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Sweeping Federal Restructuring: Vought's Powerful OMB Shakes Up Bureaucracy
Russ Vought, reinstated earlier this year as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been at the center of some of the most sweeping changes in the federal government in recent decades. During the past week, coverage has focused on Vought’s central role in implementing mass layoffs affecting nearly three hundred thousand federal employees. These layoffs, announced under the Trump administration and linked to Vought’s plans laid out in the conservative Project Twenty Twenty Five blueprint, are among the largest in U.S. history according to Wikipedia. Vought has justified these reductions as necessary for aligning the federal bureaucracy with presidential authority and cutting funding for agencies, especially targeting regulatory branches such as the Environmental Protection Agency. The judge-issued injunction in May temporarily halted these layoffs, igniting widespread debate about executive power and statutory limits.
On the regulatory front, the Office of Management and Budget under Vought made headlines for a major exemption action impacting fuel standards. According to the Federal Register for September eighteenth, the August decision by Vought’s office allows carry-over compliance credits, called Renewable Identification Numbers, from earlier exemptions for gasoline and diesel. The OMB is now pursuing new reallocation rules for twenty twenty six and twenty twenty seven, seeking input on how much should be reallocated—fifty percent, seventy-five percent, or another figure. This move impacts biofuel markets and signals a continued push for deregulation and market shifts under Vought’s direction.
Another major story centers on Vought’s drastic moves at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Reports from American Banker this week confirm that Vought began a comprehensive pause in bureau operations almost immediately after regaining authority in February. He ordered the closure of the CFPB headquarters and mass firings, effectively suspending supervision and enforcement activities for most of the last eight months. Critics say these decisions have neutralized consumer protections, while legal challenges continue over whether Vought can eliminate so many positions. Some regulatory duties are still being performed, particularly where statutory requirements cannot be ignored, but overall activity is at historic lows.
Congress is grappling with budget decisions for next year, torn between funding agencies as the Trump administration envisions them or as legal authorizations require. Notus, a congressional watchdog, notes that the ongoing OMB-led restructuring is testing limits of executive power and statutory compliance. Lawmakers face uncertainty about how the government will look even as they write appropriations bills for twenty twenty six, highlighting unprecedented tension between the branches about federal reorganization.
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Published on 1 week, 3 days ago