The Deep State
Hard at Work Again
Who’s Really Steering the Ship?
Yesterday, I was reading comments from Senator Roger Wicker, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, during a hearing about potential U.S. troop cuts in Europe. Wicker expressed concern about what he called the “deeply misguided and dangerous views held by some mid-level bureaucrats within the Defense Department.”
That raises a question: who exactly are these mysterious mid-level managers whose views are so powerful they draw the ire of a sitting U.S. Senator?
It’s hard to imagine he’s referring to the little old ladies in tennis shoes shuttling documents through Pentagon hallways or the balding guy in charge of the building’s water distribution system. It’s probably not the intern scanning stacks of paper files into digital archives, either.
No, Wicker’s frustration points to a deeper issue. Though not explicitly stated, his comments reflect a growing and increasingly public rift within the Republican Party—centered around one familiar bogeyman: the “Deep State.”
So, who (or what) is the Deep State—and why has it caused so much strife in the Party?
The Four Layers of Government
The federal workforce has four basic layers, three of which are common in any large organization:
The Worker Bees – These are your blue-collar and clerical workers who keep the government running. They’re the ones actually operating the “trains-of-government.”
Mid-Level Management – This group includes professionals—lawyers, accountants, and analysts—who supervise and ensure that the trains-of-government run on time.
Professional Upper-Level Management – These senior executives translate policy from the President and laws from Congress into action. They make sure the trains-of-government are headed to the right places at the right times.
So far, so normal. But then there’s the fourth group:
Political Upper-Level Management — Better known as the “Deep State.”
This is where things get interesting.
Contrary to what the name implies, the Deep State isn’t particularly deep, nor is it a permanent part of the state. The Deep State consists of thousands of political appointees (installed by the party in power) at the highest positions in every government agency to steer the ship of state in their preferred direction. They decide which train goes where and when.
This all sort of makes sense… until you realize that both President Trump (as a candidate and as President) and now Senator Wicker—a fellow Republican—have taken turns criticizing the very same Deep State.
So, if the Deep State is made up of Republicans, why all the Republican infighting?
Let’s Talk About WHO is in the Deep State
Political appointees turn over with each new administration. Both major parties maintain deep benches—lists of loyal subject-matter experts ready to jump into key government positions when their side wins. When they’re out of power, these people work in think tanks, universities, or politically aligned businesses. When their side takes back the White House, they’re brought back in—often one rung higher than before.
Think of Dick Cheney: he started as a congressional intern and had dozens of Deep State jobs, climbing rung by rung, before eventually topping out as Vice President. He climbed the ladder over decades—often returning to government after stints in the private sector. -FOR GOODNESS SAKE, THE DUDE WORKED FOR DON RUMSFELD IN THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION!!!-
How Did We Get Here…?
When Trump won in 2016, it caught many people off guard—including many in his own party. As a political outsider, he didn’t have a ready-made list of loyalists to appoint, so he leaned on the traditional GOP infrastructure to fill out his administration.
In doing so, he essentially handed control of the Deep State to the Republican old guard—many of whom were less-than-enthusiastic about his policy agenda. Unsurprisingly, those appointees dragged their feet or outright resisted implementing his plans during his first term. For those keeping score, that’s Republicans resisting Republicans. That is the Deep State that candidate Trump was railing about during this last (long) campaign season.
- I am not here to say who was right… I’m not a Republican or a Democrat… I’m just laying down some mad facts...
MAGA’s Turn at Bat
Fast-forward to today: MAGA Republicans spent the last four years building their own bench of experts and loyalists. They now have a list—their list— and they are using it to staff the Deep State.
Don’t believe me? Check out the Project 2025 Playbook that lays it all out on a 3rd Grade reading level (so even I can understand it).
So, should we be surprised when a traditional Republican like Senator Wicker calls the views of MAGA-aligned Deep State “misguided” or “dangerous”? Not really. It sounds about like what a traditional Republican would have said before 2017. The positions have changed, but the players are the same.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just a disagreement over policy. It’s not about taxes or defense budgets. What we’re witnessing is a full-blown changing of the guard.
The MAGA faction isn’t content to nibble at the edges anymore—they’re carving out whole slices of the pie. The old guard? They’re left with crumbs.
Maybe in the end, this is not so bad. If the only blood spilled to refresh the tree of liberty is political as opposed to the actual blood that Jeffereson called for… all the better.
A Few Key Takeaways
The Deep State is Real – Believe it, I could tell you stories…🙄
The Elites enabled this Quiet Coup – This political party “coup” was made possible by arrogance, ignorance, and the “let them eat cake” attitudes of the party elite. Their refusal to listen to the voters led to the change of the Republican party forever.
The Cycle Will Repeat – If the Democrats install the same old Deep State politi-bros and politi-sisses (just one rung up) with the same old bullshit ideas and attitudes when they take back control of the government, look for their time in charge to be short… and to once again be cast into the wilderness.
The American Voter is going to vote incumbents out of office every four years until their best interest becomes the focus or until it all burns down, whichever comes first.
You can take that to the bank… and if I tell you a duck dips snuff… you needn’t lift his wing, but you’ll find a can.
Yes. Law, policy, regulation and SOPs guide the bureaucracy or deep state. Change the law and the bureaucracy follows as the policies, regulations and SOPs fall in line. But, that takes time and work which most appointed “leaders” can’t bother themselves with. Trumps/Musk cuts to the doer level of government will soon be felt as organizations move from the green to the red.