OMB Director Testifies on USAID Cuts at House Hearing

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, testified Tuesday before an oversight hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations. A Democratic representative asked whether he agreed with studies that attribute deaths to cuts in U.S. foreign aid programs, including those administered by the United States Agency for International Development.

Vought said he did not concur with the validity of those studies. The lawmaker pressed for a yes-or-no answer on whether people had died, then read the names of two children in Africa whom he said died after funding reductions. Vought began to respond that the cuts were aimed at certain goals before the lawmaker reclaimed time.

The same lawmaker quoted the Bible and described Vought as a Christian nationalist. Vought called the characterization slander. The lawmaker asked whether it was morally or biblically wrong to facilitate the death of children. A Republican representative later raised the topic again and contrasted the line of questioning with prior support for immigration policies.

The representative cited data showing decreased mortality rates in South Africa after the cuts and asked whether reduced spending could save lives in some cases. Vought said the administration is working with countries to ensure funds are spent directly on people in need rather than through certain nongovernmental organizations.

The hearing follows a statement by Elon Musk, who helped lead the Department of Government Efficiency, that he would sue a Democratic representative over claims that the cuts could result in 4.5 million child deaths. That representative cited a 2025 peer-reviewed study projecting up to 4.5 million deaths among children under five by 2030.