Powerful MAGA voices are hailing him as their No. 1 avenger to hunt down and decapitate the modern-day Hydra known as the “deep state,” a central villain of the conspiracy theory that gained momentum during Trump’s first term in office.

The man picked for a top security role in Donald Trump’s administration is a children’s author who believes that the president-elect has been persecuted and undermined by the “deep state”.

President-elect Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to take over as FBI director — effectively firing current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who still has three years left in his 10-year term — has set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill.