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President Trump has elevated a podcaster who’s bragged about “owning the libs” to a top position at the FBI, after firing six top generals at the Pentagon last week. Meanwhile, Elon Musk continues to make confusing demands of federal employees. Columnists Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and Philip Bump discuss whether this is all about loyalty and subservience to the president, or if there’s perhaps a bigger grand plan.

Additional reading by our columnists:

Philip Bump: The right-wing media machine is hitting a wall

Ruth Marcus: When the guardrails holding back law enforcement fail

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Episode description

The right-wing media machine is now the U.S. government

Episode description