Tempers Flare as White House Defends Reorg Proposal Against Accusations of Stonewalling

A White House official faced a testy hearing while appearing before a Senate committee to explain and defend the Trump administration’s proposals to reform and reorganize the federal government, with lawmakers criticizing officials broadly for failing to offer insight into the analysis that shaped the plan. The White House released the 32 proposals last month, but Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management Margaret Weichert said the suggestions were merely preliminary submissions and therefore details were not yet necessary or helpful. The reorganization plan was intended to start a dialogue, Weichert said, but she repeatedly declined to offer specifics into how it was formed, what implementation would look like and what it would cost.