His first selection for attorney general collapsed in spectacular fashion. His choice for defense secretary is awash in scandal. His picks for intelligence, health and other posts are being panned. But if anyone thought that President-elect Donald Trump might be chastened, he has quickly demonstrated otherwise.

Even with so many appointees already under fire, Trump has doubled down on defiance as he assembles his next administration. Rather than turning to more credentialed and respected choices with easier paths to Senate confirmation, Trump in rapid-fire fashion keeps naming more ideological warriors, conspiracy theorists and now even family members to senior government positions.

Most striking is his decision to push out FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, a career law enforcement veteran he himself appointed in his first term, and turn the nation’s premier investigative agency over to Kash Patel, who calls himself an avenger against the supposed "deep state.” Patel, seen as a provocateur of the first order, was widely considered a disruptive force and even dangerous by other Trump advisers who spent much of the last administration trying to keep him out of positions of power.