Trump's pick for budget director won't say whether he would release Ukraine aid

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for White House budget director, declined Wednesday to fully commit to doling out congressionally approved funds, specifically U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Vought faced questions at his confirmation hearing over his tenure as director of the Office and Management and Budget during Trump's first term. He stressed that he would follow the law, even as he emphasized Trump’s desire to overturn the 1974 Impoundment Control Act that requires congressional approval to rescind spending.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., accused him of withholding $214 million in military aid for Ukraine in 2019, an event that led to Trump’s first impeachment.

“I will always commit to upholding the law," said Vought, an answer that did not satisfy Peters.

As the hearings continued, Vought's answer changed somewhat when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked if he would approve the distribution of $3.8 billion in aid for Ukraine for its ongoing war against Russia.

“I’m not going to get ahead of the policy response of the incoming administration,” said Vought, who in 2021 founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank.

Blumenthal responded: “I am astonished and aghast that someone in this responsible position would, in effect, say that the president is above the law.”

Still, in response to questions from Republican lawmakers, Vought did preview possible budget proposals by suggesting that spending cuts would be necessary to address persistent budget deficits that have pushed the publicly held national debt above $28 trillion.

Vought, an architect of Project 2025, said the debt would leave future generations poorer as more and more tax dollars went to repayment.

“The president ran on the issue of fiscal accountability, dealing with our inflation situation," he said, indicating that discretionary social programs could be targeted for cuts and that money could be saved if more people had jobs.

In June, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog, evaluated increases in debt during the presidencies of Trump and President Joe Biden. The analysis found that Trump's policies had increased the debt by $8.4 trillion, while Biden's policies pushed up the debt by $4.3 trillion. Much of the additional debt was the consequence of responding to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

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