Commentary 
Made famous by President Donald Trump’s 2016 “drain the swamp” pledge, the term “deep state” continues to surge in America’s political lexicon.
And the prospect of a second Trump term has given new life to the issue.
Just last month, Axios, Mother Jones, and Rolling Stone warned their allies on the left that slashing federal jobs will be a top priority for Trump in 2025.
The deep state—in fact—is nothing new. It’s been a growing problem for a long time.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, progressives decided that government wasn’t doing enough to keep up with the changing times. They felt that American society had become too “modern” to stay within the strict confines of the Constitution and needed a massive political revamping. Rather than rely on pre-existing institutions to make changes, progressives instead turned to the “fourth branch of government,” bestowing newly created bureaucracies with the power and authority to accommodate modern American society….