By Jonathan Landay and Douglas Gillison
WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) – The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump’s budget chief and an architect of the government overhaul that has cut thousands of federal jobs, according to three documents seen by Reuters.
The White House Office of Management and Budget, which Vought leads, is allocating $15 million of what remains of USAID operating expenses to cover the costs of his protection by the U.S. Marshals Service through the end of 2026, the documents showed.
A person familiar with the matter said that Vought’s security detail comprises more than one dozen U.S. Marshals, which Reuters could not independently confirm. OMB did not make Vought available for interview.
The Marshals Service did not comment on Vought specifically, saying it does not identify people under protection but it “typically seeks reimbursement by the supported agency.”
Asked about the use of USAID funds, OMB spokesperson Rachel Cauley said in an email: “We are going to continue to use available funds at the three agencies overseen by the director to protect him.”
She apparently was referring to OMB, USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which Vought is the acting director.
Vought served as acting USAID director for nearly 90 days last year before his deputy assumed the post in November. He remains a senior adviser to the nearly defunct agency, according to one of the documents, which have not been previously reported.
Cauley did not give further details about Vought’s security costs but she did not dispute that USAID funds are being used to underwrite the costs of his U.S. Marshals detail.
The Trump administration dismantled USAID and canceled most of its aid programs last year, transferring responsibility for foreign assistance to the State Department. A skeleton crew of more than 100 staff and contractors is closing out USAID’s remaining contracts and is due to shut the 64-year-old agency’s doors for good by September.
One of the documents reviewed by Reuters said OMB signed an agreement with USAID last September 11 “to cover the costs associated with then Acting USAID Administrator Vought’s security detail through November.” That amount – $1.6 million – came from what is left of USAID’s operating expenses, the document showed.
OMB budgeted another $13.5 million in USAID funds to underwrite the costs of Vought’s security detail through the end of this year “as they relate to his current role as Senior Advisor to USAID,” the document said.
The Marshals Service typically protects federal courthouses, judges and court personnel. Asked about Vought, the Marshals Service said it “could offer protection to members of the executive branch who face threats or at the direction of the Attorney General.”
VOUGHT’S CONSERVATIVE PHILOSOPHY UNDERPINS MUCH OF TRUMP’S AGENDA
The person familiar with the matter said that Vought has received serious threats, which the person said were apparently linked to his role as a leading author of Project 2025, the conservative blueprint that has formed the basis of many Trump administration policies.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the threats or whether they related to Project 2025.
Last week, police in northern Virginia announced the arrest of a 26-year-old man for attempted murder, with media reports identifying Vought as the target. A spokeswoman for the Arlington County police declined to confirm Vought was the suspect’s target.
In her statement to Reuters, OMB spokesperson Cauley accused “The Left” – which she did not further identify – of pursuing a strategy that fuels an “assassination culture against public officials” and then expresses “shock about what it takes to keep them safe.”
Vought’s use of bodyguards comes amid an extraordinary surge in intimidation and violence directed at U.S. officials, judges and politicians and activists of both political parties since 2020. Trump has been targeted by two assassination attempts.
Under Trump, the Marshals Service has occasionally provided security to top U.S. officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In July, Vought sought funds from the CFPB to help meet the $4.7 million cost of his security detail for the remainder of 2025, according to an email seen by Reuters and a person with knowledge of the matter. The email was first reported by GovExec.
Trump ordered the closure of USAID on taking office in January, claiming without providing proof that it was rife with corruption.
Some 10,000 USAID personnel and thousands of contractors were fired and thousands of programs shuttered, throwing into turmoil U.S.-funded global humanitarian aid operations on which millions of the world’s poorest people depended. USAID stopped distributing aid in July.
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Douglas Gillison; Editing by Don Durfee and Claudia Parsons)
Comments