and vought as omb director would be a disaster. it would be a disaster for the people who rely on crucial government programs to make life more affordable, i'm thinking right now about the veterans that i serve in a military state. they are the best among us. they deserve the best from us. they have been imperiled by the actions of the last two weeks. i'm thinking about families who need accessible child care. this stunt that was pulled a few days ago is a disaster for communities who want well-funded law enforcement, thriving businesses, safe roads and bri bridges, and as they attack federal workers, attack the government, they're trying to convince you that the government is some third endity outside of us -- some third entity outside of us. no, this is by the people, for the people, of the people. this is the highest of our aspirations, what we're trying to achieve together. as we witness this assault, it is hitting democrats and republicans. blue states and red states. as the people's voices are being squeezed out of their demo

so what did this omb decide to do under president trump? they decided to cut off funding for medical research. these are researchers literally said we're told at 5:00 to go home. that means walking away from an experiment which i've been working on for a long time and losing all the progress that i've made. really? that's your priority? i don't think the american people thought that was what they were voting for when they voted for donald trump in this last election. mr. vought has made his beliefs perfectly clear. he believes that the president can refuse to spend money that congress has appropriated for the american people. despite this being a direct violation of the law, the law is known as the impoundment control act. some have naively claimed that project 2025 is nothing but a thought experiment. it is clear that since the president took office, it has been a blueprint for a radical rewrite of the principle of the balance of power in our constitution. and it's no surprise that as a key author of project 2025, mr. vote continues to lea

the president has created doge in addition to omb.e has already put out an eo to put -- to unleash american agency and then have all of the agencies to trying get permits going and to be able to get regulations that are binding. the pursuit of american energy and then the regulatory process of getting that back up and running. the president has given us a new goal. now we have a 10 for one goal and we think we can hit that. we overshot the first goal and we think that we will do our best to hit that goal. those are all things that will be impacting the bottom line and the pocketbook of the person that moved to florida for that precise reason. sen. scott: so, if we do not -- you have seen senator ron johnson's work about how much the budget it just grown. if you look at the and placement -- the inflation adjustment since clinton and obama it is staggering. what is the chance that we will see a significant reduction in interest rates, that are hurting people. what is the chance that we will see inflation come under control if we do not

the omb director is very powerful. but, you know, there is this thing, and i keep coming back to it, the constitution. the constitution of the united states, which says we have separate branches of government. the congress is the one that has the power of the purse strings. it authorizes and appropriates money. the executive implements that budget. it executes, as the term executive implies, on that budget, and many other laws. it enforces criminal laws. it implements other statutes. and of course the judiciary calls them both into account if they violate the constitution. and, congress actual ly believe maybe there ought to be an additional guarantee of its power to appropriate and the president to faithfully execute laws. and so in addition to the constitution, it passed a statute known as the impoundment control act, which says, you know, when the constitution requires that money appropriated by congress be spent faithfully by the executive branch, the constitution really means it. and the impoundment control act im

not one but two judges have enjoined the omb spending freeze. two federal judges also enjoined his executive order on transgender prison inmates. and that's just in the last week. multiple suits have also been brought challenging his illegal purge of the federal workforce and his attempts to interfere with usaid. so we know that president trump and his billionaire friends are only in it for themselves. that's been well established. they've shown us exactly who they are for years now. but colleagues, i have to admit that what surprises me most, what surprises me most is that when i hear from my republican colleagues one on one that well, we agree on more than you think, let's just keep talking. let's work to try to find this common ground. let's do what's right for our country. call me an optimist, but i'll believe my republican colleagues when they say that they came to washington to help their constituents. while i disagree with it, i understand that some of our colleagues are choosing to make political decisions with some of president trump's

nobody even knows what omb is. that's why this thing is so important, is that this guy has decided this is the document that is governing how the trump administration is going forward, and this guy has a very specific view of this job, which is everything goes through omb. it is the consolidating place for presidential power. he represents the power in all things. and so we are getting very, very close to this person being able to realize every single aspect of project 2025. some of it, by the way, what they're doing with usaid, is even worse than the document. they actually call for reform of usaid in thisdom. what they're doing is actually eliminating the department, and i'll yield to the -- mr. schumer: i'm just going to ask the gentleman to yield for a question. well, we've seen just this shadow government sort of trying to change america inside out, run the show, and as you said put power in one man, not with the usual checks and balances that we've known for america and has existed through democratic and repu

from my standpoint at omb. my view is omb should be an advocate for whistle-blowers in every possible way and make sure we value and agency value the work they do. we are always looking for opportunities along those lines. >> i would like your view how to play a role in making the recent supreme court decision overturning the chevron doctrine. how are you that can help you stop our government from being overregulated bureaucrats overreaching and using a statute that can be liberally interpreted and all of that. >> thank you, senator, it is an aspect of the regulatory prospect in terms of deregulating and making sure agencies stick to the law. we want to make sure if confirmed we are properly set up. that's part of the review process making sure agencies are not coming up with new interpretations of the statute. >> you will be watching that regulatory process to make sure laws are followed? >> yes, senator. >> another thing that irritates me about -- by the way, these problems i'm talking about are not just demo

omb and vought. if you want to understand the risk of letting doge take over the treasury department, all you have to do is look at what happened last week at omb. omb unilaterally froze trillions in potential spending and unleashed chaos. that's why today i will join every single democrat in opposing the nomination of russell vought, all 47 democrats are opposed to vought's nomination. and we will take the floor early this afternoon and spend the whole night discussing how bad this nomination is, how badly it affects working families. his confirmation would be a disaster for working families. and a godsend to billionaires who don't pay their fair share in taxes. what they want, cut any program, we don't care what they are, what the consequences are, we don't care how it hurts people, as long as we, the ultrawealthy, can get a deeper tax break even though they're doing very well right now. so we will come to the floor and sound the alarm on russell vought through the night. we will expose his ultrari

he was at omb, though. he was the head of the omb during the first trump term.mber. >> there is a law, a post nixon, you know, anti-corruption law. that was put in. >> after watergate. >> impoundment act of 1974, which said that, in fact, the omb cannot do this, that they are tasked, that they cannot use congressional funds as a carrot and a stick for the presidency. but look, russ vought wrote a chapter, project 2025. this was always the plan. they told us this was what they were going to do. we should not be surprised that they're doing it. >> you know, republicans, you know, during the campaign trail, rick, and we're old enough to remember this. they ran against project 2025. trump said he didn't know anything about it. the republicans said they'd never heard about it. they played dumb about it. and yet here we are. trump and musk doing exactly what the blueprint called for in going after these agencies. and you now have the coauthor of this far right playbook in charge of this consumer protection bureau. >> i mean, i can't tell you the number of. >> times du

i think omb should be all powerful. also i think i should run omb. so that's what we're talking about. but just understand what happened last week was not some attack on wokeness, whatever the hell that actually means. it was an attack on all of us. it really was an attack on all of us, all federal funding was susp suspended, millions of americans around the country were in the dark how they would access basic things -- health care, education, child care, small business loans, v.a. loans, disaster relief, opioid treatment, everything from road repairs to cancer research were shut down. across the country. you have to ask, aside from the obvious fact that withholding funding that congress has already appropriated is plainly illegal, you have to ask what does so-called wokeness have to do with repairing a road? or letting people fill their prescriptions at a community center? or helping survivors of a flood or wildfire to try to rebuild their lives? is a child having a healthy meal wokeness? is that dei? is that, i don't know, gender ideology? is that

he was the head of omb. mr.ust play this this is who he thinks won in 2020. >> he is donald. >> trump's most. >> dangerous nominee. vote has shown complete disregard for democratic institutions. >> vote has. said we live in a quote post-constitutional time. >> that's what he believes we're in. >> do my colleagues agree with that? >> they hope that. >> we. will give. >> up, curl. in a. >> little ball and. >> let. >> them do whatever they. want to do? >> i get. >> it, it is tough right. >> now. >> but it is important that we get back up in fight. and that is exactly what i am doing. >> and andy, this is a written question to mr. vote. quote, did joe biden win the 2020 presidential election? answer i believe the 2020 election was rigged. this is not someone who's radical policy views are rooted in fact. and i wonder where you might anticipate some friction with donald trump, who has never i mean, russ votes agenda is deeply unpopular with almost every pocket of trump's winning coalition. where do you predict some o

and that man is omb nominee russell vought. russell vought is a danger to the united states. he has been a staunch advocate for drastically eliminating or cutting our safety net programs such as medicaid, medicare, and social security. he helped design trump-era budget to cut trillions from these programs while simultaneously advocating for tax cuts that would only benefit the wealthiest of americans. so let's take sure we understand that'sing what here. he wants to cut to give to the richest americans. his vision for america is one where billionaires thrive while the families of arizona and america struggle to get ahead. vought has shown complete disregard for our democratic institutions. he was a key architect of efforts to put aside the federal bureaucracy and push for policies that would replace career civil servants with partisan loyalists. he played a significant role enabling trump's administration refusal to cooperate with congressional oversight. his actions set a dangerous precedent and is a playbook that the trump administration is looking to deploy and has deploye

i mean, he's he's already over at omb deciding what meetings are held. he's acting as if he's already confirmed. we gave him a questionnaire of saying, hey, under what authority are you even in the building? you haven't been confirmed. and we got no answers back. his files are incomplete, and in that situation, the republican leadership of the senate has a responsibility to delay his confirmation. but they're not doing so because this is the the momentum of the imperial presidency and the republican majority in the senate. bowing to that and letting it run over the law and run over the constitution. >> so are you saying that basically they're abdicating their article one legislative branch duties by letting him become the head of omb.? >> absolutely. because this is an individual who came to our offices and said, hey, i know what the court said when nixon tried to impound funds. but you know what? president trump doesn't agree with the court, and neither do i. so we're going to do it. that type of straightforward decision making of violating the law and

and so. >> oversight over omb. >> is not all that easy.oing to make. >> it easy. >> because he's very rash. he's very eccentric, he's. very lawless, and he's very much under the thumb of the far. >> right billionaires who. >> have been. his patrons for a long time now. >> and we've already seen what elon musk is capable of doing. and this is someone who seems like he's ready very much to be an enabler of elon musk. >> yeah. i think. >> what you said. >> earlier was. >> brilliant, that the elon. >> musk raid on the treasury is kind of a coat and tie version of the january. >> 6th. >> raid on the capitol, putting russ vote in at omb is yet another raid. if treasury is the nerve center of. >> data in the united states. >> government, omb is the. >> nerve center of. policy in the united states. >> government. and the republicans want to put. >> in somebody who. >> is a complete tool of. >> the right wing billionaire elite. >> who has demonstrably. >> and repeatedly indicated. >> that he will discharge. >> those. >> functions lawlessly. >> and

now, omb is. >> in the. >> white house. it is quite secret. it is hard to keep track of.sight over. omb is not all that easy. but i suspect this guy is going to make it easy because he's very rash. he's very eccentric. >> he's very. >> lawless, and he's very much under the thumb of the far. >> right billionaires who. >> have been. >> his patrons. >> for a. >> long time now. >> and we've already seen what elon musk is capable of doing. and this is someone who seems like he's ready very much to be an enabler of elon musk. >> yeah. >> i think what you said earlier. >> was. >> brilliant, that the. >> elon musk raid on the treasury is kind of a coat and tie. version of the january. >> 6th. >> raid on the capitol, putting russ vought in at omb is yet another raid. if treasury is the nerve center of data. >> in the united states. >> government. >> omb is the nerve center. >> of policy in. >> the united states. >> government. and the republicans want to. >> put in somebody. >> who is a complete tool of. >> the right wing billionaire elite. >> who has demonstrably. >> and repeated

and you saw how quickly they rolled back that omb memo and claim to rescind that memo.e the phone started ringing off the hook. right. and my colleagues in red states said, wait a second. what are you doing? why is the red state? why is the head start payment portal closed? why is the medicaid payment portal closed? and the reason why this is this is so dangerous is because we've got a we've got a very broad tro out of federal court in rhode island that says freeze. you've got to stop all of your attempted pausing of federal funding. you've got to stop your freeze across the federal government. and we have proof that they're not complying. so this raises the question, what happens if we have a court order and donald trump and his minions don't comply? that's called a constitutional crisis. >> general, we we've got less than a minute left. but i do want to get your thoughts on the last point. you just made the constitutional crisis, because that's where all of this is headed. our buddy david french wrote a great piece in the new york times talking about what trump is doi

now, fortunately the original omb memo was rescinded but this fight is not over. instead, this access to the treasury's payment system could be the next front in stopping funds going out to the american people. we can and we do intend to be continue to push back on these illegal actions to stop funding that's required by law. and despite knowing better, russell vought has never shied away from his belief that the executive branch can disregard the law and override spending decisions made by congress. he clearly believes this administration should be above the law and should be able to take away funding that helps millions of americans. russ vought is the architect of project 2025. that proposed a budget that would cut medicaid, just medicaid, by $2.1 trillion over ten years. it would slash snap, the food program, by $400 billion. we have people in new hampshire who count on the snap program in order to be able to feed their kids. his proposal would cut funding that helps low-income americans go to college by more than $250 billion. it would eliminate the affordabl

i want you to hear this part from our omb director nominee. in its opening words article twi makes it clear the executive power shall be vested in the president of the united states america. so far so good. that's true. that enormous pile is not vest in the department's of agencies and stafford administrator bhatt is an non-governmental or other equities and interest close to the governor. now that's where he is way off track. he's arty way off track. we make laws. there is an executive branch that is aal creature of federal law. this guys theory is no, we elect a king. we elect a person who doesn't have to deal with any existing statutes, , how does the department of transportation this david federal funds? isn't is a by formula or doo grants? how does the center for medicare, medicaid determine who gets grant funding for a hospital? right? all of that over the years has been decided as a matter of la, and what russell vought is saying is the president must set and enforce the plan for exact revenge. sadly however a present today assumes offi

and by the way, he was confirmed as omb director. so he is now the director of omb for the second time. he was omb director under president trump the first time. if you believe that it is okay for the executive branch to suppress free speech, if you believe that it is okay for the executive branch to tell soldiers, to tell workers that they have to take a vaccine or they're going to lose their jobs, then yes, you are in a post-constitutional situation because then the executive becomes all powerful. that's what the joe biden presidency was. they were suppressing speech. they were creating their disinformation bureaus. and the only reason those got taken down is because the public reacted one one other. >> example i was critical of that. it's a little different than the head of the fbi saying, we're coming after our enemies. the biden administration. >> didn't have enemies. and i. >> and i will tell you, this administration doesn't have them either. what they. >> want to see. >> he just. >> said no. what they said. >> i have. >> an en

the announcement comes after newly installed omb director russell vought sent an email last night to the watchdog group ordering that they cease all work. that work includes fighting financial abuse, providing oversight to payday lenders, big banks and other financial institutions that could be hurting consumers. it also oversees $18 trillion in consumer debt. joining us now, cnn global economic analyst and global business columnist and associate editor for the financial times, rana foroohar. rana, great to see you. okay. so these employees of this agency, you know, must be apoplectic right now. they're maybe even racing to the building now to see what they can retrieve, because tomorrow they may not be able to get in. so help people understand the cfpb. i know i gave a little synopsis of the things that they do, but help break down. what is it that it that that agency does. >> for sure, fredricka. i mean, this is, i think, one of the most important agencies in washington. it was founded after the great financial crisis. it was championed by elizabeth warren. it has been headed by a

at the fbi and throughout the federal government. >> david, the omb director, isn't confirmed yet.e building and there are now sofa beds, so the doge team can work around the clock to do their cleanup. gentlemen, thank you so much, frank. thank you. david. no such luck for you. you are sticking around when we return. president trump is moving fast with these executive orders. and to david's last point, he's getting very little pushback from congress. now, all eyes are on the courts to pump the on the courts to pump the br(fisher investments) at fisher investments we may look like other money managers, but we're different. (other money manager) how so? (fisher investments) we're a fiduciary, obligated to act in our client'' best interest. (fisher investments) so we don't sell any commission-based products. (other money manager) then how do you make money? (fisher investments) we have a simple management fee, structured so we do better when our clients do better. (other money manager) your clients really come first then, huh? fisher investments: yes. we make them a top priority, by g

while all this is being done, you have the omb director not even confirmed, but on the pathway to being confirmed. while all of the violations are being done with elon musk and the other agencies, the collapse of the republican congress is what allows donald trump to do this at the fbi and throughout the federal government. >> david, the omb director, isn't confirmed yet. furniture has been moved out of the building and there are now sofa beds. so the doj's team can work around the clock to do their cleanup. gentlemen, thank you so much, frank. thank you. david. no such luck for you. you are sticking around when we return. president trump is moving fast with these executive orders. and to david's last point, he's getting very little pushback from congress. now, all eyes are on the courts to pump the brakes. we're going to get into it. >> for gentle. >> dependable constipation relief. try seneca. it works differently than other laxatives because it's made from the senna plant, a natural vegetable laxative ingredient. gentle, dependable xenical. also available in delicious gummies. >> con

and he has a very specific view of omb. and represent the president in all things throughout the government, legislative, executive branch, wherever he was the architect of the federal funding freeze that happened last week, where medicaid portals were shut down, where head start was shut down, where construction projects were shut down. and he's got a lot more ideas for the american people, and none of them are good. he also basically views laws as optional. we pass an appropriations bill, and then he thinks that he gets to just say, well, donald trump doesn't like it, so we're going to shutter that agency. look, if you don't like a particular part of the federal government, there is a way to change the federal government. and it's through your elected representatives in congress. and i don't mean to be so fussy about these kinds of things, but this is the american system of democracy. so there's two problems with russ vote. one, is that what he proposes to do and what they have already done is illegal. and the other is th

in his chapter of project 2025 on how to wield executive office of president, vote wrote that omb, the office of management and budget should operate as the president's mind, adding it's vital the omb director and his political staff, not the careerists, drive these offices in pursuit of the president's actual priorities. just moments ago, all 53 senate republicans voted in lockstep to confirm russell vote as director of the powerful office of management and budget. all 47 senate democrats and independents voted against vogt's confirmation. each of them shouted their reason for voting no, in turn being shut down by the senate's presiding officer. >> miss hassan. >> pursuant to. >> rule 12, no debate is permitted. >> during a vote, the. senator will suspend. >> mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. >> pursuant to. >> rule 12, no debate. >> is permitted during a vote. >> mr. hickenlooper. >> pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during. >> a vote. >> the senator will suspend. >> mr. rono. >> pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend. >> today's protest

and quickly, that omb memo was rescinded amidst the confusion. now the trump people say, oh, this is all technical problems. not really what we're doing. these groups are having trouble filing their paperwork properly, but my suspicion is that eventually when you get this much chaos, this much confusion, this much anxiety among people who are dependent on various government entities, it will cause an effect. and lawmakers who are closest to the ground will feel it first. >> so, sawhill, what are we hearing from republicans on the hill? any concerns? >> yeah. >> there are concerns, chris. but among republicans, they're mostly getting expressed in hushed tones. there are questions about elon musk's exact role here, the parameters of his job. and some lawmakers worry about how they can carry out their own oversight roles about all this funding that it, you know, affects their constituents with so little transparency around what elon is doing. one senator, susan collins of maine, is a little bit more public about this than her colleagues. she says th

unworkable. i think reaction from think that reaction from herzog, one of a combative interview he to ombativeerview he to laura kuenssberg, he to laura kuenssberg, is of the more charitable interpretations of what donald trump was suggesting. his is fisthat 777ié7ti15t7i>ié£iaén£7 7 77 7ié7tfiét7 presidenttrump reading is that president trump is suggesting we see cars is suggesting we could see cars that turned and the,,m,i,d,dle.east and fully which of course depopulated, which of course would be a crime under law. international law. suggesting this was essentially trying to in 77in7b7lue77777 77 77 777 |nblue 7777t7hihk7i7r71g77 7 7 7 77in7b7lue77 7777thi7nk7ing77and come up 7come up with 7 7come up with different 7 7come up with different v7vays to come up with different ways of addressing this problem, isn't 7 7 isn't how 7 7 isn't how 7many 7 77isn7't how 7many people are that isn't how many people are viewing this. a lot of people have viewed it as, as said, have viewed it as, as i said, which have viewed it as, as i said, there 'hich have viewed it as, as i said, there was a fallout tal

>> well, erin, we did reach out to omb for comment. we outlined what we plan to include in our report. we received no answers to the questions that we asked about the video. instead, this is the response we received. you can see it there on your screen for yourself. suffice to say, they did not reply to the substance of our questions. erin. >> no, i'm making it about christians. okay. kyung, thank you very much. you bet. and next, the breaking news. mark zuckerberg, who had banned trump on facebook and instagram, now at the white house and rolling back dei policies. plus, china's a.i. startup deep sea has the world playing catch up. but what happens when we asked it? some of the most sensitive topics in china, like about tiananmen square? you'll want to see its response. >> all there is with anderson cooper. listen, wherever you get your podcasts. >> oh, what a good time we will. have you can make it happen. again. >> voltaren for long lasting arthritis pain relief. >> nice car still for sale, actually. perfect. how about to pay you? h

omb is a little known but powerhouse agency wielding influence over much of any president's domesticnda. democrats failed to scuttle the nomination, even forcing the vote process to go on for more than 30 hours. he's the wrong man. for the wrong place. with the wrong agenda. senate democratic leader chuck schumer calling votes agenda extreme warning his policies will hurt working americans. russell vote will be a massive liability. for donald trump. for republicans. and worst of all. for the country. the 53 47 vote came down along party lines with republicans praising votes. confirmation. we're going to deal with spending and we're going to make the government more efficient. we've got to have leadership of the office of management and budget. >> republicans say votes confirmation is key to their efforts to slash federal spending, which is already underway. reporting in washington on trevor shirley. >> and effective immediately. the ncaa has changed its participation policy for transgender athletes, limiting competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth. only the

it came from an omb memo. ultimately, the omb then rescinded the memo. but the trump's press secretary said that though the memo had been rescinded, the policy was still in force. and so, again, there's just a lot of uncertainty about what actually is included and not included. and i think a lot of folks who depend on federal funding, particularly in the health arena, are very anxious about what this all means. >> corey, i'm going to throw you a bit of a curveball here and ask about some emerging news this morning related to tariffs. you mentioned a minute ago how the president likes to kind of throw big ideas out there, get some fear from the american public. and then it turns out maybe we're splitting the difference. the fact that tariffs between us and mexico are on pause right now. what do you make of these developments this morning? >> i think the administration is responding to the market. you saw the market sort of a significant downturn in the market over overnight as a result of the tariffs. i think it's very clear that that the market doesn't a

actions the trump administration has taken so far on freezing funding for foreign aid, the now-rescinded omb memo about grant funding, a whole lot going on with usaid seeming to be dismantled over the weekend, put under the state department, a lot of changes that are not clear. is that something that democrats could try to get restored? would that be a priority for them? there is a lot they could go through. they are probably not in any real mood to help out the republicans, so they will be looking for something. that is exactly what president trump doesn't want. a tough situation for the republican leadership. host: emily brooks with us at the hill newspaper, taking your questions as we look ahead at the week ahead in washington. phone numbers, republicans, (202) 748-8000. democrats, (202) 748-8001. independent, (202) 748-8002. as folks are calling in, we spent the first hour of the program today talking about those new tariffs signed by the president on saturday, set to go into effect on tuesday. what is the most interesting reaction you have seen to this tariff regiment on mexico, canada,

suggestion and moves on with their lives continuing, as we're seeing with the funding freeze where omb rescinded their original memo calling for the freeze. and yet we're still seeing parts of the federal government comply with the freeze as though it's still in place. and that is my worry that. >> you will. >> have parts of the federal government that are willing to just keep the ball rolling as long. >> as. >> possible, as long as the administration says that they should worried about saving their own skins and not getting in trouble with the highers up. >> okay, but here's what i don't understand, peter. the way things get done in government is when the american people want that. russell vote was confirmed tonight. we know he was the architect of project 2025. he now has a great deal of power during the campaign. we've talked about this before. donald trump desperately tried to distance himself from 2025. that campaign knows it's not what the majority of the american people want. so why exactly are they executing a heritage foundation dream that doesn't sit well with the american pe

why are there hearings still being held on this case if omb rescinded that order? >> okay. and here's that million dollar word. it is. >> there we go. that's close enough. >> but rescinded. right. it's so okay. they've rescinded it. it's gone. it's not in place anymore. well, they said that the memorandum was rescinded. that's a very important word. there, however, was the underlying action behind the memorandum rescinded. they are still reviewing the spending, just the order. so what does that mean in practice is so if you are a grantee around the country waiting on funding, waiting on a grant, does the fact that this memorandum is is no longer in order? are you good? are you going to get your money or not? and if you're relying on that money, it's some ambiguity. and so a lot of what's important in the law, boris, is just ensuring that people know what rights they have in the future, whether we like this funding or not. it's just good for litigants around the country to know. >> there's also a question about whether the executive branch can basically decide that what cong

the judge ruled that the wide ranging directive in the omb memo that caused chaos and confusion lastmocratic leaning states whose attorneys general sued to stop the freeze. the justice department, meanwhile, argued the issue is moot because the white house memo was rescinded wednesday, two days after it was sent to federal agencies outlining a widespread freeze. the judge noted that the evidence shows that the alleged rescission of the omb directive was in name only. and you'll remember, the white house press secretary said it wasn't actually rescinded. joining us now from her home district of oakland county is democratic congresswoman haley stevens of michigan. congresswoman, thanks for waking up early with us. first, i just want to get your reaction to the funding freeze chaos that was sparked by the new trump administration. >> i thought. >> you were. >> going to ask me a fun question about beyonce. >> if only. >> i was so proud of. >> and that was a really. >> cool moment. but back to the brutal reality that is the insanity of executive orders in this administration. look, this i

just confirmed as head of omb. >> has said that.he trump administration. >> should be. >> tearing up and. tearing through about 200 years of. precedent here. so there is a constitutional. >> agenda. >> not just a policy agenda. >> but did people vote for that? >> well. >> some very. small number of. >> his supporters. that's kind of my point. >> the bulk. >> of americans. yes. >> yeah, that. >> no. >> that that. >> is no. >> people did not vote for this. >> they did not vote for this. but when you're. getting trump, you're also getting. >> the maga. >> movement. and the maga movement has. >> legal scholars. in it. it has. activists in it who want to fundamentally transform. >> the way the american. >> republic is ordered. >> they want more and more and more. >> power to the presidency. of course, that's a decision that they could come. >> to hate. the next time there's a democratic president. but they're not thinking. >> that far ahead in this moment. >> they are pressing and. pressing and. >> pressing to give trump more power. >> t

i know at one point, obviously, you served as omb director. i think you've had so many jobs in government, you're probably watching what is happening with a vantage point that not many people have. and a federal judge extended a temporary ban on trump's attempt to freeze federal funding. in your eyes, does he have the authority to do that? >> well, you know, again, this is a proposal that runs right into the, uh, the provisions of the constitution, which is that the congress has the power of the purse, not the administration, but the congress. and therefore, when you suddenly decide to freeze all federal spending, what you're doing is violating that constitutional provision which says that only congress can deal with that kind of funding. so, you know, ultimately, the court is not going to allow a president on his own to basically determine what is funded and what is not funded. that violates not just the constitution. it violates the budget act. >> secretary leon panetta, we appreciate you riding this roller coaster with us. with all due resp

. >> and, aaron, last night, the senate confirmed russell vote to head the office of omb. who is he and why are some senate democrats so opposed to him? >> well, russell vote held this position in the first trump administration for a time as well. director of the office of management and budget, the budget director for the president. and what we saw in the senate, in the senate yesterday during this vote was unusual. this was a roll call vote that was supposed to be happening where it's just a yes or no, as your name is called. but we saw democrats, almost all of them, if not all of them. we saw them articulate their no votes but try to give speeches at the same time explaining why they were voting no. that was slapped down in each instance that we saw during this vote. but it was unusual. at the same time, we know that democrats wanted to make sure that the public was able to understand why they were voting against russell vote in particular. he does have a history as an architect of project 2025. he was one of the main authors. he has said in the past that he believes th

to do. >> well, i mean, that one omb memo that was controversial. yes. but i mean, like, as a general note, don't think that this is a smarter audience than any other audience. >> jake, i'm going to be texting you. >> you can anytime. amber ruffin, i'll be looking for you. thanks so much. and congratulations again. and look out for amber and cnn's coverage of the white house correspondents dinner this spring, saturday, april 26th. you can also catch amber on the comedy quiz show called have i got news for you. that's also right here on cnn. a whole new season debuts saturday, february 15th, right here on cnn. then it streams on max. the news continues on cnn with jim sciutto right next door in for wolf blitzer in the situation room. see you tomorrow.

head of. >> the omb?me guy. >> who did that back. >> then and encouraged that idea. >> and denied the success of th. >> reality of the 2020 elections. >> is now in. >> charge of the office of management and budget. so it's that. >> 922 page. >> document that nobody wanted to read. >> is now. >> coming to fruition. >> and he's one of the architects of it. in fact, when he left the trump administration in the first term, he and many of the friends and mega-donors in their circles, you know, reached out to the heritage foundation, they helped establish these other organizations, and they. literally wrote the document and put together the legal theories. and by the way, the executive orders that donald trump signed on day one. so all of this is not these are not isolated activities. they're all part of a larger strategy that this group of folks who've come back into office, who are trying to steal our government and dismantle our agencies and steal our democracy from us, are executing on that they've planned

and one of the things that just happened last night is that after the courts last week said this ombreeze on grants, stop, you can't go forward with it. one of the nonprofit groups that is suing said, we found a group of nonprofit nonprofit group that has five employees in west virginia. they operate paycheck to paycheck, building wheelchair ramps for people with disabilities in west virginia, taking people to dialysis appointments to pharmacies, to groceries to get food. that's what this charity in west virginia does. the money has shut off. that charity cannot get access to the payment system where it funds itself through what the federal government disburses to them. so even with the courts saying you can't freeze grants and loans to nonprofits, there is evidence from at least one nonprofit in the country that says we can't access the money that the courts say we're entitled to now, and it just raises more questions. what is happening here and what happens next with the administration and in court? >> a lot of questions right now is kind of the biggest takeaway. katelyn polantz gr

go and run the nerve center of omb. just to understand the nerve center of omb. office of management and budget. that's the white house's budget office. that's where the priorities and policies become law, because money is attached to it. donald trump and his allies keep pushing this election line. donald trump keeps pushing constitutional boundaries, and republicans are doing nothing about it. in fact, here's donald trump at this morning's national prayer breakfast. >> they say. >> i can't run again. that's the expression, sir. and somebody said, i don't think you can. oh. >> that's what we've come to. donald trump suggesting he can't be stopped if he unlawfully refuses to leave office. and it gets a laugh from a room filled with religious leaders. trump says stupid, untrue things all the time, but not one of these supposed moral leaders walked out. not one of them protested. but all of this, as bad as all of this is, the canary in the coal mine is tonight in north carolina, the former attorney general, eric holder, chose to sound the alarm on this issue in toda

he's in charge of the omb, which is in charge of all federal spending, the budget. benefits that they've worked their career to earn. i mean, this is kind of where we're at. >> yeah. >> and jennifer, i just keep as i was listening to ian, i wrote down the word wrecking ball. yeah. i mean, and i've used this since the, the top of the show. they are taking a wrecking ball to the federal government to the point where, you know, what the wrecking balls do. they knock things down. they destroy things. is there is there a possibility that this wrecking ball could go too far? >> absolutely. and you're. already beginning to see signs of it. when these actions have ramifications. back at home, you. >> shut down usaid. >> those farmers who had their crops purchased. >> by usaid. >> in the tens of billions. they're out of luck. >> i wonder if. those congressmen and those. >> senators from those red farm states are going. >> to. >> start hearing from them. you have scientists and doctors. whose nih monies were cut off. people are. >> thrown out of research programs. >> people a