Russ Vought Tapped to Lead DOGE After Musk Steps Back, Sparking Leftist Panic

President Donald J. Trump is turning to a trusted fiscal hawk to carry forward the government efficiency revolution. With Elon Musk stepping down from his leadership role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the President is expected to appoint Russell Vought, a proven conservative warrior and former White House budget chief, to take the reins.

According to reports from the New Republic, Vought will now lead critical aspects of DOGE’s mission — including reining in federal bloat, pushing Congress to rescind wasteful spending, and advancing a 2025 budget that reflects President Trump’s America First fiscal priorities.

Vought’s record speaks for itself. As Trump’s former Director of the Office of Management and Budget, he helped cut back on runaway federal regulations and championed the President’s goal of eliminating ten regulations for every one enacted. A longtime ally of the conservative movement, Vought also played a key role in crafting Project 2025, a sweeping policy blueprint for restoring constitutional order and limiting the size of the federal government.

Naturally, Democrats are panicking. The very mention of Project 2025 sends the Left into a frenzy — largely because it outlines long-overdue reforms like scaling back bloated agencies, phasing out duplicative programs, and slashing taxpayer-funded propaganda arms like NPR and USAID. Although President Trump has distanced himself from the full scope of the project, Vought’s fingerprints on this vision have made him a lightning rod for progressive outrage.

But this is precisely why Trump trusts him.

The President has already tasked Vought with executing Elon Musk’s cost-cutting legacy, which has already resulted in entire agencies being shut down — a move celebrated by fiscal conservatives and protested by entrenched bureaucrats. After President Trump’s February executive order requiring agency heads to rescind unlawful rules, DOGE is now focused on a full-throttle regulatory rollback.

Vought’s top priority: reviving Schedule F, a powerful executive order first signed by President Trump during his first term that strips employment protections from entrenched D.C. elites in senior roles. While the Biden administration predictably froze it, Trump reinstated Schedule F immediately upon retaking office in January.

Next on Vought’s agenda: shepherding Trump’s $9.3 billion rescission package through Congress. The package claws back funding from progressive strongholds like PBS, NPR, the State Department, and USAID — institutions that have long operated as taxpayer-funded mouthpieces for globalism and cultural decline.

Even within Republican ranks, Vought has drawn fire for challenging the unchecked growth of military spending. In a notable clash with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vought pushed to maintain defense funding at current levels — a bold stand that would force fiscal discipline even within the Pentagon. His proposal relies on budget reconciliation, not runaway appropriations, to manage any increases.

This move blindsided some in Congress who believed Hegseth had guaranteed higher military budgets. According to The Wall Street Journal, GOP lawmakers now fear that the military could suffer in the long term if increases are not locked in through traditional channels — and they’re placing blame on Vought.

But Vought remains firm. He has openly opposed Democrat schemes for “spending parity,” which aim to tie any increase in defense funding to bloated domestic programs. His budget cuts $163 billion in discretionary nondefense spending, while strategically using reconciliation to add $120 billion where legally necessary.

In Vought, President Trump has found a bold fiscal enforcer who understands the stakes: it’s not just about saving money — it’s about reclaiming the soul of the American Republic from decades of bureaucratic decay.