John Thune Is Using Russell Vought to Bait the Democrats into Ending the Shutdown

Here, from Politico, is Senate Majority Leader John Thune using OMB director—and newly minted persona non grata here in the shebeen—Russell Vought the same way that Michael Corleone used Clemenza.

“This is the risk of shutting down the government and handing the keys to Russ Vought,” the Senate majority leader said in an exclusive interview Wednesday in the Capitol, adding that “there should have been an expectation” among Democrats that Vought’s Office of Management and Budget could broadly target government workers and programs in a shutdown.

Thune spoke on the same day that several Republicans aired discomfort with Vought’s moves after the shutdown went into effect. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York spoke out against his decision to hold up major transportation projects in his state