White House hits out at ‘Deep State’ after Trump fires inspector general Steve Linick
- The president and his allies regularly rail against a ‘Deep State’ of shadowy forces in an otherwise apolitical civil service they see as committed to undermining Trump
The White House hit back Sunday at fierce criticism over the firing of the State Department’s top watchdog, suggesting he was a disloyal member of a “Deep State” conspiracy out to get President Donald Trump.
Trump told the House of Representatives late Friday he planned to dismiss Steve Linick, the fourth inspector general to be ousted by the president in the last six weeks.
Democratic lawmakers said Linick had apparently opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one of Trump’s most trusted aides.
The president and his allies regularly rail against a “Deep State” of shadowy forces in an otherwise apolitical civil service they see as committed to undermining Trump. There is no evidence that such a movement exists.
Asked by ABC about the latest dismissal, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro criticised “a lot of people” in the bureaucracy who “think they got elected president and not Donald J Trump”.
“And we’ve had tremendous problems with – some people call it the ‘Deep State.’ I think that’s apt. So I don’t mourn the loss of people when they leave this bureaucracy,” Navarro said.