First, I am not defending the “deep state” imagined by conspiracy theorists: a clandestine network of corporate political operatives and wealthy individuals who conspire with unelected officials in government agencies to run the government, regardless of which political party is in power.
To the extent that such a network exists, it is not a conspiracy. It is a natural consequence of Supreme Court rulings that allow unlimited financing of political campaigns and grant citizenship rights to corporations. For-profit corporations and many wealthy individuals will do whatever they deem necessary to influence legislation and regulations to serve their own interests, regardless of their political party affiliation.
Trump promised to dismantle the “deep state” in both of his presidential election campaigns. He blamed the deep state for sabotaging and undermining his power during his first administration, including DOJ and FBI investigations during the Biden administration. Trump posted about crushing the “deep state” 56 times, between January 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024, including specific plans for dismantling it.
However, Trump has done nothing to dismantle the deep state of conspiracy theory, the military-industrial complex, or similar government alliances with pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, big banks and financial institutions, or the industrial agricultural establishment.
Instead, according to his post on Truth Social, when Trump refers to the “deep state” today, he is referring to the government agencies and federal employees who interpret and enforce government policies. In reality, what Trump refers to as the deep state are the thousands of nonpolitical civil servants and experts working to provide government services, from enforcing federal laws and implementing foreign policy to forecasting the weather and delivering mail. This is the real deep state that I defend.
This deep state ensures some sense of continuity in government from one administration to the next and implements laws passed by Congress, regardless of presidential preferences. This deep state bends to the will of the president, but does not break its commitment to uphold the rule of law and to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.
As David Rothkopf of the Daily Beast puts it: “The power of the deep state comes from experience, knowledge, relationships, insight, craft, special skills, traditions, and shared values. Together, these purported attributes make nameless bureaucrats into a super-government that is accountable to no one.” It’s true the deep state is not accountable to any one person, including the president of the United States. That’s because it is accountable to “everyone,” to the people of the United States.
All Civil Service employees must take the official oath of office: "I, (state your full name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."
The Constitution of the United States doesn’t change with changes in the presidency or control of Congress. Civil Service employees are obligated to uphold the U.S. Constitution and to faithfully discharge the duties of their office, regardless of which political party is in power.
The Civil Service was created by law for the specific purpose of limiting the power of the president and often serves as a final check on presidential or agency overreach. Until the 1880s, elected officials appointed federal workers for political purposes. This “spoils” system was chaotic, corrupt, and inefficient.
The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 established the use of examinations, apportionment of employees by state, an anti-nepotism clause, protections against political firings, and the US Civil Service Commission to provide oversight. The bipartisan Civil Service Reform Act (1978) updated and solidified civil service policies and created the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Merit System Protection Board to oversee the system.
Trump correctly sees the administrative deep state as an impediment to implementing his political agenda. Many of his executive orders and actions have been arguably illegal or unconstitutional, as confirmed by dozens of court-ordered injunctions and temporary restraining orders issued against them by federal courts.
Trump has issued executive orders directing federal agencies to review all regulations and identify those inconsistent with administration policy for elimination or modification. He has ordered independent regulatory agencies, including the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to submit their major regulations for review and to coordinate legal positions with the White House.
Trump’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has proposed a rule to create a new category of federal employees who would serve at the will of the president to replace Civil Service employees. He has closed the U.S. Agency for International Development and initiated mass firings and reductions in force (RIFs) across various federal agencies. And the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has coordinated the mass firings of government employees and a review and elimination of regulations across federal agencies.
As of early June, the Labor Department reported that the federal government has eliminated 59,000 jobs since January. The Trump administration has also put a freeze on filling most open positions. Now, most applicants to federal jobs will be required to spell out how they would help advance Trump's executive orders and policy priorities.
At least 75,000 federal workers have taken the Trump administration's offer to resign with pay and benefits through September. And thousands more remain in a state of limbo as numerous federal lawsuits have temporarily blocked parts of Trump's agenda. The Supreme Court will ultimately rule on many of these cases. In the meantime, civil servants are obligated to refuse to carry out any order they consider to be illegal or unconstitutional.
The U.S. Civil Service is the real “deep state.” It is like the depths of the oceans that change only with changes in sea levels, volcanic eruptions, or earthquakes. Otherwise, the ocean depths remain steady and calm as the tides rise and fall, and storms bring waves crashing to the shores above. The deep state has a legal and moral obligation to the people, all of the people, to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, regardless of the changing political tides from one administration to the next or partisan storms eroding the shores of effective governance.
The real deep state is the people’s last line of defense of constitutional government against would-be autocrats, monarchs, or dictators. That is why it is being threatened and why it must be defended.
John Ikerd
https://www.citizensforethics.org/.../trump-has-said.../...
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi...
https://www.huffpost.com/.../the-deep-state_b...
https://www.ibanet.org/Trump-2.0-and-the-destruction-of...