Elon Musk is officially out as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and stepping into his place is a name that’s already been making waves in Washington—Russell Vought, first reported by WSJ.
Vought, who currently leads the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), isn’t just a bureaucrat. He’s the brains behind Project 2025, a sweeping right-wing plan to slash federal programs, gut social services, and dismantle key government institutions. With Musk stepping down after a short but chaotic tenure, Trump is handing the reins to someone already shaping his second-term agenda behind the scenes.
Musk’s tenure was marked by aggressive spending cuts and sweeping deregulation, moves that thrilled fiscal conservatives but led to protests, shutdowns, and growing unrest across federal agencies. Vought is now poised to take that same energy and double down.
He plans to push a $9.3 billion budget rescissions package aimed at slashing funding for the State Department, USAID, NPR, and PBS—agencies long targeted by Trump and his base. He also wants to expand Schedule F, a policy revived earlier this year that lets Trump fire career federal employees more easily. It’s a massive power shift that could politicize government jobs and weaken the civil service system.
Vought’s track record reads like a playbook for dismantling the modern federal government. He helped author Project 2025, which calls for eliminating the Department of Homeland Security, capping military spending, and rolling back protections for Social Security and Medicare. The proposal has alarmed both Democrats and moderate Republicans, especially since Trump distanced himself from the document during the 2024 campaign—even as he continues to lean on its architect.
Even within GOP circles, Vought has stirred tension. His hardline stance on capping military spending has sparked pushback from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Republican lawmakers. Some fear his approach could jeopardize defense budgets, especially since he’s insisted on using reconciliation—a budget process that bypasses standard legislative approval.
Still, with Trump’s full backing, Vought is emerging as one of the most powerful unelected figures in Washington. And now that he’s officially taking the lead at DOGE, his vision for “efficiency” could reshape federal government in a way that leaves it leaner, weaker, and deeply politicized.
