Inside Trump's Government Shutdown: How Russell Vought Became America's Budget "Grim Reaper"

Russell Vought has emerged as perhaps the second most influential figure in Washington, trailing only Donald Trump himself. As head of the Office of Management and Budget, this right-wing ideologue is utilizing the ongoing US government shutdown to implement dramatic reforms across American bureaucracy.

While government shutdowns typically result in temporary unpaid leave for federal employees, the current administration has warned that widespread terminations are "imminent."

President Trump has commissioned Vought to identify "which of the many Democrat Agencies" should face budget cuts.

The President even shared an AI-generated video on Truth Social depicting Vought as death personified, traversing Washington with scythe in hand.

Vought is implementing strategies from the far-right governance blueprint called Project 2025, which he helped create.

During his campaign, Trump distanced himself from this ultra-conservative policy framework that envisions drastically reduced federal government with expanded executive control.

Now, however, Trump refers to the 49-year-old budget chief as "he of PROJECT 2025 Fame."

Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, ranking member on the committee allocating government funds, claims Vought deliberately "engineered" the shutdown.

"He has been scheming, hoping and planning for this since he was last in office, building his plan to dismantle essential government functions with no regard for the working class, the middle class, and vulnerable Americans who depend on them," she stated on the shutdown's first day.

Government shutdowns occur when lawmakers fail to pass annual budget legislation.

Hailing from Connecticut, Vought graduated from a small evangelical Christian college before obtaining a law degree and working for Republican lawmakers, later becoming a lobbyist for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

He joined the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and rose to director during Trump's first administration.

During President Biden's term, Vought planned for conservative governance revival through his think tank, the Center for Renewing America.

His objective: introducing efficiency to what he considered bloated government structures.

Following Trump's 2024 reelection, Vought told conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that Trump "has to move executively as fast and as aggressively as possible, with a radical constitutional perspective, to be able to dismantle that bureaucracy."

In September, he characterized the US government as "the woke and weaponized administrative state" staffed by civil servants resistant to presidential directives.

The Senate swiftly confirmed Vought for another term as OMB director in February 2025. Initially, tech billionaire Elon Musk led cost-cutting efforts in the early Trump administration.

This reportedly frustrated Vought, who disagreed with aspects of Musk's approach, according to New York Times sources.

Nevertheless, the OMB director supported rapid dissolution of government agencies.

"Yes, I called for trauma within bureaucracies. Bureaucracies hate the American people," he declared in November.

"It's quite simple: all executive power must be vested in the executive branch," he asserted.

Vought has expressed enthusiasm about eliminating foreign aid, terminating federal funding for public broadcasting, and rolling back numerous regulations, stating: "It's exciting to be involved in this."