Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought is behind the scenes of the Trump administration's response to the ongoing government shutdown.
Why it matters: Vought was a co-architect of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, widely seen as a roadmap for President Trump's policies. Also having led the OMB during Trump's first term, Vought has openly criticized the federal government and its workforce.
Driving the news: Vought said Monday, as the funding gap began, that the Trump administration would begin firing federal workers within days.
- He had previously threatened mass layoffs if a shutdown began.
- Vought called the shutdown deadline a "very critical juncture" on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast last month.
The big picture: In the Trump White House, Vought stands out for knowing how the bureaucracy works and how to navigate it.
- "He cares a lot about understanding all the details so he can maximally weaponize things," Bobby Kogan, a former OMB staffer during the Biden administration told Axios earlier this year. "He's incredibly effective."
Behind the scenes: Vought felt sidelined by Elon Musk's role with the Department of Government Efficiency, the New York Times reported in September.
- Vought has seen through some of DOGE's lofty overhauls. In July, he said OMB's job was to make DOGE cuts permanent.
Zoom out: Before joining the first Trump administration, Vought was the vice president of Heritage Action for America, a sister organization to the Heritage Foundation.
- He advocated for deep cuts to Medicaid, the Education Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — all of which the Trump administration began executing this year.
- Last month, Vought said he didn't believe the Government Accountability Office, Congress' watchdog, should exist.
What we're watching: Trump on Tuesday wrote on Truth Social that he had a meeting with Vought to determine which "Democrat Agencies" he recommended cutting, perhaps permanently.
Go deeper: White House to begin firing federal workers within a "day or two"
Axios' Emily Peck contributed reporting.
