Twitter owner Elon Musk has called the New York Times a mouthpiece of the deep state after the newspaper labeled it “kind of awesome.” The deep state refers to an unelected background establishment that hinders elected politicians and was primarily brought to the American public consciousness by Donald Trump.
The New York Times recently ran an op-ed entitled “It Turns Out the Deep State Is Actually Kind of Awesome,” after traveling across America to meet civil servants and workers in various government departments such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The report emphasized that civil service employees are not America’s enemies but regular people who are “saving us from Armageddon.” In addition to the EPA, the Times also spoke with staff from the Marshall Space Flight Center and several people from various federal agencies.
It stated that Americans should “rally” behind government workers and not recoil. “These are the Americans we employ. Even though their work is often invisible, it makes our lives better,” the article declared before warning that Mr. Trump will fire many of them if he returns to the White House in November.
The New York Times cautions that Trump may re-enact Schedule F, a piece of Trump-era legislation that made ending civil service employment contracts easier. The Biden administration is reportedly installing protections to prevent its return, including creating an Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which started in September last year and focuses on strengthening employment protections and limiting the number of posts that could be vulnerable under a second Trump term.
Furthermore, Democrats in Congress have pushed for legislation to require Congressional approval of plans impacting federal workers. Additionally, several non-profits and democracy campaigners are reportedly joining forces to highlight what they see as Donald Trump’s attacks on federal government agencies.
Donald Trump has railed against the “deep state” since he first threw his hat into the political ring in 2016, often describing it as a “swamp” that must be drained.
