Steve Bannon, the ethno-nationalist former head of right-wing media outlet Breitbart, is “emerging as the most powerful person in the White House,” Washington Post columnist Paul Waldman noted on Wednesday. “That’s not the problem; somebody has to occupy that perch. The problem is what Bannon wants to do with it.” What Bannon wants to do, as Donald Trump’s chief strategist and senior counselor, is to persuade the president to adopt and execute his far-right ideological vision. This might prove easy enough, but not for the reasons usually given.

Prior to Bannon’s ascension, many expected other figures—Vice President Mike Pence or Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner—to be the dominant influence in the new administration. While Pence likely had a say in promoting socially conservative judge Neil Gorsuch to be Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Bannon’s hand can be seen in many early Trump moves, such as the dark “America First” inaugural address (Bannon and fellow ethno-nationalist Stephen Miller reportedly co-wrote the speech), the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general, and last week’s executive order on immigration, which was the first step in fulfilling Trump’s promise of a Muslim ban. Another order re-organized the National Security Council to allow Bannon to take a leading role in advising Trump on foreign policy while sidelining the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of National Intelligence.

“If there was any question about who is largely in charge of national security behind the scenes at the White House, the answer is becoming increasingly clear: Steve Bannon,” Foreign Policy reported. “Even before he was given a formal seat on the National Security Council’s ‘principals committee’ this weekend by President Donald Trump, Bannon was calling the shots and doing so with little to no input from the National Security Council staff, according to an intelligence official who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution.”

Under Bannon’s influence, the Trump administration is shaping up to be much more ideologically extreme than many people were expecting. “[Bannon] has spectacularly grand ambitions, to transform our country and its place in the world,” Waldman wrote. “His is an ethno-nationalist vision in which America leads a clash of civilizations, and there’s little reason to think he’d be at all displeased if that clash engulfed the entire globe. There’s also little reason to think that Donald Trump would mind.” The implication here is that Trump is merely an empty vessel for Bannon’s far-right ideology. That’s not quite the case. Rather, the two men share several core beliefs, the only difference being that Trump’s beliefs aren’t part of some broader, coherent ideology. But that may well change.

On meeting Trump for the first time in November, Barack Obama said, “I don’t think he’s ideological. I think ultimately, he is pragmatic.” The outgoing president was articulating a widespread hope that the fiery Trump of the campaign trail was just for show. This theory is now discredited, as Trump has made clear he intends to keep many of his most hardline promises, including the border wall and the Muslim ban.