US Sen. Richard Blumenthal challenged President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over his past proposals to reduce or eliminate benefits for certain veterans to save money in the Veterans Affairs (VA) system.

Democrats grilled Russell Vought, who was tapped to be President-elect Trump’s next budget chief, for his ties to Project 2025 and the powers of the executive branch as senators weighed his nomination.

Vought, a co-author of Project 2025 who served as budget director in Donald Trump's first term, has signaled he will take a more aggressive approach to helping the president-elect carry out his agenda of shrinking the federal government.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut cast doubt Tuesday on nominee Pete Hegseth’s ability to run the Department of Defense, pointing to claims of financial mismanagement when President-elect Donald Trump’s pick ran a pair of veterans’ groups.

“Ranking member Durbin, President Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States,” Bondi replied, avoiding a straightforward answer. “There was a peaceful transition of power; President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.”

If confirmed, Mr. Vought will be at the center of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to upend the federal bureaucracy.

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for White House budget director is declining to commit to doling out congressionally approved funds, specifically U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Congress is gearing up for a potential separation of powers fight with the incoming Trump administration over who has the final pull of the purse strings.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Office of Management and Budget appeared on a glide path to confirmation following a Wednesday hearing, despite Democrats raising concerns over his policy beliefs and actions in the exact same job during the first administration.

There has never been a nominee for an office of such serious consequence who is so unqualified and unprepared in recent American history," said Blumenthal.

The Veterans Affairs Department’s workforce will have a advocate in its next secretary, President Trump’s pick to lead the agency told lawmakers on Tuesday, though it can also expect a crackdown to hold bad actors accountable.

Vought faced questions at his confirmation hearing over his tenure as director of the Office and Management and Budget during ... Vought's answer changed somewhat when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked if he would approve the distribution of $3.8 ...