Russell Vought’s nomination to be White House budget director will advance to the Senate floor despite a last-minute move by Senate Democrats to boycott his committee vote.
Republican members of the Senate Budget Committee voted unanimously to advance Vought’s nomination as Democrats protest a now-rescinded funding freeze by the Trump administration.
Democrats were already set to oppose Vought, a hard-line conservative who led the Office of Management and Budget in Trump’s first term. But the freeze in financial assistance, which caused countrywide chaos and uncertainty, prompted the party to call for a two-week delay in his vote.
“Given the unlawful behavior of OMB this week, Senate Democrats will not move an inch to advance Mr. Vought’s nomination any further,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a press conference, flanked by Democratic colleagues on the Budget Committee.
The boycott represents the latest escalation in Democratic protests against Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Nearly two dozen Democrats voted against Sean Duffy, Trump’s transportation secretary, on Tuesday, a step widely interpreted as retaliation for the funding freeze.
Just one day earlier, Duffy had cleared a test vote with unanimous support.
Democrats also prevented Republicans from fast-tracking another bipartisan nominee, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, last week over “serious concerns” he would politicize the agency.
Boycotts were used in 2017 to delay consideration of two Trump nominees, as Democrats refused to attend a Senate Finance Committee vote on his choices to lead Treasury and Health and Human Services.
At least one senator of each party had to be present for the nominations to proceed.
The Budget Committee does not have that requirement, meaning Democrats were unable to block Thursday’s vote. Instead, Republicans needed a simple majority on a panel they control 11-10.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the Budget Committee chairman, reacted with relative indifference to the boycott after Vought was reported favorably.
“You know, it’s their decision to make. It was a quick meeting,” he said with a laugh.
Another committee member, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), told the Washington Examiner he would have attended if he had genuine reservations about a nominee.
“I would be there raising fresh hell, but they chose not to, so maybe they’re at a toga party or something,” he said.
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Vought cleared an earlier hurdle in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which shares jurisdiction over his nomination.
He was reported out of the committee last week in an 8-7 party-line vote.
