What You Need to Know About the ‘Deep State’
United States President Donald Trump is at war with his own employees. The president is the head of the executive branch of government. Constitutionally speaking, most federal employees exist to support the president. So presidents generally support federal employees, including intelligence agencies. But now we know that the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked together to spy on Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
The president has publicly criticized and fired top officials, and many officials and agencies are fighting back. Some commentators say the “deep state” could actually push President Trump out of office, even though his is the only constitutional office in the entire executive branch, and he is the only one who was popularly elected to that office.
What is the deep state? And how is it fighting the president?
What Is the Deep State?
A “deep state” is defined as “a body of people, typically influential members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy” (Oxford English Dictionary). The term originated in the 1990s in Turkey to describe a powerful, unelected government consisting of bureaucrats, intelligence agents and military officers.
In the United States, the term “deep state” describes the permanent bureaucracy of unelected officials who govern the country with increasing autonomy and decreasing transparency.
National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden said, “[T]he deep state is not just the intelligence agencies. It is really a way of referring to the career bureaucracy of government. These are officials who sit in powerful positions, who don’t leave when presidents do, who watch presidents come and go. They influence policy, they influence presidents ….”
Where Did the Deep State Come From?
In the United States Constitution, the country’s founders made the president responsible and accountable for the execution of the laws. Early presidents were assisted by a limited number of officials whom they nominated and appointed. Over the past 200 years, the federal government has usurped authority that originally was held by the states and individuals. President George Washington was assisted by 1,000 nonmilitary employees. The executive branch of government is now almost 3,000 times its original size. There are now 2 million nonmilitary employees in 15 departments, 69 agencies and 383 nonmilitary agencies.
The government’s three constitutional branches are accountable to the people. They are elected by the people, or they are appointed by those elected representatives. New presidents generally appoint only 4,000 or so new federal employees. These are usually the top offices, but the other 2 million operatives, who were appointed by other administrations, are basically permanent.
Why Is the Deep State Fighting President Trump?
Donald Trump is a political outsider who has promised to shrink the federal government. He has vowed to reduce the number of federal regulations to 1960 levels. He has exposed corruption within the ranks of the Department of Justice and the fbi. He has appointed judges dedicated to reducing the size of the government. All of this reduces the power and number of government bureaucrats who derive their relevance, their lifestyles and their paychecks from consuming taxpayer dollars and producing regulations.
Many federal officials are working to subvert the president’s agenda. They have considerable resources for this: illegal domestic surveillance of the president’s inner circle and carefully timed, targeted leaks to powerful and sympathetic media channels.
Why Is This Important?
More and more Americans need to realize that their government is sick and their nation is faint. This situation was actually forecast in the Bible. The Prophet Isaiah wrote about the ancient Israelites and their descendants, which include the Americans: “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint” (Isaiah 1:4-5).
This passage describes cause and effect. The government is sick and faint, but why? Because the people themselves are “laden with iniquity.” Because the government is sick and faint, the people revolt more and more. America’s serious problems are not caused by one man or of a group of government officials. They are caused by the American people as a whole. Only national repentance can prevent the sickness in America’s government from escalating into revolution and war.
You can learn about the spiritual cause of the civil war inside the federal government in Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s free booklet Great Again.