President-elect Donald Trump is poised to appoint Russell Vought to head the White House budget office, a move that would return the hard-line conservative to that key post in the federal government, writes the American c. “Washington Post”, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Vaught also led the White House budget office during Trump's first term, the publication said. The office directs the budget policy of the entire administration, controlling spending and rules, it explains.
The move is likely to have major implications for the new US administration, as Vought is one of the leading backers of an idea to change the classification of federal employees, which would give Trump the right to fire thousands of government employees who are now protected , writes the “Washington Post”. Vaught has also championed other unusual legal positions, such as allowing the president to unilaterally cancel spending programs without consulting the US Congress, deploying military units in response to civil unrest and establishing a stronger control over the Ministry of Justice, the publication notes.
If appointed, Vought is likely to work closely with the new Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, which aims to cut government spending and regulations, the Washington Post said.
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Reiterating Trump's criticism of the “swamp” in Washington, Musk and Ramaswamy argued that most federal spending decisions are made by “unelected bureaucrats” who are “considered beyond the reach of firing,”, wrote the British v. “Telegraph“.
Critics, however, argue that many of the agencies the new ministry aims to eliminate were created by Congress and cannot be eliminated without a vote in the legislature, the paper said.
Although Republicans will control both the House of Representatives and the Senate at the start of Trump's term, the elimination of hundreds of agencies will use up congressional session time and could cause a revolt by moderate Republicans, the Telegraph commented. ;.
Meanwhile, the legal and ethical issues surrounding some of Trump's nominees for top government jobs, and some of their past public statements, are far more troubling than revelations that have dogged nominations of previous presidents in the past , writes the American c. “New York Times“.
Until so long ago, candidates for high office had to be impeccable to the point where a relatively minor problem could fail them, the newspaper said. However, times have obviously changed now, commented the publication.
The ethics committee of the House of Representatives failed to reach a consensus on the release of a report on Matt Geitz, looking into allegations of sexual abuse by the former member of Congress, chosen by Trump to head the US Department of Justice, notes the British v. “Guardian“.
The Justice Department launched its own investigation into allegations that Geitz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, but last year the department closed its investigation without filing charges, the publication said.
If the ethics committee's report is released, it could further damage the chances of Geitz's nomination being confirmed in the Senate, but Trump has already floated the idea of appointing his nominees while the Legislature is in recess to bypass the impeachment process. confirmation, the “Guardian“ points out.