Office of Management and Budget

Budget Chief Russell Vought Seizes Congressional Spending Authority

| Importance: 10/10

Budget chief Russell Vought is systematically using government shutdown authority to cancel contracts, freeze billions in congressionally approved funds, and secretly withhold ‘$5 billion in foreign aid through pocket rescissions,’ completely bypassing Congressional oversight. This …

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OMB Removes Legal References to Federal Worker Back Pay Guarantees

| Importance: 8/10

The Office of Management and Budget quietly deleted statutory back pay guarantees from government shutdown guidance, signaling possible denial of restitution to 620,000 furloughed federal workers despite a 2019 law requiring it. OMB issued a memo arguing Trump lacks legal obligation to provide back …

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OMB Director Russ Vought Uses Shutdown to Execute Mass Federal Purges

| Importance: 9/10

OMB Director Russ Vought systematically used government shutdown planning to execute mass federal purges, cancel funding, block oversight, and reclassify workers across agencies according to the Project 2025 framework. This represents a deliberate conversion of the Office of Management and Budget …

Russ Vought Office of Management and Budget Trump Administration Congress institutional-capture systematic-corruption executive-overreach project-2025-implementation
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White House Defunds Council of Inspectors General, Disabling Federal Oversight

| Importance: 10/10

The Office of Management and Budget withheld congressionally approved funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), effectively disabling oversight of 72 federal watchdogs. The defunding caused at least 15 government oversight websites to go dark, removing …

Office of Management and Budget Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency White House Susan Collins Chuck Grassley institutional-capture systematic-corruption accountability-dismantling executive-overreach
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OMB Director Russell Vought Inserts Political Conditions Into 100+ Budget Accounts, Blocking Congressional Appropriations

| Importance: 9/10

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought inserted political conditions into over 100 budget accounts, blocking billions in congressionally appropriated funds from being spent according to legislative intent. Vought’s OMB added requirements such as ideological loyalty tests, …

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OMB Director Vought Blocks Billions in Congressional Appropriations, Claims Unilateral Spending Power

| Importance: 9/10

OMB Director Russell Vought blocked billions in congressionally-approved public funding, including over $5 billion in SNAP benefits for hungry families, claiming unilateral power to withhold spending despite the Impoundment Control Act prohibiting such actions. Vought confirmed considering …

Russell Vought Office of Management and Budget Donald Trump institutional-capture systematic-corruption constitutional-crisis
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Trump Executive Order Places Federal Grants Under Political Appointee Control

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump signed Executive Order 14332 titled ‘Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking,’ transforming the federal grantmaking process by giving presidential political appointees unprecedented power over billions of dollars in research and discretionary grants. The order requires …

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One Big Beautiful Bill Act Transfers $3.4 Trillion Upward Through Tax Cuts and Slush Funds

| Importance: 6/10

Trump’s signature budget reconciliation bill increases federal deficits by $3.4 trillion over 10 years while transferring wealth upward, with 65% of benefits flowing to top 10% of earners. Creates multiple opaque funding streams including $100M OMB slush fund for “efficiencies” and …

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Russell Vought Becomes OMB Director - Project 2025 Chief Architect

| Importance: 9/10

Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025, is confirmed by the Senate on February 6, 2025, in a 53-47 party-line vote to serve as OMB Director under President Donald Trump. Vought’s confirmation represents a critical step in executing Project 2025’s blueprint for federal agency …

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House Oversight Launches Comprehensive Investigation into Grok AI's Safety and Government Deployment

| Importance: 8/10

U.S. House Oversight Democrats, led by Representatives Robert Garcia and Stephen Lynch, launched a comprehensive investigation into Grok AI’s development practices. The investigation scrutinized potential risks to the public information ecosystem, including concerns about privacy, …

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OMB Official Mark Sandy Testifies on Ukraine Aid Freeze, Reveals Two Colleagues Resigned Over Concerns

| Importance: 8/10

Mark Sandy, a career Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official serving as deputy associate director for national security programs, testified to House impeachment investigators on November 16, 2019, revealing that two of his OMB colleagues resigned in protest over concerns that Trump’s …

Mark Sandy Michael Duffey Donald Trump Office of Management and Budget Inspector General Whistleblower Retaliation Obstruction of Justice Accountability Crisis Ukraine +1 more
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Reagan Deficit Explosion: National Debt Triples From $1T to $3T in Eight Years

| Importance: 9/10

The national debt under President Reagan explodes from $997 billion in 1981 to $2.9 trillion by 1989, representing an increase of 186% and adding approximately $1.9 trillion in new debt during his eight-year presidency. Annual budget deficits average 4.0% of GDP during Reagan’s tenure, …

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