Trump administration veteran shops budget plan with deep cuts – By Paul M. Krawzak (Roll Call) / Dec 7, 2022
Russ Vought takes a slightly different tack on defense spending than his former boss, who wanted to aggressively grow the Pentagon budget
Former President Donald Trump’s budget chief thinks Republicans have taken the wrong path on fiscal policy, and he is seeking to reroute the GOP with an alternative budget blueprint.
Russ Vought, a veteran House Republican aide, conservative activist and Trump administration staffer, has put together his own budget proposal — entitled “A Commitment to End Woke and Weaponized Government.”
It’s a view largely in line with Trump’s, which was that spending cuts needed to happen and budgets balanced but not at the expense of benefits for seniors. Vought, who’s spent years crunching the numbers, takes a slightly different tack on defense spending than his former boss, who wanted to aggressively grow the Pentagon budget, however.
“There is a view on the Republican side that needs to be really tackled aggressively — that balance in 10 [years] is not possible, that you’ve got to go after Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries, that discretionary [spending] is not where the fight is, that defense needs to grow as far as the eye can see for 10 years,” Vought said in an interview. “All of these things are, we believe, assumptions that need to be invalidated.”
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