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  • Meet Russell Vought: The “Christian Nationalist” Quietly Controlling Trump’s Budget and Consumer Protection

Meet Russell Vought: The “Christian Nationalist” Quietly Controlling Trump’s Budget and Consumer Protection

Vought's Blueprint: Dismantling Government via Christian Nationalism

Key Takeaways

  • Russell Vought holds unprecedented power as both OMB Director and acting CFPB head, controlling federal spending and consumer protection .

  • Project 2025 is being rapidly implemented despite Trump’s public denials, with Vought executing core components like Schedule F (civil service overhaul) .

  • Christian nationalism drives Vought’s agenda. He defines it as embedding Christian influence in government/society while maintaining "institutional separation" of church and state .

  • Federal agencies face dismantling or radical restructuring. CFPB, USAID, and EPA are early targets via funding cuts, work stoppages, and Musk’s DOGE interventions .

  • Vought collaborates closely with Elon Musk’s DOGE to bypass bureaucratic resistance, using data-driven cost-cutting and system takeovers .

Who Is Russell Vought? From Budget Staffer to Trump’s Bureaucracy Slayer

Russell Vought ain’t your typical Washington operator. Grew up in Connecticut, blue-collar family—dad was a union electrician and Marine, mom taught school . That background shaped his disdain for waste, they say. He went to Wheaton College, that evangelical school Billy Graham attended, then got a law degree from George Washington University . Started as a Capitol Hill staffer for hard-right guys like Senator Phil Gramm and Mike Pence .

He climbed the GOP ladder quietly: Policy Director for the House Republican Conference, then VP at Heritage Action (the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation). But he wasn’t just another conservative. During Trump’s first term, he got noticed as Deputy OMB Director. Why? He’d defend Trump no matter what. Even defied Congress over that Ukraine aid freeze during the impeachment mess .

What really sets Vought apart is his ideology. He calls himself a Christian nationalist, openly. Told journalists once his core belief is "Christian nationism" . But he’s also a mechanic—knows how the bureaucratic machine works, and exactly where to jam the wrench.

Project 2025: The Blueprint Vought Authored (And Is Now Executing)

Okay, so remember how Trump kept saying “I know nothing about Project 2025!” during the campaign? Yeah, well. Vought literally wrote the chapter on overhauling the Executive Office of the President for the Heritage Foundation’s 920-page playbook . His think tank, the Center for Renewing America (CRA), was a lead partner. The whole project’s goal? Gut the "administrative state."

Table: Key Project 2025 Goals vs. Vought’s Current Actions

Paul Dans, Project 2025’s original director, even admitted the administration’s moves now are "beyond my wildest dreams" . Vought’s using OMB’s budget powers and regulatory review to push this through faster than anyone expected.

OMB + CFPB: How One Man Controls Your Wallet and Your Rights

Trump made Vought OMB Director again in February 2025. But within days, he also named himself acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) . That’s nuts—it means he controls both the government’s checkbook and the agency policing banks, lenders, and credit cards.

At OMB, he’s:

  • Freezing hiring across agencies.

  • Reviving Trump’s impoundment power—refusing to spend money Congress approved .

  • Pushing agencies to adopt DOGE’s (Elon Musk’s "Department of Government Efficiency") cost-cutting targets.

At CFPB, he:

  1. Shut down HQ and ordered staff to stop “performing any work tasks” via email .

  2. Cut off its funding from the Federal Reserve, calling its $711 million balance "excessive" .

  3. Dropped lawsuits against companies like SoLo Funds, a fintech accused of hiding 400%+ APRs behind "tips" .

  4. Let DOGE staff take over IT systems, delete social media, and likely access sensitive consumer data .

“We are now seeing what it means to destroy CFPB... It’s a wild west situation,” said consumer law expert Kathleen Engel .

Christian Nationalism: The “Storm Clouds” Guiding Policy

Vought dont just have beliefs; he governs by them. He wrote in 2021 that Christian nationalism means: “a commitment to institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society” .

This ain’t theoretical. It shows up in:

  • Personnel: Trump’s White House Faith Office is stacked with Christian nationalists like William Wolfe, who pushed mass deportations as "biblical" during an Oval Office prayer session .

  • Agency Actions: Banning DEI/CRT training as "anti-American"; prioritizing "religious liberty" over consumer/science mandates.

  • Rhetoric: Vought talks about putting federal workers “in trauma” and facing “enemy fire” . He frames bureaucracy crushing as spiritual warfare.

Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez notes this isn’t just about abortion or school prayer: “It’s also anti-woke, anti-immigration... intertwined with deregulationism, free market capitalism” .

The Musk-Vought Alliance: DOGE as Vought’s “Shock Troops”

Elon Musk and Russell Vought seem like odd partners—one’s a chaotic billionaire, the other a disciplined ideologue. But Simon Rabinovitch (The Economist) nailed it: “You can view DOGE as Russ Vought’s shock troops. Musk is hyperactive... but Vought’s the general” .

How DOGE Executes Vought’s Vision:

  • System Takeovers: DOGE teams seize agency IT systems (like at CFPB/USAID), delete accounts, and install loyalists .

  • Data-Driven Cuts: Musk’s people use software to ID “waste.” Vought’s OMB then legitimizes those cuts as policy .

  • Neutralizing Targets: Gutting USAID, shuttering CFPB operations, and prepping to dismantle the EPA .

Vought admits he loves DOGE’s “exhilarating rush... comfort with risk” . It lets him bypass career staff who’d slow-walk his agenda.

Project 2025 in Action: What’s Already Changed (And What’s Next)

Vought ain’t waiting. Per trackers, 101 of Project 2025’s 313 policy goals are done; another 64 are in progress . Here’s the damage so far:

Table: Major Project 2025 Implementations (as of July 2025)

Next targets? Education Department dismantling, full DHS restructuring, and using the Military vs. Protesters if “deemed necessary” per Vought’s past speeches .

The Global Impact: “Christian Nationism” Meets Foreign Policy

This ain’t just about America. Vought’s faction (dubbed “Reaganite Pro-Business, Anti-Regulation Apostles” by analysts ) pushes:

  • Economic Nationalism: Sky-high tariffs, rejection of climate accords.

  • Alignment with Autocrats: Tucker Carlson (Vought ally) openly praises Putin; Bannon builds global far-right networks .

  • Militarized Christianity: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (with Crusader tattoos) purges “woke” elements from military; seeks to embed “Judeo-Christian values” .

Critics warn this blends white Christian nationalism with oligarchic interests (Musk, Thiel) and anti-democratic strongman tactics . The “band of warring brothers” (as one report calls Trump’s camp) agrees on one thing: power should be unchallengeable from below.

Why It Matters: Democracy, Accountability, and What Comes Next

Vought’s endgame? A presidency with king-like authority. He argues the Constitution’s Unitary Executive Theory lets Trump control all executive functions—ignoring Congress or courts .

  • Courts: He wants SCOTUS (stacked with Trump appointees) to cement this interpretation. A ruling would “be seismic... vindication” .

  • Voters: GOP could lose House/Senate in 2026 midterms. Vought’s racing to lock in changes before then .

  • You: Consumer protections (like CFPB’s $20B in recovered funds) vanish; civil servants lose job security; climate/science agencies gutted.

Katherine Stewart (Author of “The Power Worshippers”) puts it bluntly: “We will see the further dismantling of government institutions... an abandonment of democratic principles” .

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What exactly is Christian nationalism? Is it just being religious?
A: No. Vought defines it as keeping church/state institutions separate but infusing government and society with Christian influence. Critics say it enforces a specific, often exclusionary, version of Christianity as a national identity .

Q: Did Trump really not know about Project 2025?
A: Unlikely. He appointed 28+ Project authors to his administration, including Vought. His campaign even welcomed its “demise”—while Vought accelerated its implementation .

Q: How does Musk’s DOGE get away with taking over agencies?
A: DOGE isn’t a real cabinet department. Musk operates as an “unpaid special government employee” with vague authority. Vought and Trump give him cover to bypass normal channels .

Q: What happens to consumer complaints without CFPB?
A: They pile up. States might sue bad actors, but lack CFPB’s resources. Companies like SoLo Funds get free rein after Vought dropped their case .

Q: Is Schedule F legal?
A: It’s being challenged in court. But with a 6-3 conservative SCOTUS, Vought expects to win. If upheld, future presidents can fire ~50k experts and hire loyalists day one .