Trump’s budget chief refuses to direct staff to help with Biden’s spending plans

The White House budget bureau chief on Thursday refused to direct staff and resources to help the new Biden administration’s spending plans, in a growing dispute over the office’s responsibilities during the transition process.

Bureau of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought rebuffed accusations of obstruction raised by President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, adding that his agency would not cooperate with alleged efforts to “dismantle” policies of the Trump administration.

“Our system of government has a president and an administration at a time,” Vought said in a letter to Biden’s transitional leader Ted Kaufman.

Vought’s letter, shared publicly on his Twitter account, raises the temperature in the simmering dispute between President Donald Trump’s administration and Biden’s new team.

Members of Biden’s transition did not immediately comment on Vought’s letter. But Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for Biden, retweeted a critical message noting that Vought, “while calling the accusations bogus … actually confirms he’s blocking OMB career staff from working on the next year’s budget request. “

Biden, in a speech on Monday, singled out political leaders from the OMB and the Defense Ministry for putting up “roadblocks” that hamper his efforts to prepare for the presidency.

“Right now we just aren’t getting all the information we need from the outgoing administration in key areas of national security,” Biden said at the time. “It is nothing less, in my opinion, of irresponsibility.”

Acting Defense Chief Christopher Miller responded later today, saying in a statement that the Pentagon’s efforts “are already surpassing those of recent administrations more than three weeks from the end.”

In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, new White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Biden adviser Yohannes Abraham again criticized these agencies.

“There is no doubt that the process will be delayed by what we encountered by the outgoing OMB,” Abraham said. “It takes many person-hours to produce the budget, and it requires the analytical support that has been part of the OMB’s engagement with past transitions we did not have.”

Historically, the OMB has provided economic and budgetary information to incoming administrations well in advance of inauguration day to prepare them to quickly submit the new president’s budget. The document is technically expected on the first Monday in February, but it has been delayed in the past.

Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported earlier Thursday that Vought is preventing members of Biden’s team from meeting with budget officials as he aims to finalize and release new regulations before the end of the Trump administration.

In his letter to Kaufman, Vought said the record shows that “OMB has fully participated in the appropriate transition efforts.”

Vought said the budget agency held more than 45 meetings with Biden staff and “provided all requested information” on ongoing programs. He also said Biden’s team had been briefed on the Trump administration’s coronavirus relief efforts, including Operation Warp Speed, the White House’s vaccine development and distribution plan.

“What we have not done and will not do is use the current OMB staff to draft [Biden transition team’s] legislative policy proposals to dismantle the work of this administration, ”says Vought’s letter.

“OMB staff are working on the policies of this administration and will do so until the last day of their mandate. Reorienting staff and resources to draft your team’s budget proposals is not an OMB transition responsibility.

Vought added: “The OMB will not participate in shaping policies that weaken border security, dismantle the president’s deregulation successes, and write budgets that bankrupt America.”