The Latest Breaking News from Russell Vought

Government argues funding mechanism behind Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unlawful

U.S. science always suffers during government shutdowns. Funding lapses send government scientists home without pay. Federal agencies suspend new grant opportunities, place expert review panels on hold, and stop collecting and analyzing critical public datasets that tell us about the economy, the environment and public health.

The federal workers’ union said the Senate needs to pass a clean continuing resolution. Republicans say Democrats ‘need to listen to the unions, and that's not a sentence I say very often’

Anxiety and economic stress among federal employees as Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked on bill

One Republican senator suggests Republicans change the filibuster to reopen the government

Is he Palpatine?

The ongoing government shutdown has brought U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects to a standstill, as the Trump administration weighs canceling over billion worth of projects.

So far, there have been about 4,000 shutdown terminations, all now held up in court.

The White House is pausing funding to cities including New York, San Francisco, and Boston.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday accused the White House of trying to dismantle the nation's consumer watchdog, seizing on comments from White House budget director Russell Vought that the administration aims to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau within months.

 Lawsuit claims that firing federal employees during a shutdown is an unlawful abuse of power aimed at punishing workers, pressuring Congress.