Arizona senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego joined Democratic senators in protesting President Donald Trump’s pick for budget director, Russell Vought. (File photo by Kelechukwu Iruoma/Cronkite News and photo courtesy of Ruben Gallego for Arizona)
WASHINGTON – Arizona’s senators joined other Democrats in a rare overnight marathon on the Senate floor, protesting President Donald Trump’s pick for budget director – a key architect of the controversial Project 2025.
The immediate target of the talkathon from Wednesday night into Thursday was Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget in Trump’s first term, too, though Democrats filled the hours with complaints of all sorts.
Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to block a number of Trump’s nominees. The complaints about Vought focused on his expansive view of presidential power and role in crafting the aggressive agenda known as Project 2025.
“His vision for America is one where governments only serve the wealthy and the powerful, while ordinary citizens are left without support and the services that they need,” said Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego, who joined the Senate a month ago after a decade in the House, where filibusters aren’t allowed.
“Russell Vought is a danger to the United States,” he said during his 10-minute shift on the Senate floor at 6:30 a.m.
His office called it a filibuster but technically it was not. Republicans, who narrowly control the chamber, had already successfully invoked cloture, forcing a confirmation vote after 30 hours of floor debate.
Since a rule change in 2013, filibusters on nominations can be shut down with a simple majority, rather than the traditional 60-vote threshold. The cloture vote on Vought was 53-47 on Wednesday, starting the clock for a Thursday night confirmation vote.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly spoke at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and like Gallego, he used his turn to attack Vought and vent about the myriad ways Trump has tested the limits of presidential authority since his second term started Jan. 20.
Kelly pointed to instances during Trump’s first term when Vought, as budget director, defied Congress. In 2019, Vought blocked funding that Congress voted to provide to Ukraine ahead of the Russian invasion, Kelly said.
He also blocked funds that Congress intended to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Kelly said.
“He said that he would follow a law that was passed by Republicans and Democrats in 1974 in response to Richard Nixon trying to abuse the powers of his office. … He lied!” he said.
“If folks don’t like it, they can vote out their member of Congress. That is what accountability means. It’s not up to this guy to decide.”
Both Arizona senators blasted Trump for freezing federal grants, a move that Democrats say went far beyond presidential authority and violated the Nixon-era law that explicitly bars presidents from stymying Congress on authorized spending.
Gallego said the freezes impacted first responder programs, sexual assault services, rural crime initiatives, the Violence Against Women Act and support for the U.S. semiconductor chip industry, among others.
“It is the most cynical thing that we could be doing, the most cynical that the Trump administration could be doing,” Gallego said.
Kelly noted that Headstart programs in Arizona that serve pre-school children from low income families were forced to turn families away last week and almost had to lay off staff. The Arizona Community Health Centers payments were a week late, causing chaos, he said.
“In the most reckless, incompetent act we’ve seen yet from this administration, they issued a two-page memo. Two pages!” Kelly said, holding two fingers up, referring to vague guidance on the freeze announced by the budget office, which quickly retracted its memo.
The White House budget office plays a key role in carrying out a president’s plans and responsibilities.
“When Flagstaff gets hit by flooding or north Scottsdale gets hit by a wildfire, this is the office that signs off on federal relief,” Kelly said.
But in the hands of Trump and Vought, the Arizona senators asserted, OMB is a political tool that will be used to widen the wealth gap by providing massive tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
“Russell Vought wants to make it harder to afford a place to live,” Kelly said. “Harder to afford health insurance. Harder to afford college. And harder to afford to put food on your table.”
“His vision for America is one where billionaires thrive while the families of Arizona and America struggle to get ahead,” Gallego said.