Coral Davenport

So Russ Vogt is the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is normally a pretty wonky role.

But at this moment in the shutdown, he has really taken center stage.

He has had this plan to...

cut the government, cut spending, cut agencies, cut workers.

And now it's kind of Russ Vogt's time to shine to do that.

And we've seen that this week as Democrats have painted him as this villain in the shutdown scenario.

And even Senate Republican leader John Thune said, we don't even know what this guy's going to do.

And sort of most spectacularly of all...

president posted this video of russ vote as the grim reaper so in this video you see vote as literally the grim reaper striding in front of the capitol and trump on the cowbell

They sing like, now the time has come, their power's gone, he ties your hands, Russ wields the pen, the funds, and the brain.

You know, this video is nuts, but it's also sort of the core of it is really accurate.

In so many ways, that's what's going on right now.

The plan that Russ Vote has been putting in place is about taking power away from Congress, tying the hands of Congress, bringing the power over to the White House, to the president.

So...

You know, it's like this crazy internet meme that is kind of spot on.

Absolutely.

I mean, normally the role of the White House budget director is just this very kind of behind the scenes job that's really about taking the president's policy agenda and translating it into a budget.

Vote does far more than that.

He is really using the role as an agenda setter itself.

He has spent years preparing this vision for the entire federal government.