Kobach's lofty demands, of course, stand in stark contrast to the former secretary of state's recent string of career failures. The Kansas official, who became known for evangelizing against the largely-nonexistent issue of voter fraud, previously headed Trump's “election integrity” commission, which was disbanded after states refused to go along with the Trump administration's attempt to collect voter information. Kobach then went on to lose his gubernatorial bid and go to court to defend Kansas's proof-of-citizenship voter law. Not only did that law get struck down, but Judge Julie A. Robinson also took aim at Kobach specifically for his conduct during the trial, finding him in contempt of court and declaring as part of her ruling that Kobach must take continuing legal education classes. American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Dale Ho called the June 2018 decision “a stinging rebuke of Kris Kobach,” and Democratic state legislator Rep. John Carmichael mused to the Wichita Eagle after the ruling, “I have a very difficult understanding why someone with Kris Kobach’s educational pedigree can make such poor judgments repeatedly.”

None of that, of course, seems to bother Trump, who's found his policy soulmate in Kobach, a man whose campaign slogan was “Make Kansas Great Again” and is currently involved in a private effort to secure border wall funding. “I hope he loses because I want him so badly,” Trump even admitted while campaigning for Kobach's gubernatorial run. According to the Times, the idea of Kobach becoming immigration czar came about specifically because of the Kansan's radioactive career, as Trump raised the role with him after realizing that Kobach would have trouble being confirmed as D.H.S. Secretary. Whether the president wants Kobach badly enough that he'll acquiesce to his lengthy list of conditions, though, remains to be seen; the Times reported that other candidates are being considered for the czar role, and Kobach is also considering running for the U.S. Senate. (Fellow Republicans, the Times noted, “are hoping to keep him from winning the party’s nomination if he does run.”) Yet there still seems to be a sense of inevitability that, as long as Trump remains in the White House, Kobach is bound to end up there again eventually. “President Trump is very supportive of Kris Kobach,” Kansas GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold told the Associated Press after Kobach's gubernatorial loss. “And I expect a place will be found for him.”

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