The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is tapping leftover operating funds from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to finance the U.S. Marshals Service protection assigned to Russell Vought, President Donald Trump’s budget director and a principal author of a sweeping conservative policy blueprint, according to three documents reviewed by TradeVae.
The documents show OMB set aside $15 million from what remains of USAID’s operating budget to pay for Vought’s Marshals Service detail through the end of 2026. One individual familiar with the matter said the protection force includes more than one dozen U.S. Marshals; that detail could not be independently confirmed.
How the funding was allocated
OMB signed an agreement with USAID on September 11 to cover security costs for the then-acting USAID administrator through November, providing $1.6 million from USAID’s remaining operating expenses for that period, one of the documents shows.
In addition, OMB budgeted another $13.5 million in USAID funds to help underwrite Vought’s security costs through the end of this year "as they relate to his current role as Senior Advisor to USAID," according to the same document. Taken together with the earlier agreement, the documents reflect a $15 million allocation of USAID operating resources to cover the Marshals Service protection assigned to Vought.
Statements and agency positions
OMB did not make Vought available for comment. An OMB spokesperson, Rachel Cauley, said in an emailed statement: "We are going to continue to use available funds at the three agencies overseen by the director to protect him." The comment appears to reference OMB, USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where Vought is serving as acting director.
Cauley did not provide additional details about the breakdown of the security expenses but did not dispute that funds left in USAID operating accounts are being used to defray the costs of the U.S. Marshals detail.
The U.S. Marshals Service declined to comment on Vought specifically, stating that it does not identify individuals under protection and that it "typically seeks reimbursement by the supported agency." The Marshals Service noted it usually provides security for federal courthouses, judges and court staff but said it "could offer protection to members of the executive branch who face threats or at the direction of the Attorney General."
Security concerns and recent arrest
One person familiar with the matter told TradeVae that Vought has received serious threats, which the person said appeared to be connected to his role as a leading author of Project 2025, the conservative policy plan that has informed many administration initiatives. That connection and the existence of specific threats could not be independently verified from the documents.
Law enforcement in northern Virginia last week announced the arrest of a 26-year-old man on an attempted murder charge; media reports identified Vought as the alleged target. A spokeswoman for the Arlington County police declined to confirm whether Vought was the intended target.
In a statement to TradeVae, OMB spokesperson Cauley accused "The Left" - not further identified - of pursuing what she called a strategy that fuels an "assassination culture against public officials" and then expressing "shock about what it takes to keep them safe."
Context: USAID’s shutdown and personnel reductions
The documents outline the funding shift at a moment when USAID is being largely dismantled under the current administration. The administration ordered the closure of USAID upon taking office in January, asserting without presenting evidence that the agency was afflicted by corruption. The agency’s workforce and operations were significantly reduced: roughly 10,000 USAID staff and thousands of contractors were dismissed and a wide range of aid programs were ended, according to the documents.
USAID stopped distributing aid in July. A skeleton crew of more than 100 staff and contractors has been tasked with winding down remaining contracts, and the documents indicate the agency is scheduled to cease operations by September. Responsibility for foreign assistance was transferred to the State Department as most USAID programs were halted.
Other funding actions related to Vought’s protection
In July, Vought sought assistance from the CFPB to cover part of the $4.7 million cost of his security detail for the remainder of 2025, according to an email and a person with knowledge of the request. The email was reviewed in the set of documents and first surfaced in reporting elsewhere. The details in the email align with the financial arrangements reflected in the OMB-USAID agreements contained in the documents reviewed.
Under the current administration, the Marshals Service has on occasion provided security to senior executive branch officials, including the Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to the documents.
What the documents show and what remains unclear
The documents reviewed lay out the specific dollar amounts OMB has allocated from remaining USAID operating accounts to support Vought’s Marshals Service detail - $1.6 million to cover the earlier acting administrator period and $13.5 million budgeted for subsequent coverage tied to his role as senior advisor - totaling $15 million. They also record the formal agreement signed in September and referenced budgeting actions taken by OMB.
They do not disclose every line-item cost of the security detail, nor do they provide an exact roster of the Marshals assigned. The identity of individuals under protection is not confirmed in agency comments, and public records in the documents do not provide independent verification of the alleged threats linking Vought to Project 2025.
The paperwork shows how remaining funds in a winding-down federal agency have been repurposed to cover security costs for a senior administration official active across multiple agencies, while broader questions about the nature and provenance of threats remain unresolved in the available material.