President Donald Trump announced Thursday he would meet with Russ Vought, the Office of Management and Budget director and Project 2025 architect, to discuss which federal agencies may face reductions as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be meeting with Vought “to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.” Trump added, “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT.”
The post comes as Trump and Vought continue implementing broad reductions to the federal bureaucracy during the Democrat-led government shutdown. Earlier this week, Vought revealed the cancellation of nearly $8 billion in federal green energy projects, targeting initiatives in blue and blue-leaning states such as California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York. The administration also confirmed that $18 billion in infrastructure projects in New York City, including the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway, would be placed on hold pending review of contracting practices.
Vought has played a central role in reshaping federal operations. In August, Secretary of State and Acting National Security Adviser Marco Rubio appointed him to oversee the closeout of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) following Congress’s approval of a $9 billion rescissions package that eliminated funding for USAID, PBS, and NPR. Rubio said the move capped months of restructuring that transferred core functions to the State Department, while Vought noted his intent to finalize the agency’s closure.
At the same time, Trump’s administration is overseeing the largest federal workforce reduction in decades. More than 154,000 bureaucrats who accepted buyouts officially left the payroll this week, part of a broader plan expected to reduce the federal workforce by more than 300,000 positions by year’s end. Trump has emphasized that essential services such as the military, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ health care will not be affected, while cuts will focus on programs and agencies Democrats have supported that the administration says are not aligned with its America First agenda.
The president has framed the shutdown as a strategic moment for his administration to take “irreversible” steps in cutting programs Democrats favor. He has also warned that Democrats are taking a risk by forcing the government closure, noting that reductions enacted during the funding lapse may become permanent.
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