b'\\u200b\\u200b\\u201cWhat would you do for your relevance?\\u201d the political journalist Mark Leibovich asks in his new book, \\u201cThank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump\\u2019s Washington and the Price of Submission.\\u201d \\u201cHow badly did you want into the clubhouse, no matter how wretched it became inside?\\u201d For Leibovich, you can\\u2019t truly understand the current Republican Party without taking stock of the almost Shakespearean drama that unfolded during the Trump presidency \\u2014 in which Republican after Republican bowed to the will of their ascendant party leader.\\n\\nThrough his extensive \\u2014 and often quite colorful \\u2014 reporting with Trump\\u2019s inner circle of enablers, Leibovich tries to understand the motivations that fueled Trump\\u2019s takeover of the G.O.P. But this conversation isn\\u2019t only important in retrospect. With the Republican Party poised to possibly recapture at least one house of Congress in November, many of Trump\\u2019s core enablers could soon hold considerable political power. Who are they? What do they believe? How will they act if given power?\\n\\nWe discuss why the stakes in 2022 midterms feel higher than ever, why the Republican Party has changed so profoundly since the days of Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor, how the governing structure of the G.O.P. fell apart as Trump rose in influence, the many reasons politicians from Lindsey Graham to Elise Stefanik converted from Trump skeptics to staunch Trump defenders, the political motivations of Kevin McCarthy \\u2014 who may become the next speaker of the House \\u2014 and how he might wield power, how the persistence of Trumpism could profoundly alter American democracy, why Leibovich believes figures like J.D. Vance prostrated themselves to a man who insulted them, what options Democrats have for countering election denialism and more.\\n\\nMentioned:\\n\\n\\u201cDonald Trump Is Not Going Anywhere\\u201d by Mark Leibovich\\n\\nBook recommendations:\\n\\nWhy We Did It by Tim Miller\\n\\nConfidence Man by Maggie Haberman\\n\\nNSFW by Isabel Kaplan\\n\\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\\n\\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\\n\\n\\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d is produced by Emefa Agawu, Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rog\\xe9 Karma. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Original music by Isaac Jones. Mixing by Jeff Geld, Sonia Herrero and Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Kristina Samulewski.'