Russell Vought Exposed As A Vindictive, Despicable A-hole
OMB Director Russell Vought, a key cog in Trump's reign of terror against the working class in the US, was turned into a babbling, dishonest, and disingenuous scoundrel during Rep. Becca Balint's questioning during the House Budget Committee hearing on the 2027 budget.
Rep. Balint explained in detail how Vought weaponized his agency, while Trump withheld federal funds against all states that did not vote for him..
BALINT: Mr. Vought, I want to go over your political weaponization of this agency against the American people, and specifically against those states that voted primarily for Democrats.
Yes or no, Mr. Vought, a federal judge found that you terminated $7.6 billion in clean energy grants based on whether the recipient lived in a blue state.
Yes or no?
VOUGHT: I don't recall what that judge said, but we have not made the determinations based on whether the state is—
BALINT: In fact, Mr. Vought, on January 12, 2026, U.S. Judge Amit Mehta said, quote, defendants, meaning you, Mr. Vought, freely admit that they made grant determination decisions primarily, if not exclusively, based on whether the awardee resided in a state whose citizens voted for President Trump in 2024.
Rep. Balint did not stop there.
She continued on like a battering ram of truth against a scurrilous carpetbagger.