Burrowed deep within the bowels of the U.S. government are legions of Big Government bureaucrats with views that are radically at odds with those of everyday, mainstream Americans — and the implications for freedom are enormous. Elections may be useful in removing politicians, but the career bureaucrats who toil away in obscurity, often in blatant defiance of the Constitution, never go anywhere. Instead, they protect their turf as they dump an unfathomable amount of regulations and decrees on the very taxpaying Americans who pay their salaries — tens of thousands of pages worth every year. And when there is a perceived threat to their power and agenda — say, for example, a president who promises to “drain the swamp” and rein in the bureaucracy — they react with fury. Meet the infamous “Deep State,” or at least one crucial component of it.
On paper, at least, President Donald Trump is the chief executive officer of the federal government. He sits atop a vast and incredibly powerful machine that includes nearly three million civilian federal employees, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management. That does not include the more than two million in the Armed Services or the over 20 million government employees at the state and local level. Those millions of federal employees are spread out across hundreds — nobody has the exact number, apparently — of bureaucracies, agencies, departments, sub-agencies, and more. Official estimates on the number of agencies range as high as 430, or even higher. And regardless of which agency they work at, among those federal employees who gave to a political campaign in the last presidential election, almost all of them gave to Hillary Clinton.
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In a memo produced by Rich Higgins while he was serving as U.S. national security council director for strategic planning in the Trump administration, the “Deep State” is referred to multiple times. Under “The Deep State,” the document outlines the general idea: “The successful outcome of cultural Marxism is a bureaucratic state beholden to no one, certainly not the American people. With no rule of law considerations outside those that further deep state power, the deep state truly becomes, as Hegel advocated, god bestriding the earth.” Throughout the memo, there are more than half a dozen references to this “Deep State,” including the idea that Democratic leadership “protects cultural Marxist programs of action and facilitates the relentless expansion of the deep state.” Even the Republican leadership, in cooperation with “globalists, corporatists, and the international financial interests,” is willing to “service the deep state.”
The document, which outlines the coalition of interests that are said to be working to destroy President Trump and America, highlights a seemingly bizarre alliance among the hard Left, Islamist organizations, globalists, and more. “Recognizing in candidate Trump an existential threat to cultural Marxist memes that dominate the prevailing cultural narrative, those that benefit recognize the threat he poses and seek his destruction,” Higgins observed, describing a Maoist-style insurgency being waged against the administration. “For this cabal, Trump must be destroyed. Far from politics as usual, this is a political warfare effort that seeks the destruction of a sitting president. Since Trump took office, the situation has intensified to crisis level proportions. For those engaged in the effort, especially those from within the “deep state” or permanent government apparatus, this raises clear Title 18 (legal) concerns.”
Higgins was reportedly removed from his post by the Deep State. Former Trump advisor Sebastian Gorka referred to it as the “permanent state.”
And indeed, there does appear to be a sort of permanent governing class that, at least in part, is composed of unaccountable federal officials burrowed into the bowels of the bureaucracy. And there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this permanent government is hostile to the founding values of the United States — limited government, rule of law, inalienable rights endowed on individuals by God, traditional morality, and more. Of course, the first and most obvious piece of evidence is simply to examine the actions of this permanent governing class. The obvious fruits of the bureaucracy’s labors include constantly diminishing individual freedom, perpetually expanding government power, increased militarization of the bureaucracies, destroyed lives, reduced prosperity, and other ills.
Consider also the fact that some 95 percent of the money donated by federal employees who gave in the 2016 presidential election went to Clinton. The massive imbalance held true across every agency analyzed by The Hill as part of an eye-opening investigation published in the days before the election. Among employees at the U.S. State Department, for example, more than 99 percent of all donations went to Clinton. That incredible ratio helps explain seemingly bizarre occurrences such as, for instance, the recently exposed plot by top State Department officials to install Clinton’s top aide as U.S. ambassador to Colombia amid a Deep State-backed scheme to empower communist forces there. It also helps explain why foreign policies started under previous administrations — using U.S. tax money to promote homosexuality abroad, as one example — continue despite the change in the political leadership.
Some bureaucracies were even worse than the State Department. At the U.S. Department of Education, which has usurped virtually all authority over what gets taught in government schools today, 99.7 percent of donations went to Clinton. Virtually every bureaucrat in this department who donated (except three) supported Hillary Clinton, who supported Common Core and infamously claimed that it takes a (government) “village” to raise a child. That is why, despite the ostensible change in leadership, very little has actually changed in terms of policy at the department. In fact, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ false claims notwithstanding, the department continues its scheming to force government schools across America to teach the Obama-backed, dumbed-down Common Core standards — a politically toxic program to further nationalize and destroy education that Trump promised to crush.
Other federal departments — including many that can literally destroy the lives of Americans on a whim — are almost as radically skewed in favor of Clinton and her anti-constitutional, Big Government agenda. Consider the Department of Justice as a representative example. According to The Hill’s analysis of election spending data, 97 percent of DOJ employees’ donations to a presidential campaign went to Clinton. Remember, those are the same bureaucrats who were in charge of investigating Clinton for a variety of serious crimes, including her use of a private e-mail server while she was secretary of state. Still today, despite having Attorney General Jeff Sessions ostensibly in charge, the DOJ remains dominated by a permanent class of bureaucrats and attorneys who loathe the average Trump voter.
At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 99.4 percent of donations went to Clinton. The numbers were the same at the U.S. Department of Labor, with just 0.6 percent of donations going to Trump. At the U.S. Commerce Department, more than 98 percent of the cash went to Clinton. At the Department of Energy, it was 95 percent. Among Health and Human Services (HHS) bureaucrats, 96 percent of their donations were for Clinton. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 96 percent of donations went to Clinton, too. At the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which has been under fire for years for targeting conservatives, almost 95 percent of donations were for Hillary. At the Treasury Department, 95 percent went to Clinton. At the EPA, where former bureaucrats got caught circulating a guide teaching current bureaucrats how to resist the Trump policies voters supported, it was 96 percent.
In other words, the federal bureaucrats in charge of foreign policy, “justice,” education, agriculture, health, tax audits, housing, commerce, and more are virtually all opponents of their boss — the man elected by the American people to rein in those very bureaucracies and bureaucrats. Those bureaucrats, who make up a key component of the “deep state,” are still giving overwhelmingly to Democrats ahead of the 2018 congressional elections, according to an analysis by the Washington Free Beacon released this week. Those trends are unlikely to change any time soon, with many of those bureaucrats having “job security” unimaginable in the private sector that includes a practical ban on being fired.
Some analysts have tried to explain away the incredibly lopsided donation numbers by citing self-preservation. In essence, the argument goes like this: Trump said he would consider cutting back some of the sprawling federal bureaucracy, so bureaucrats were anxious about potentially losing their jobs or their power or both. However, even among the agencies ostensibly dealing with “defense” and “security,” where Trump vowed more resources, Trump still did poorly in terms of donations relative to Clinton. At the Defense Department, for example, some 84 percent of donations went to Clinton. At “Homeland Security,” 90 percent of the donations went to Hillary. And at Veterans Affairs, Clinton received almost 90 percent.
Unfortunately, despite the rhetoric, President Donald Trump has been unable or unwilling to drain the Deep State bureaucracy swamp. Indeed, beyond the bureaucracy, many of Obama’s political appointees remain in their posts. At the State Department, for example, out of six undersecretary of state positions, only one has been filled so far. That single post was actually filled by an Obama-era official, Thomas Shannon, who has been working to have Deep State operatives put into key posts that will advance Obama’s agenda while ensuring that the “dirty laundry” never gets aired. Of the 23 assistant secretary of state positions, just three are filled so far, and two of those have been filled by officials from the Obama administration. A State Department official quoted in media reports said the agency had a “deep bench” of career bureaucrats working to “advance U.S. interests.” Even neocons, though, have warned that the State Department is still pursuing Obama’s policies despite the election.
When asked about the huge number of appointments that have not been made, Trump suggested he might not make them. “We are not looking to fill all of those positions,” Trump explained on Twitter. “Don’t need many of them — reduce size of government.” In an interview earlier this year with Forbes, Trump echoed those comments, saying he would not be making many of the appointments that would normally be made, because “you don’t need them.” “I mean, you look at some of these agencies, how massive they are, and it’s totally unnecessary,” he said. “They have hundreds of thousands of people.” Trump is right, of course. In reality, it is even worse — many of those jobs and the agencies the appointees would lead are unconstitutional. But by not filling those key posts, Trump is allowing Obama holdovers and swarms of bureaucrats across the federal government to run wild. He may be getting bad advice from “Deep State” operatives.
In fact, some of the Deep State’s leading luminaries — such as fanatical “New World Order” advocate and population-control zealot Henry Kissinger, who has served as secretary of state and in other top posts — have even been embraced by Trump in recent weeks. On October 10, Kissinger visited the Oval Office and was showered with praise by the president. “Henry Kissinger has been a friend of mine. I’ve liked him, I’ve respected him,” Trump said. “He’s a man I have great, great respect for.” Beyond that, The New American has highlighted the troubling connections to globalist establishment and the Council on Foreign Relations — another key component of the “Deep State” — even among some of his Cabinet appointments. Some of his top officials have even attended the annual Bilderberg meeting, another gathering of Deep State operatives.
Clinton and Biden have realized how important it is for Deep State operatives to remain in place as they try to sabotage any semblance of America First policies promised to voters by Trump. Biden, for example, said they “call me all the time.” He responds by telling them: “Please stay, please stay. There has to be some competence and normalcy.” Clinton made similar remarks last month, urging federal employees to “stick it out, stick it out, because the tide has to turn.” “If [Democrats] can take back one or both houses of Congress in 2018, you will have people you can talk to again,” Clinton declared while promoting her book. At least 78 of Obama’s political appointees even “burrowed” into top-level civil service jobs where they essentially cannot be removed, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
Those “Deep State” bureaucrats and bureaucracies have many ways to take down their enemies. Consider, for example, that these out-of-control, rabidly pro-Clinton agencies produce more decrees and regulations with criminal penalties attached than the government itself can count — literally. Estimates suggest there are close to half a million federal regulations with criminal penalties. But nobody knows the true number. When lawmakers asked the Congressional Research Service to calculate the number of statutes and regulations with criminal penalties, its response was that it lacked the “manpower and resources to accomplish this task.” Seriously. Despite the Constitution delegating all legislative powers to Congress, the reality is that most legislative powers (and even many judicial powers) have been usurped by the administrative arm of “Deep State” and its never-ending deluge of regulations and decrees.
That means, among other things, that virtually every American commits multiple federal crimes each day without even knowing it, according to the book Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent by attorney Harvey Silverglate. In other words, any American who crossed the Deep State could, theoretically, be targeted for violating some criminal regulation that he or she never even heard of. That is one of the things that makes the ongoing “fishing expedition” against Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a longtime Deep State operative, so dangerous — experts such as prominent emeritus law professor John Baker say there is literally no American over 18 who could not be charged with some federal crime. Combined with the out-of-control “intelligence” apparatus — another crucial component of the Deep State — literally nobody is safe. The vicious take down of Trump’s first national security advisor, Mike Flynn, appears to have been a clear-cut example of the “Deep State” taking down one of its enemies.
Of course, different people mean different things when they talk about the “Deep State.” In the coming days and weeks, The New American magazine will also take a look at the Deep State behind the Deep State — manifested in, among other organizations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg network, and more. But for now, it is clear that the federal bureaucracy has become a crucial element of what is today known in the popular imagination as the “Deep State.” It is not alone, of course. But it is extremely powerful, and it has countless ways to destroy its enemies. If the American people hope to protect their Constitution and their liberties from the forces arrayed against it, defanging the administrative arm of the “Deep State” will be essential. And right now, Trump has the power to put that process in motion — if only he will take steps to do it.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, education, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU or on Facebook.
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