Dems give speeches all night in protest of Project 2025 to delay Russ Vought confirmation vote

Senate Democrats held the floor for 30 hours in an overnight marathon of speeches to protest President Donald Trump’s nomination of Russell Vought to head the Office of Management and Budget. They met at 10:30 am on Wednesday. The filibuster was broken by vote at 1 pm, clearing the way for a vote on Vought on Thursday evening at 7 pm.

Democrats used their time to speak out against Vought. Adam Schiff, Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Brian Schatz, Patty Murray and others all took turns criticizing Vought. The speeches began with Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon at 2:17 pm. More than 35 Democrat senators opposed the nomination. The Senate, however, is a majority Republican. Many of Trump's nominees have gotten through their confirmation process.

Democrats can’t stop the appointment but they can slow it down. Vought is expected to have enough votes to be confirmed to the position in a vote Thursday night.

"During the 2024 election, the American people became familiar with this Republican document called Project 2025," Warren said on the floor. "The document laid out Republican plans to reshape our country if they gained control. So Donald Trump's response was to swear over and over and over again that he had nothing to do with those plans. Didn't know about it, didn't endorse it, didn't want anything to do with it.

"Here are some of the things that Donald Trump said about Project 2025 back in 2024 quote, 'I know nothing about Project 2025.' 'I have nothing to do with Project 2025 I disagree with some of the things they're saying,' and 'Some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,' and my personal favorite, 'they've been told, officially, legally, in every way that we have nothing to do with Project 2025.' So think about that.

"During the 2024 election, Donald Trump claimed he didn't know anything about Project 2025 but he lied. Shortly after the election, he nominated one of the chief architects of project 2025 in a key role with the government. Now Donald Trump has named the lead architect of project 2025 Russ Vought to oversee the federal government's entire budget office. That's right. Listen to this one. He is putting the head writer of the plans that you had only read about in nightmares in a key government position."

Republicans control 53 seats in the Senate while the Democrats only hold 47. As such the all-nighter by the Democrats is purely performative as the GOP has been able to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees with a simple majority.

According to CNN, since he was nominated Democrats have railed against Vought’s ties to Project 2025. Those protests have grown since the OMB released a memo last week freezing federal funding with Democrats claiming it was a warning sign for how Vought would run the office.