OMB Russ Vought on function of fed gov, cut taxes, spend $dollars to house immigrants

Most Important Function

“What’s the most important function of the federal government in your view?”

Senator Lindsey Graham opening with fundamental question.

“I believe it’s to keep the American people safe and secure so they can enjoy their liberties and to protect their rights.”

Vought’s framework:

• Safety and security
• Enable liberty enjoyment
• Protect rights
• Traditional conservative framework
• Constitutional framework

The framework excludes:

• Social welfare primary focus
• Global governance
• Ideological mission
• Expansive federal role

Dynamic Growth

“Senator, I’m a believer in dynamic growth for sure that when you cut taxes it actually has a dynamic impact on the economy and we see that with revenues continuing to go up after all of the tax cuts that we’ve seen in history, 1920s, 1960s, 1980s, both of the Bush tax cuts and then the Trump tax cuts, we’ve seen a dynamic impact on the economy.”

Dynamic scoring framework:

• Tax cuts produce economic response
• Higher economic activity
• Revenue often increases
• Laffer curve dynamics

Historical tax cuts:

• 1920s: Coolidge tax cuts
• 1960s: JFK tax cuts
• 1980s: Reagan tax cuts
• Bush cuts: 2001, 2003
• Trump cuts: 2017 TCJA

Each followed by economic growth and often revenue increase.

Moreno’s 10 Questions

“If it’s okay, we’ll give you some quick 10 questions. Is that okay? Sure.”

Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) — Ohio freshman senator, car dealership owner, Cuban-American — setting up rhetorical framework.

“So there’s been a lot of comments, especially from the ranking member about betraying working Americans. So let me ask you a question.”

Moreno responding to Democratic attacks on Republican policies as “betraying working Americans.”

Student Debt Forgiveness

“When the government forgives the debt of people who paid, took out a loan for college debt. Does that help working Americans like my technicians, my sales consultants, my receptionists, my drivers, my car wash guys who didn’t go to college? Does it help them when student debt is illegally forgiven?”

Moreno’s framework:

• Car dealership workers listed
• Non-college workers
• Paying for others’ college debt
• Wealth transfer direction

“It doesn’t.”

Vought’s direct answer.

The student debt issue:

• Biden attempted $400 billion forgiveness
• Supreme Court struck down
• Biden continued partial forgiveness
• Transfer from non-college to college
• Regressive economic framework

Inflation Impact

“When you have insane government spending that unleashes generationally high inflation that makes going to Taco Bell a luxury, does that help working class Americans?”

Moreno’s framework:

• Government spending causes inflation
• Biden spending framework
• Taco Bell as relatable indicator
• Luxury characterization

“It doesn’t.”

The Biden inflation context:

• Inflation Reduction Act (ironically inflationary)
• American Rescue Plan
• Student loan forgiveness attempts
• Various spending
• 9.1% peak inflation

Taco Bell framework:

• Inexpensive fast food
• Working class staple
• Price increases substantial
• No longer “cheap”

Endless Wars

“When you spend hundreds of billions of dollars to fight endless wars in foreign countries that most Americans don’t even know where they are, does that help working Americans?”

Moreno’s framework:

• Foreign war spending
• Hundreds of billions
• Americans not identifying countries
• Working class burden

“No.”

Trump administration foreign policy:

• End endless wars
• Peace deals preferred
• Military cost reduction
• Focus on core interests

EV Subsidy Absurdity

“When you have policies that all of them voted for, every single one of them voted for electric vehicle subsidies so that when I had a Rolls Royce dealership, a customer could come in and lease a $515,000 Rolls Royce Specter. That’s a fully electric Rolls Royce and get a check for $7,500 from the US government.”

Moreno’s specific example:

• Rolls Royce dealership experience
• Rolls Royce Specter (fully electric)
• $515,000 vehicle
• $7,500 federal subsidy
• Wealthy customer benefit

The EV subsidy framework:

• Federal EV tax credits
• Up to $7,500 per vehicle
• Applies to luxury EVs
• Regressive benefit
• Biden-Harris expansion

“Does that help working class Americans? No. And again, I just put on the record that every single one of my colleagues at a Democrat side voted for just such a subsidy.”

Moreno’s accountability:

• Every Democratic senator voted
• Subsidizing Rolls Royce leases
• Working class not benefiting
• Bipartisan record

Immigrant Luxury Hotels

“When you house illegals in this country, people who are not invited here like I was, like my family was, when you house them in luxury hotels at a cost of $6,000 per month, per room, does that help working class Americans?”

Moreno’s framework:

• Legal immigration (Moreno invited)
• Illegal immigration (not invited)
• Luxury hotel housing
• $6,000/month per room
• Taxpayer cost

“No.”

The NYC/sanctuary city framework:

• NYC hotels converted to migrant housing
• Roosevelt Hotel famous example
• Billions in taxpayer expense
• Luxury accommodations criticized
• Working class not similarly accommodated

Healthcare for Illegals

“When you give healthcare to those very illegals, when Americans don’t have the healthcare that they need, does that help working class Americans?”

Moreno’s framework:

• Illegal alien healthcare
• American citizen shortfall
• Resource allocation
• Working class priority

“No.”

The healthcare framework:

• Various state Medicaid expansion to illegals
• Federal framework developing
• California most prominent
• NY also expansive
• Cost to taxpayers

$1,000 Prepaid Cards

“When you provide food to illegals, and in some cases when they don’t like the food, you give them $1,000 prepaid credit cards, does that help working class American citizens? No, sir.”

Moreno’s framework:

• Food for illegals
• Quality complaints
• $1,000 prepaid credit cards
• Compensation for food complaints
• Working class taxpayers funding

The NYC/Massachusetts/other programs:

• Migrant aid programs
• Prepaid debit/credit cards
• Various amounts
• Controversial spending
• Taxpayer framework

Vought’s Yes/No Framework

Each question answered with “no”:

• Student debt forgiveness
• Inflationary spending
• Endless wars
• EV subsidies for Rolls Royce
• Illegal housing in luxury hotels
• Healthcare for illegals
• Prepaid cards for illegals

The comprehensive framework — Democratic priorities not helping working class. Republican/Trump framework reprioritization.

Vought Background

Russ Vought:

• OMB Director first term (2020-2021)
• Center for Renewing America founder (2021)
• Project 2025 contributor
• Conservative fiscal framework
• Executive branch expertise

Vought’s framework:

• Limited government
• Constitutional originalism
• Budget discipline
• Executive authority
• Deep state reform

Democratic Policy Framework

The Moreno-Vought exchange highlighted Democratic policies:

• Student loan forgiveness (regressive)
• Inflation from spending
• EV subsidies (regressive)
• Illegal alien luxury housing (misallocation)
• Healthcare for illegals (priority misalignment)
• Prepaid cards for illegals (wasteful)

Each policy characterized as:

• Not helping working class
• Harming working class
• Wealth transfer wrong direction
• Democratic coalition priorities

Working Class Framework

The framework’s political power:

• Democratic party historically claimed working class
• Policies not reflecting this
• Trump coalition’s working class appeal
• Realignment 2020-2024
• New Republican working class framework

Moreno exemplifies the new Republican framework:

• Immigrant (Cuban-American)
• Self-made (car dealership)
• Business owner perspective
• Working class concerns
• Anti-establishment framework

Significance

The Vought hearing and Moreno questions captured:

1. Government function: Safety/security not welfare state
2. Dynamic growth: Tax cuts producing revenue
3. Democratic policy failures: Working class not benefiting
4. Moreno framework: Legal immigrant perspective
5. OMB role: Budget direction

The “10 questions, every answer no” framework systematically indicted Democratic policies as failing working class Americans. Vought’s simple “no” responses devastating.

The specific examples (Rolls Royce EV subsidy, $6,000/month hotels, prepaid credit cards) converted abstract policy framework to concrete absurdity. Ridiculous outcomes from Democratic policies.

Moreno’s “legal immigrant” framework contrasts with illegal immigrant benefits. “I was invited; they were not” framework captures popular resentment.

Vought as OMB Director — budget enforcement authority — positioned to implement reforms eliminating these policies. Budget is policy; OMB is budget enforcement.

Key Takeaways

• Vought on federal government function: “I believe it’s to keep the American people safe and secure so they can enjoy their liberties and to protect their rights.”
• Vought on dynamic growth: “I’m a believer in dynamic growth for sure that when you cut taxes it actually has a dynamic impact on the economy and we see that with revenues continuing to go up after all of the tax cuts that we’ve seen in history, 1920s, 1960s, 1980s, both of the Bush tax cuts and then the Trump tax cuts.”
• Moreno on student debt: “When the government forgives the debt of people who paid, took out a loan for college debt. Does that help working Americans like my technicians, my sales consultants, my receptionists, my drivers, my car wash guys who didn’t go to college? It doesn’t.”
• Moreno on EV subsidy absurdity: “When I had a Rolls Royce dealership, a customer could come in and lease a $515,000 Rolls Royce Specter. That’s a fully electric Rolls Royce and get a check for $7,500 from the US government. Does that help working class Americans? No.”
• Moreno on illegal immigrant benefits: “When you house illegals in this country, people who are not invited here like I was, like my family was, when you house them in luxury hotels at a cost of $6,000 per month, per room, does that help working class Americans? No … When you provide food to illegals, and in some cases when they don’t like the food, you give them $1,000 prepaid credit cards, does that help working class American citizens? No, sir.”