My first question for Russ Vought, the White House budget director, at our Monitor Breakfast yesterday was whether he had just stayed up till the wee hours. After all, it took the Senate until after 2 a.m. to pass a bill he’d fought for that claws back $9 billion in federal spending on foreign aid and public broadcasting. But no, Mr. Vought said, he hadn’t waited up. 

Rather, he told us he’s looking ahead to more “rescissions,” likely soon, as Monitor reporter Cameron Joseph writes in today’s Daily. Within a $6.8 trillion federal budget, $9 billion doesn’t seem like much, some Republicans have noted – but it’s still a new day in Washington. The balance of power between the executive branch and Congress is shifting.