Russell Vought facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Russell Vought
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Official portrait, 2018
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| 42nd & 44th Director of the Office of Management and Budget | |
| Assumed office February 7, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Dan Bishop |
| Preceded by | Shalanda Young |
| In office July 22, 2020 – January 20, 2021 Acting: January 2, 2019 – July 22, 2020 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Derek Kan |
| Preceded by | Mick Mulvaney |
| Succeeded by | Shalanda Young |
| Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | |
| Assumed office February 7, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Zixta Martinez |
| Preceded by | Scott Bessent (acting) |
| Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget | |
| In office March 14, 2018 – July 22, 2020 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Brian Deese |
| Succeeded by | Derek Kan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Russell Thurlow Vought
March 26, 1976 Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Mary Vought
(div. 2023) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Wheaton College (BA) George Washington University (JD) |
Russell Thurlow Vought (born March 26, 1976) is an American government official. He is known for his work in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB helps the President manage the U.S. government's budget and policies. Vought has served as the Director of the OMB since February 2025. He also held this role from July 2020 to January 2021 during the first Trump administration. Before that, he was the Deputy Director of the OMB from March 2018 to July 2020.
Vought describes himself as a Christian nationalist. He started an organization called the Center for Renewing America. This group works against certain ideas, like critical race theory. It also supports the idea of America as a "nation under God." Vought has also been important in Project 2025. This project aims to promote conservative ideas and change how the federal government works. In May 2024, he became the Policy Director for the Republican National Committee's platform committee. On November 23, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Vought would be nominated again as Director of the OMB for his second term. The U.S. Senate approved his nomination on February 6, 2025.
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Early Life and Education
Russell Vought was born in Illinois. He grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut. His father, Thurlow Bunyea Vought, was an electrician and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. His mother, Margaret Flowers Vought, was an elementary school teacher.
Vought went to Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there in 1998. Later, he earned a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the George Washington University Law School in 2004.
Early Career in Government
Before working at the OMB, Vought had several important roles. He was a vice president at Heritage Action. This group works to influence government decisions. He also served as the executive director and budget director for the Republican Study Committee. This is a group of conservative members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Vought was also a policy director for the Republican Conference of the United States House of Representatives. He worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Phil Gramm.
First Trump Administration (2018–2021)
Working at the OMB
Deputy Director Role
In April 2017, President Donald Trump chose Vought to be the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The U.S. Senate approved his nomination on February 28, 2018.
During his approval process, Senator Bernie Sanders asked Vought about a statement he made about religion. Some groups said this questioning went against the idea that there should be no religious test for government jobs.
In 2019, Vought was one of several government officials who did not appear to testify before Congress. This was related to the Trump–Ukraine scandal. This scandal involved the administration's decision to stop military aid to Ukraine for a time. This situation led to the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
Becoming OMB Director
On January 2, 2019, Vought became the acting OMB director. This happened after the previous director, Mick Mulvaney, became the White House chief of staff. On March 18, 2020, President Trump announced he wanted Vought to become the permanent OMB Director. The U.S. Senate approved Vought for this role on July 20, 2020. He was sworn in on January 22, 2020.
In May 2020, Vought decided that the OMB would not publish updated economic forecasts. He said this was because of the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
On September 4, 2020, Vought, following President Trump's instructions, sent a memo to federal agencies. This memo told them to stop all training on "critical race theory" or "white privilege." It also said to stop any training that suggested the U.S. is a racist country or that any race is evil. The memo also directed agencies to find ways to stop spending taxpayer money on such training.
2020 Presidential Election
After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, there were claims that the election was unfair. Biden's team said Vought was making it hard for them to prepare for the new administration. They said he was not letting them meet with OMB staff. Vought said that the OMB had provided money for the transition. He also said there had been many meetings with Biden officials. He stated that OMB staff would continue working on the current administration's policies until the very end.
In December 2020, Donald Trump appointed Vought to the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy. This board helps oversee the academy. In September 2021, Joe Biden removed Vought and other Trump appointees from these boards. Vought and another appointee, Sean Spicer, tried to stop their removal. They argued their appointments were for three-year terms. However, a federal judge dismissed their lawsuit in July 2022.
Between Trump Administrations (2021–2025)
Center for Renewing America
In January 2021, Vought started an organization called the Center for Renewing America (CRA). This group focuses on fighting against critical race theory. CRA also has a related group called American Restoration Action. Their goal is to "renew a consensus of America as a nation under God." According to Axios, these groups aim to support Trump's political movement after he left the White House.
In June 2021, the advocacy part of CRA released a guide to "combatting critical race theory." Vought told Fox News that this guide was a "crash course" for parents. It was meant to help them hold their school board members accountable.
In October 2024, ProPublica reported on speeches Vought had given at CRA events. The report said Vought's ideas included plans to change the government. This included possibly using military force against protesters if needed. He also suggested reducing the power of agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Vought said he wanted to make federal workers feel "trauma" and not want to go to work. He felt they were seen as "villains."
Project 2025
Vought played a big part in creating Project 2025. This project is a collection of conservative policy ideas from The Heritage Foundation. It aims to reshape the United States federal government and give more power to the President. The Center for Renewing America, Vought's organization, is part of Project 2025's advisory board.
Project 2025 suggests changing the jobs of many federal civil service workers. It proposes making them political appointees. This would allow them to be replaced with people loyal to Trump. This idea was explained in the 920-page Mandate for Project 2025, published in April 2023. The project also seeks to bring Christian values into government and society.
In August 2024, CNN reported on a long conversation Vought had with two journalists. The journalists pretended to be relatives of a possible donor. The conversation was secretly recorded in July 2024. The video showed Vought talking about his secret efforts to prepare executive orders for a possible second Trump administration. He also discussed his broad ideas about presidential power. He mentioned his plans to limit certain types of content and immigration. During the conversation, Vought described his main political belief as "Christian nationism."
Republican National Committee
In May 2024, Vought was named the policy director for the Republican National Committee's platform committee.
Second Trump Administration (2025–Present)
Nomination and Confirmation
On November 23, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Vought again as director of the OMB. Vought appeared before Senate committees in January 2025 for his confirmation hearing. The U.S. Senate confirmed Vought's nomination on February 6, 2025.
Current Role
On February 7, 2025, Vought was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. When he became OMB Director, Vought also took on the role of acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB is a government agency that protects consumers in the financial market. In his first month at the CFPB, the agency stopped several cases that Vought's predecessor had started. In May 2025, the CFPB removed a rule that limited how data brokers could sell sensitive information. This information included financial data and Social Security numbers.
On July 15, 2025, Vought stated that the White House supported an amendment. This amendment would protect the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from budget cuts. PEPFAR is a global program that fights AIDS.
Political and Religious Views
Vought is a graduate of evangelical Christian Wheaton College. He describes himself as a Christian nationalist. He believes that Christian ideas should influence government and society. He has said he supports a "separation between church and state" as institutions. However, he does not support separating Christianity from its influence on government and society. In a secretly recorded meeting in 2024, Vought said that conservatives should consider prioritizing Christian immigrants over those of other religions. Vought has called the Democratic Party "increasingly evil" because they support secularism.
In 2022, Vought began talking about "radical constitutionalism." He believes this is needed to fix what he calls a "post-Constitutional time." He says this time has come from a century of corruption of laws and institutions by the political left. He describes the federal bureaucracy as "woke and weaponized." He supports replacing it with "radical constitutionalists." Vought also suggests making big changes to the FBI. He wants to end the tradition of political independence for the U.S. Justice Department.
Personal Life
Vought was married to Mary Grace Vought. They have two daughters. Mary filed for divorce on August 4, 2023. Their divorce was finalized on August 30 in Arlington County, Virginia.
See also
In Spanish: Russell Vought para niños
