Nominee's Schedule F Record and Plans to Restructure Career Staff Draw Scrutiny
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Summary
Senators raised concerns about Russell Vought's prior support for reclassifying career civil servants, his involvement with Schedule F and Project 2025, and comments describing some career employees as "villains." Vought defended his record and said he would follow the president's priorities while respecting career expertise.
Republican and Democratic senators questioned Russell Vought on January 15, 2025, about his past actions and statements concerning career civil servants, Schedule F, and broader plans to align the federal workforce with presidential priorities.
Senator Gary Peters said he was "deeply concerned" by actions Vought supported that would replace "nearly 50,000 nonpartisan career civil servants with appointees whose only qualifications is that they're politically loyal." Peters referenced testimony and hearings that warned removing nonpartisan experts would slow emergency response and harm national security.
Vought acknowledged the prior administration had adopted Schedule F classifications widely in agencies with many policy-making positions and said it was implemented at OMB "at 90%" but characterized the change as a reclassification rather than a plan to fire employees. He said Schedule F was intended to ensure policy-making positions would be responsive to a president's agenda while still relying on career expertise. Vought described some bureaucratic units as "weaponized" in prior public comments but said he distinguished between "career civil servants" and "bureaucracies" he viewed as misused.
Senator Maggie Hassan and others pressed Vought about language he had previously used — including calling some public employees "villains" — and asked whether he would protect the nonpartisan role of career staff. Vought said he values civil servants he has worked with and that, if confirmed, he would rely on their expertise while implementing the president's priorities.
Several senators also referenced Project 2025 as a plan that Vought helped craft; Vought acknowledged his association with the Center for Renewing America and said the nomination requires him to represent the incoming president's agenda rather than his think-tank views.
No formal commitments were made to legislative changes; senators said they would follow up in writing to clarify how OMB under Vought would treat career staff, classification policy and hiring practices.