Trump’s initial term and spent President Joe Biden’s tenure planning a conservative takeover through his think tank, the Center for Renewing America, aiming to streamline what he considers a bloated government.

In interviews, Vought has described the government as “the woke and weaponized administrative state,” advocating for concentrated executive power and a radical overhaul of federal bureaucracy. His plans include ending foreign aid, cutting federal funding for public broadcasting, and rolling back multiple regulations, calling the upheaval “exciting” and essential for efficiency.

Vought was reconfirmed as OMB director in February 2025 and is now at the forefront of the Trump administration’s aggressive agenda to reshape the federal government, even as tensions rise over the impact on civil servants and essential public services.