Patel’s confirmation brought all of this home for me because, of the four survivors among the Febrile Five, he’s the truest gangster of the bunch. Hegseth is dissolute; Kennedy is nuts; Gabbard is a Russia simp. But Patel is a capo at heart, caretaker of the family’s enemies list and the sort of enforcer whose loyalty is so absolute that he’s trusted to do the boss’ dirtiest work. Putting him in charge of the FBI is tantamount to greenlighting the bureau’s transformation into a secret-police force for the White House. One person on Patel’s “enemies list” is reportedly so frightened by how he might abuse state power to target them that they’ve already moved their family to a secret location.

Nick Catoggio