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Democrats slam, Republicans defend Vought during testy House hearing: 3 takeaways

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by Max Rego - 04/15/26 7:12 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/15/26 7:12 PM ET

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White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought on Wednesday sparred with Democrats on the House Budget Committee over spending cuts proposed or enacted by the Trump administration.

The annual hearing followed the Trump administration’s unveiling of its proposed budget for fiscal 2027, which included a 40 percent increase to defense spending and a 10 percent cut to nondefense spending.

Democrats on the committee pressed Vought on a variety of topics, including cuts to social programs and the growing price tag of the war with Iran. Republicans, on the other hand, defended Vought and the administration for proposing what they characterized as needed changes to federal spending.

Vought is set to appear before the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday.

Here are three takeaways from the hearing.

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act takes center stage

Though Wednesday’s hearing was slated to discuss the 2027 budget, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed last summer, took center stage.

The tax and budget legislation, which President Trump signed into law last July, instituted sweeping reforms and cuts to Medicaid; enacted tax cuts; and boosted spending for immigration enforcement, defense and domestic production of coal, natural gas and oil at the expense of green energy incentives.

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the ranking member on the Budget panel, referenced the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) projection in July that the law will add $3.4 trillion to the deficit through 2034.

He also said the law “eliminates” health care for millions of Americans. The CBO projected in August that several provisions in the package that address the Affordable Care Act marketplace will increase the number of people without health insurance by 2.1 million in 2034.

Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) slammed the law as benefiting the wealthiest Americans and corporations, saying, “It is not beautiful to strip health care for millions of Americans.”

Those in the majority had a starkly different outlook.

Reps. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) and Addison McDowell (R-N.C.), who both noted that Wednesday marks Tax Day, touted the package for boosting the amount that filers are saving on their taxes through various deductions.

“This year, the average Hoosier is seeing a tax cut of $3,037. That is real money in their pockets,” Stutzman said.

The Indiana Republican also said the provision in the law allowing for taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 in auto loan interest is “huge” for his state.

“Inflation has been a tax on the American people, and what the ‘big, beautiful bill’ and what you’re doing with the administration is bringing those costs down,” he told Vought.

As of Tuesday, the average tax refund this filing season was more than $3,400, an increase of 11 percent relative to last year, according to the Treasury Department. The department added that more than 53 million filers claimed at least one of the tax cuts instituted by the GOP-backed law.

McDowell pushed back on his Democratic colleagues who argue the law is “for billionaires” and slammed former President Biden and those on the other side of the aisle for passing the American Rescue Plan, which the CBO projected in 2021 would add more than $1.8 trillion to the deficit through 2031.

In his opening statement, Vought deemed the president’s signature law a “once-in-a-generation” measure “to end fiscal futility, invest in critical priorities, and cut taxes” for working Americans.

Democrats press Vought on Iran war, nondefense cuts

Democrats repeatedly pressed Vought about the war with Iran, which has cost taxpayers billions of dollars and resulted in an increase in gas prices due to Tehran’s restriction of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

While questioning Vought, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) said the administration is prioritizing a “war of choice” with Iran at the expense of domestic initiatives such as economic development and the National Institutes of Health — the latter of which the administration is proposing decreasing funds for by $5 billion relative to the current fiscal year.

Vought, though, disputed the New Jersey Democrat’s characterization of the conflict and echoed President Trump and administration officials in arguing that the goal of the war is to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) highlighted the cost of the conflict and wondered why the federal government “can continue to spend money on