In a 51-45 vote along party lines, the U.S. Senate confirmed Russell Vought as the director of the Office of Management and Budget on July 20. Vought had served in the role in an acting capacity since Jan. 2019, when then-OMB director Mick Mulvaney began serving as acting White House chief of staff. Mulvaney did not resign from OMB at the time but dedicated all of his time to his chief of staff duties. Vought, then the deputy director of the agency, assumed directorial responsibilities as a result.
Mulvaney left the White House in Mar. 2020, the same month that President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to permanently nominate Vought as OMB director. Senate committees advanced Vought’s nomination to a full Senate vote in June. A group of Republican members in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the Senate in April encouraging the chamber to confirm Vought to the role.
Vought is the second OMB director to serve under Pres. Trump; Mulvaney took office in Feb. 2017, shortly after Trump’s inauguration. The agency, which is the largest element of the Executive Office of the President, is tasked with managing the development and execution of the annual federal budget, overseeing federal agencies and executive branch operations, and coordinating and reviewing agency regulations. The agency was first organized in 1970 under President Richard Nixon.