Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought asked Congress for an additional $17 million in taxpayer funds for his agency on Wednesday while simultaneously advocating for aggressive cuts to other parts of the federal government.
Mr. Vought testified before the House Appropriations Committee on OMB’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. He is seeking $17.1 million in new funding for the OMB, representing a 13% increase over the previous fiscal year’s levels.
The money would be used to hire 20 new full-time workers, bringing the agency’s staffing total up to 520 employees. Mr. Vought said the new employees were necessary because OMB was among the smaller government agencies and its workers were tasked with analyzing the budget and operations of much larger agencies such as the departments of Justice and Defense.
“In the first [Trump] term, I had the view that OMB should reduce its headcount and the challenge was that we found when we did that … you find yourself in a situation where some of your key resource management offices are having to analyze programs and agencies that are growing exponentially larger,” Mr. Vought said.
For example, Mr. Vought noted that OMB staffers reviewing the Defense Department budgets must look at all state and foreign aid, national security information, veterans affairs, and the intelligence community.
He said the cost for the extra employees was “unavoidable.”
A day earlier, the White House sent Congress a request to slash $9.4 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, the first package aimed at codifying cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Mr. Vought, who headed the OMB during President Trump’s first term, has a reputation in Washington as a fiscal hawk. His championing of cost-cutting efforts by Mr. Trump and billionaire Elon Musk drew the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Democrats condemned his overall cuts, saying they hurt poor and elderly Americans and caused job losses. Republicans are frustrated with his refusal to increase military spending beyond its current budget levels.
During the hearing, several Democrats pointed out the irony of Mr. Vought asking for money while cheering cuts to federal spending.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Democrat, laid into him, saying he wants to cut spending, but refuses to answer questions about how taxpayer dollars will be spent under his tenure at OMB.
“You posit yourself as a defender of everyday Americans and champion for restoring an imagined version of America you consider morally and virtuously superior to the country we actually live in,” she said. “Yet, you have demonstrated contempt for American taxpayers by gleefully ignoring lawful requirements to provide them and their elected representatives in Congress the most basic information as to how their tax dollars are spent.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.