Tell the Senate: Hold OMB Director Russell Vought accountable for lying to Congress

The petition to the members of the Senate reads:

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought made false statements while testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee to justify $9.4 billion in cuts to global health aid and public broadcasting. He falsely told committee members that PEPFAR, the renowned global HIV/AIDS relief program, was spending millions of dollars to fund abortion and gender-analysis programs in Russia.

PEPFAR has not operated in Russia since 2012. Either Director Vought was lying or he is alarmingly misinformed about the cuts he requested as head of the OMB, which is responsible for overseeing and managing the financial operations of the entire federal government.

After he was caught, Director Vought quietly took the $400 million in cuts to PEPFAR out of the package, and Congress narrowly approved the rest of the $9 billion in spending cuts. You cannot just sweep this under the rug. As your constituents, we urge you to hold Director Vought accountable and call for his resignation immediately.

Russel Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and chief architect of Project 2025, appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25 to answer questions about a package of cuts proposed by the Trump administration to this year’s congressionally approved spending on public broadcasting and global health aid programs.

During questioning by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Director Vought claimed that PEPFAR--the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, established in a bipartisan effort led by former President George W. Bush--had sent millions of dollars to Russia to advise doctors on how to perform abortions and “gender analysis.” Director Vought didn’t say it once, or in passing. He said it at least three times, as Sen. Graham stressed that there would be “consequences” for this supposed misallocation of global AIDS relief funding for abortion-related spending.

This claim was false. PEPFAR has had no dealings with Russia since 2012, when Vladimir Putin tossed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which implements PEPFAR programs, out of the country.

Less than a month after Director Vought’s testimony, the OMB chief quietly removed the $400 million in proposed cuts to PEPFAR from the $9.4 billion-dollar package, and Congress narrowly passed the cuts, known as the “rescissions bill.” Lying to Congress is a federal crime. Director Vought was either lying during his testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee in order to scapegoat abortion while tanking a celebrated bipartisan program that has saved millions of lives worldwide, or he is alarmingly misinformed about what goes on in his own agency.

Like Sen. Graham said, “There must be consequences for this crap.” Fill out the form now to add your name to demand the Senate hold Director Vought accountable by calling for his resignation.