Old Dominion News

Russ Vought, former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is calling on U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D.-Va.) to block the confirmation of Kathleen Hicks for deputy defense secretary until the Biden administration “commits squarely to the plan put forward by the Trump administration to fully resource shipbuilding.”

In December, the Trump administration proposed expanding the U.S. fleet to 534 ships from the planned 355, Vought told Old Dominion News.

In her confirmation hearing, Hicks said the Pentagon might change the shipbuilding plans, UPI reported.

“Until the Biden administration articulates its position on this, my view is that the shipbuilding caucus in the Senate should not confirm her nomination,” Vought said.

Kaine is a member of the caucus as is U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Jack Reid (D-R.I.).

“If they care about their states and they care about their shipbuilding in those states, they can have an opportunity to provide clarity as to whether this bipartisan shipbuilding plan is going to go to go forward as intended,” Vought said.

The plan will increase spending on shipbuilding by $40 billion over the next five years beyond previous planned budgets, Vought said, adding, “It would increase the number of attack submarines from two per year to three per year, which would certainly impact Virginia.” 

He has not heard back from the Virginia senators on his request to block Hicks' nomination.

“We need our senators to prioritize the needs of Virginia and the shipbuilding caucus over some of the other things they are working on,” Vought said. “Sen. Kaine is spending time trying to censure the previous president as opposed to focusing on the shipbuilding needs of the country.”

Shipbuilding produces high-paying, steady jobs, the former OMB director said.

“What we’re trying to do is establish a bipartisan consensus on what the national needs are for shipbuilding so that the industry can ramp up,” he said. “They can’t do that if the shipbuilding numbers are going to be fluctuating from one administration to the next.”

China currently has the largest navy in the world, Vought said, adding, “But they don’t have the most capable Navy in the world. We still own that.”

China, however, is increasing its naval capability, he said.

“We do need more capability, higher fleet numbers so that we have a dispersed fleet,” Vought said. “If we are really serious about the fight against China and confronting that adversary, we have to ensure that we have maritime superiority, not just now but in the future.”

Since leaving OMB, Vought has established a think tank, The Center for American Restoration.