| Pamela, Today, some of the most extreme, unqualified, and dangerous cabinet nominees in the history of the republic appear before the Senate for their confirmation hearings. Kash Patel, a MAGA-true believer who has salivated about prosecuting members of the media and helped produce a rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" sung by violent January 6 inmates (pre-pardon), will make the case for leading the FBI. Tulsi Gabbard, a Putin apologist with no real intelligence experience, a person who was denied sensitive information while in Congress because colleagues feared she'd leak it to her pal and deposed war criminal Bashar al-Assad, will explain why she should be trusted to be the next Director of National Intelligence. RFK Jr., a man who buys into some of the most bizarre conspiracy theories imaginable, backs a national abortion ban, faces sexual assault allegations, and whose healthcare experience includes (or is limited to) exacerbating a deadly measles outbreak with his vaccine denialism, will be back on the Hill as he seeks to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. But this email isn't about any of them. Yes, you should absolutely call and email your senators to urge them to vote NO on all three. We've got tools to help you do it here. This email, however, is about another extremely dangerous nominee who has garnered far less attention -- and whose confirmation could be voted on by the full Senate as early as tomorrow. We're talking, dear friends, about Project 2025 architect, mastermind behind Trump's sweeping (and illegal) spending freeze, and nominee to lead the "nerve-center" of the federal government -- Russell Vought. Please call your senators today and urge them to vote NO on Vought's confirmation for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director >> Let's back up. If you've been following our emails or checked the news this week, you're aware that on Tuesday, Trump's Office of Management and Budget issued a memo freezing virtually all federal spending -- funds allocated by Congress for things like Medicaid, housing assistance, scientific research, food for hungry families, and a million other things. These were funds that the Constitution does not allow the president to withhold. So before the freeze was set to take effect (and after a tremendous amount of chaos and fear was unleashed), a federal judge blocked it. Then, amidst massive public backlash, and nonstop calls to House and Senate offices (thanks to all of you), the White House backpedaled and rescinded the memo. We wish that were the end of the story. But it is not. Quickly after the memo was rescinded, Trump's press secretary volunteered that they were only rescinding the document, not the intent behind it. That statement was confusing, but clear enough about the administration's illegal intentions that another judge felt the need to issue a second order blocking the funding freeze. Obviously, the administration bungled this. And clearly, they're not done trying. That's why Trump wants Russell Vought at the helm of OMB. What does Vought have to do with the funding freeze? Well, the entire concept is kind of his "Hot to Go" (or depending on your generation, perhaps his "Free Bird"). Read his academic writings, and he waxes on about the president remaking government by withholding funds from programs that don't align with his ideological agenda. Watch his Senate hearings, and he croons about the president's right to do it, Constitution and Supreme Court guidance be damned. In fact, while serving as OMB Director for a brief time during Trump's first term, he tried it on a much smaller scale -- freezing funds allocated for Ukraine (an impeachment resulted). The move was later deemed blatantly illegal. The Office of Management and Budget is often called the "most important agency you've never heard of" because it really does hold a lot of power -- coordinating policy across all government, overseeing budgets, and more. Russell Vought has an even more expansive view of the agency's power -- he views it the "nerve center" of the federal bureaucracy and believes that under the right leadership (his), it can totally bypass Congress and give Trump king-like powers. He wrote an entire chapter about it in Project 2025 -- the Heritage Foundation blueprint for an autocratic second Trump term. You may recall Trump disavowing the plan on the campaign trail. But surprise, now that he's president, he's seeking to install its authors in the highest positions of government. If Vought is confirmed, chaotic funding freezes like we saw this week will only be the beginning. Together, Trump and Vought will seek to transform the government into a tool of far-right ideology, Christian Nationalism, and political revenge against Trump's enemies. We'll be honest. Vought is not going to be the easiest of Trump's nominees to block. His MAGA bona fides and extensive experience in Washington give him a lot of cred with Republican senators. But this week, senators also witnessed his plans put into action -- and the mayhem it caused in their states as millions who rely on government grants nearly had their lives, businesses, and education upended. All senators, especially Republican senators, need to understand that a yes for Vought is a yes for the exact funding freeze that was just rescinded. No amount of expert questioning during a senate hearing could have better illustrated the danger Vought poses. We all witnessed it. Now, it's up to us to make sure senators don't hear the end of it -- and to demand they vote no. Call your senators today -- tell them Russell Vought's nomination ought to be withdrawn, but if it isn't, you expect them to vote NO. In solidarity,
Indivisible Team  | 
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