{"id":1050787,"date":"2025-01-15T19:21:41","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T00:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1050787"},"modified":"2025-01-15T19:21:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T00:21:41","slug":"project-2025s-chief-architect-russ-vought-wont-answer-for-putting-loyalty-to-trump-over-americans-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/project-2025s-chief-architect-russ-vought-wont-answer-for-putting-loyalty-to-trump-over-americans-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 2025\u2019s Chief Architect Russ Vought Won\u2019t Answer for Putting Loyalty to Trump Over Americans\u2019 Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today, Trump\u2019s Project 2025 Cabinet nominees presented another disastrous showcase on Capitol Hill as they failed to defend their extreme records \u2013 including Project 2025\u2019s \u201cchief architect\u201d<\/a> Russ Vought. Vought left many questions unanswered today, from his views on slashing benefits for veterans to putting his loyalty to Trump over Americans\u2019 safety and security. Here are just a few of the answers he still owes the American people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does Vought still want to cut and restrict veterans\u2019 disability benefits? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Richard Blumenthal<\/a>: \u201cDo you believe there should be a means test for disability benefits going to veterans?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>Vought: *Doesn\u2019t answer*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Blumenthal: \u201cYou\u2019re not going to answer that question but you have in the past taken the position that there should be a means test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ruben Gallego<\/a>: \u201cWe heard obviously what Senator Blumenthal said about potentially, you know, your past position that people below 30% VA disability should have that disability cut off altogether. \u2026 What was your thought process back in the day in terms of your belief of why that was a good program?\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vought: \u201cI\u2019m not here on behalf of proposals that [I] as president of the CRA might have put forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would Vought follow Trump\u2019s orders to play politics with disaster relief? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Maggie Hassan<\/a>: \u201cIf confirmed, do you commit to ensuring that agencies do not review a grant application submitted by a state based on that state\u2019s political makeup? Whether it is red, blue, or purple?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vought: \u201cAgain, senator, the extent to which we make decisions will be based on the policy grounds, the agenda of the president of the United States, we will continue to do that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hassan: \u201cIf the president says to you, I don\u2019t care what the law says, I don\u2019t like California and I\u2019m not going to give them the disaster aid they need, you are going to stand up to the president and say sir, that is not appropriate?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vought: \u201cSenator, I don\u2019t engage in hypotheticals.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Vought believe his own interpretation of the Constitution supersedes Congress and the Supreme Court? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Elissa Slotkin<\/a>: \u201cAnd your interpretation [of the Constitution] does not, pardon the pun, trump the interpretation of the Supreme Court or current practice on the books?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vought: *Refuses to answer question*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Slotkin: \u201cThis is what I am saying, you can see how this bureaucratic wonky answer you keep giving, right? \u2026 I just want to hear that when you hold up your hand, like many of us have done in this room to put themselves in harm\u2019s way, that you\u2019re gonna protect and defend the Constitution as interpreted by the people who are in a position to interpret it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does Vought want to use government shutdowns as a bargaining chip, putting Americans\u2019 safety and national security at risk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Maggie Hassan<\/a>: \u201cGovernment shutdowns put public safety and our national security at risk. But you have repeatedly, Mr. Vought, called for brinksmanship around government shutdowns and opposed bipartisan deals to keep the government open. Why have you repeatedly advocated the use of the threat of a government shutdown is a political bargaining chip? If confirmed, would you continue to favor a partisan agenda over keeping the government open?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vought: *Dodges*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Hassan: \u201cThere seems to be kind of a confirmation conversion because your words in articles and in talks reflect a different view about the use of government shutdowns. \u2026 The impact of government shutdowns \u2026 impacts the American people in significant ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Vought stand by his comments calling public servants \u201cvillains?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Andy Kim<\/a>: \u201cYou said in your written testimony \u2026 \u2018We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them not to want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as villains. We want to put them in trauma.\u2019 \u2026 Why you would use a language like villains in talking about people serving our nation?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vought: *Dodges* <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Trump\u2019s Project 2025 Cabinet nominees presented another disastrous showcase on Capitol Hill as they failed to defend their extreme records \u2013 including Project 2025\u2019s \u201cchief architect\u201d Russ Vought. Vought left many questions unanswered today, from his views on slashing benefits for veterans to putting his loyalty to Trump over Americans\u2019 safety and security. Here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1050787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProject 2025\u2019s Chief Architect Russ Vought Won\u2019t Answer for Putting Loyalty to Trump Over Americans\u2019 Security - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/project-2025s-chief-architect-russ-vought-wont-answer-for-putting-loyalty-to-trump-over-americans-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-16T00:21:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/project-2025s-chief-architect-russ-vought-wont-answer-for-putting-loyalty-to-trump-over-americans-security\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/project-2025s-chief-architect-russ-vought-wont-answer-for-putting-loyalty-to-trump-over-americans-security\/\",\"name\":\"Project 2025\u2019s Chief Architect Russ Vought Won\u2019t Answer for Putting Loyalty to Trump Over Americans\u2019 Security - 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