Vought for Pedro

“Mr. Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help elect Mr. Trump, had celebrity, access to the president and political capital that the budget director could never hope for. But Mr. Vought (pronounced ‘vote’) had something Mr. Musk did not: He had done his homework. In the months since Mr. Musk fell out with the president, Mr. Vought has at last begun to put his plans into action — remaking the presidency, block by block, by restoring powers weakened after the Nixon administration. His efforts are helping Mr. Trump exert authority more aggressively than any modern president, and are threatening an erosion of the longstanding checks and balances in America’s constitutional system. Now, as the government heads toward a shutdown when federal funding lapses on Tuesday, Mr. Vought, 49, is leveraging the moment to further advance his goals of slashing agencies and purging employees.” Russell T. Vought is having a moment. Actually, he’s having a lot of them, and he’s been preparing for them. NYT (Gift Article): The Man Behind Trump’s Push for an All-Powerful Presidency.

+ Meanwhile, Trump is set to meet with Congressional leaders as a shutdown looms (I suppose a day before a shutdown is as good a time to finally meet as any). Among other things, health care hangs in the balance. Here’s the latest from CBS.