U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) used a comparison to notorious cult leader Charles Manson to question Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Thursday.
The exchange began with a focus on foreign policy and national security. “When he was alive, would you have given Charles Manson a nuclear weapon?” Kennedy asked.
“Absolutely not,” Vought replied, prompting Kennedy to draw a parallel to the Iranian government. Vought agreed with the sentiment, stating that Iran “does not and should never have a nuclear weapon” and “cannot be trusted” with such technology.
The hearing also covered the domestic economy and federal spending. Kennedy criticized the previous administration’s fiscal policies, suggesting they “gutted middle-class Americans like a fish” through high inflation.
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Vought characterized the resulting inflation as “one of the most regressive taxes you can imagine.”
Kennedy highlighted a recent $1.1 billion “claw back” of funding from NPR and PBS, noting that despite warnings that “Western civilization would end,” both organizations continue to operate.
The discussion concluded with a debate over how the U.S. Census Bureau calculates poverty. Kennedy argued that current metrics are misleading because they only count cash payments and ignore non-cash benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, and school lunches.
“If we counted them, the poverty rate would be 1%,” Kennedy claimed, asking if the American people should receive more credit for their “gift to neighbors who are less fortunate.”
Vought agreed that the current system may not provide an “accurate view” of how the country is fighting poverty and expressed a willingness to review the definitions.
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