Head of Largest Federal Worker Union Urges Senate to Block Russell Vought

The head of the largest federal employees' union is urging U.S. senators to vote against confirming Russell Vought as Office of Management and Budget director, as the Senate's top Democrat delivered a scathing floor speech Wednesday highlighting Vought's "role as the chief architect of Project 2025 and the devastating impact his policies would have on working families across the country."

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) national president Everett Kelley said in a letter distributed to media outlets this week that "Russell Vought's agenda in the previous Trump administration is clearly alive and well as the current Trump administration has already taken steps to reimplement an even more expansive Schedule F and to purportedly override collective bargaining agreements in various contexts."

Schedule F refers to an executive order issued by Republican President Donald Trump at the end of his first term that would have stripped employment protections from career civil servants had former President Joe Biden not rescinded it within days of taking office in 2021. AFGE and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees last week filed a lawsuit arguing that Trump "illegally exceeded his authority" by attempting to weaken Biden-era worker protections.

"Of all people Donald Trump could have picked to lead White House policy, he chose the godfather of the ultraright."

"As OMB director during President Trump's first term, Vought pursued an agenda to effectively nullify the nonpartisan civil service system by attempting to convert tens of thousands of career employees to political appointments, gut their collective bargaining rights, and prevent unions from providing fair and effective representation to all workers," AFGE explained in an email Wednesday. "Vought has also made deeply disturbing comments about the civil service, including portraying them as villains and saying he wants to put federal workers in trauma."

Also on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) held the Senate floor in opposition to Vought's nomination.

"Of all the harmful nominees, of all the extremists that Donald Trump has elevated, of all the hard-right ideologues who have come before the Senate, none of them hold a candle to Russell Vought," Schumer said. "He is far and away the most dangerous to the American people."

"Most people have never heard of Russell Vought before, but make no mistake about it, my fellow Americans: He is the most important piece of the puzzle in Donald Trump's second term," the senator continued. "He will be the quarterback of White House policy. For all intents and purposes, he will run the command center of the Trump administration. His decisions will reverberate from one end of America to the other, in every city, in every town, every household, and every rural area."

"And of all people Donald Trump could have picked to lead White House policy, he chose the godfather of the ultraright," Schumer added. "Make no mistake, Russell Vought is Project 2025 incarnate."

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said Wednesday that he would lead a Thursday filibuster against Vought.

Vought currently leads the think tank Center for Renewing America, whose motto is: "For God. For Country. For Community."

A defender of Christian nationalism, Vought co-authored the policy portion of Project 2025, a blueprint for a far-right overhaul of the federal government. Vought's Project 2025 proposals include dramatic cuts to critical public programs, abolishing or gutting essential government agencies, a national abortion ban, and other right-wing wish list items.

While Trump has attempted to distance himself from the deeply unpopular initiative led by the Heritage Foundation, at least 140 people who worked in his first administration—including six former Cabinet secretaries—have been involved with Project 2025.