In an administration Cabinet comprised entirely of clownish, psychotic Coen Brothers villains, the realist caricature style is the portraiture style this moment calls for.

That “I” wilting with shame off his shoulder’s “FBI” label seems almost, but not quite, gratuitous.

With his shoulders thrown back, his flared nostrils gasping for oxygen, Kirchner’s Patel is just trying to keep it together for the next minute, hyperventilating through a panic attack while his bullying boss screams in his face.

But Kirchner goes further. He captures the spooked gaze and posture of a callow young man—Patel is 45—who’s just realized the waves have swept him several miles past the buoys.

Kirchner presents Patel with the trademark bulging eyes, practically brimming over with stimulants, no political cartoonist could possibly resist, and yet it’s no exaggeration: this unsettling stare is entirely faithful to the one Sgt. Keisha Brown captured in Patel’s official U.S. Army portrait.