Russell Vought is the architect and legal scholar behind the Trump administration’s attempt to reshape the federal government. Simon Rabinovitch, US economics editor for the Economist, explains how he got all that power.

This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast

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President Trump's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, at his Senate confirmation hearing last month. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.

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