The head of the budget office under President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped directly into overseeing classified spending plans at the nation’s premier intelligence agencies, even as the administration continues to pare back the central apparatus of the intelligence community.
Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), assumed direct responsibility for oversight of classified budgets following the recent departure of Amarillys Fox Kennedy. Kennedy, who had held key posts including stints at OMB, was a senior intelligence official.
According to four sources familiar with the matter, it remains unclear how long Vought will carry out day-to-day budget oversight over intelligence organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and others. Traditionally, classified appropriations have fallen under the purview of officials with deep experience in the intelligence community.
Under the upcoming fiscal year budget, the administration has requested nearly $82 billion for the National Intelligence Program and $50 billion for the Military Intelligence Program. Those programs, which span the entire intelligence community, will fall under Vought’s close scrutiny.