purging

But if Trump follows through on even a fraction of the things he has promised — purging the civil service, instituting mass deportations including internment camps, jailing or even executing his political opponents — we will instead be witnessing the beginning of an unprecedented weakening of American democracy.

Trump learned the wrong lesson from that, which is that he's not focused enough on purging the party.

The creation of such a panel, if it came to fruition, would facilitate the purging of military leaders who were unwilling to carry out presidential orders — or those relayed by a loyal subordinate.

Hegseth has already advocated purging the military of top officials, such as Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Charles Q. Brown — or anyone who has advocated for diversity and inclusion programs.

Trump campaigned on a promise to fire thousands of civil servants and replace them with loyalists, with a particular focus on those purging anyone who tells the truth that climate change is overwhelmingly caused by human use of fossil fuels.