Kroll received the Polk Award for political reporting, for a comprehensive and often alarming portrait of Vought, one of the most significant figures behind Trump’s dismantling of federal agencies and consolidation of Presidential power. The profile charts Vought’s unlikely rise from backstage technocrat to the highest levels of influence within Trump’s orbit. Regarded by opponents and allies alike as “a master of the arcane rules that can get legislation passed,” Vought has wielded his expertise to bring about sweeping changes that eluded Trump in his first term, altering the country’s legal landscape and transforming the relationship between American citizens and their government.