How Trump’s War on the “Deep State” is Turning Government into a Crime Syndicate

The Civil Service Isn’t Perfect—But It’s the Alternative That Should Worry You Most

For decades, Americans have heard arguments about the so-called “Deep State”—an entrenched federal bureaucracy that resists reform, undermines elected leaders, and acts as a power unto itself. Donald Trump ran both times promising to “drain the swamp.” (His record doing so both times is dubious at best.) In Trump’s second administration, with the help of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the “reformers” are burning through the Federal Government like a blowtorch through a dry wheatfield, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake.

Depending on who you ask, this is either a long-overdue housecleaning or a frontal assault on the structure of American governance. But let’s set aside the political framing for a moment. Whether you see the civil service as a necessary institution or an obstacle to reform, the real question is:

What happens when a government is run by corruption rather than competence?

The Civil Service Isn’t Perfect—But It’s the Alternative That Should Worry You

Many Americans—particularly “conservatives” (read here, MAGA, and all those committed to the destruction of the government)—view the federal bureaucracy with deep suspicion. The modern civil service is often bloated, slow-moving, and resistant to change. It can feel like an unaccountable machine that operates independently of elected leadership. To an extent, this is all very true, I can tell you so from my own experience. It’s not a “bug,” but a “feature,” of a functioning bureaucracy that largely serves the American People. However, those who chastize the government cite:

• Government agencies waste money. Anyone who has ever looked at a federal budget knows that inefficiency is baked into the system. Projects that should cost millions balloon into billions. Programs designed for one purpose often expand into something entirely different, entrenching themselves long after their original mission becomes obsolete.

• Some agencies operate with little accountability. Unlike elected officials, career bureaucrats don’t answer directly to the public. Regulatory bodies, intelligence agencies, and administrative departments make decisions behind closed doors, with little transparency. When they overreach, who holds them accountable?

• The civil service has a culture of self-preservation that could resist change. Government agencies don’t just implement policy—they also protect their existence. Cutting a failing program is nearly impossible because entire bureaucracies are vested in keeping their funding intact.

These are real concerns, and they help explain why conservatives—and, at times, liberals—have pushed for government reform.

But these people fail to also consider all the net benefits of our civil service system, which is largely the envy of the world (or rather was).

What Does the Bureaucracy Do That’s Good?

For all its flaws—inefficiency, waste, and self-preservation—the federal bureaucracy is essential in ensuring the U.S. government's stability, continuity, and functionality. It may not always be popular, but it touches nearly every part of American life in ways that are easy to take for granted.

1. It Keeps the Government Running—No Matter Who’s in Power

One of the most significant advantages of a professional civil service is continuity.

• Elections bring new presidents, members of Congress, and political appointees, but governing doesn’t stop between administrations.

• Career bureaucrats ensure policies are implemented, budgets are managed, and essential services continue to function regardless of political upheaval.

• When crises strike—whether 9/11, COVID-19, or a financial collapse—civil servants provide expertise and keep agencies running even while elected officials argue over solutions.

Without a permanent professional workforce, the federal government would collapse every time political control changed hands. We’re seeing that now. Federal workers who run the FAA? Fired, Fuck them right? Planes now falling out of the sky and crashing into each other on the tarmac. Nuclear people? Fuck them! Fire them all! Whoops! Wait, we don’t want power plants exploding. Come back to work!

It’s idiotic. We’re finding out quickly what these people did because once they’re gone, we (the people) suddenly realize the stability and continuity they provided.

2. It Maintains Public Safety and National Security

Many agencies that people take for granted—FEMA, the CDC, the FDA, the FAA, the NSA, and the FBI—are staffed (or rather were) by career professionals who ensure that Americans stay safe in ways they rarely think about.

• Air travel is safe because of FAA regulations, air traffic controllers, and rigorous safety inspections. Except not right now right? Planes falling out of the sky every day thanks to Trump and DOGE and firing everyone. You’ve got even Trumper clowns appointed to Cabinet officials pleading to stop the madness as planes continue to fall out of the sky.

• Food and medicine are regulated by the FDA, preventing contaminated or fraudulent products from reaching consumers. But again, for how long? Firing all the FDA workers, you think beef is going to be safe? Or Pork? Or “How about dem Eggs JD?” All of this is ensured by FDA workers getting fired en masse.

• The U.S. intelligence community (CIA, NSA, etc.) provides critical insights to protect against cyber threats, terrorism, and foreign adversaries. But hey, who needs intelligence when the government is run by a seditious clown who was charged with committing espionage against his own country right? Fire everyone!

• Disaster response agencies (FEMA, NOAA, and others) track hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires, ensuring that emergency response systems are in place. Especially when, hey, maybe California gets aid, maybe it doesn’t. It’s all about whether or not I think the governor kissed my ass enough.

In a world where private companies cut corners for profit, a neutral, nonpartisan civil service ensures that basic public safety standards exist—even if no one notices them when they work well.

At least, that’s how it used to work. How is it working now? Not so well.

3. It Prevents Corruption and Political Retaliation

A professionalized bureaucracy limits how much any single administration can use the government for personal gain.

• Imagine if the IRS only audited the president’s political enemies.

• Imagine if the FDA approved or blocked drugs based on who had political influence.

• Imagine if environmental regulations were enforced only against companies that opposed the ruling party.

Because federal employees serve regardless of who is in office, they provide a check against abuse of power. They can be fired for breaking rules, but not just for enforcing the law in ways a president dislikes.

This is the real reason why Trump and Musk wish to destroy it all. It will provide a playground for corruption, theft, and criminal malfeasance.

4. It Provides Services that Americans Use Every Day

People tend to notice government inefficiency when things go wrong, but they rarely think about what works well:

• Social Security checks arrive on time.

• National parks are maintained for public use.

• Medicare ensures that millions of seniors get healthcare.

• The Postal Service delivers mail to places where private companies wouldn’t find it profitable.

• The weather service tracks storms, preventing thousands of deaths each year.

Without a functioning federal workforce, these systems would fall apart or be privatized, making them less accountable and more expensive for everyday Americans.

We found out quickly when OMB illegally shut everything down. Suddenly, “Oh no! Medicare won’t get paid. Social Security won’t get paid.”

Suddenly, even the dumbest of the dumbest of the dumb MAGA Congressman saw their butthairs stand on end, and they were clamoring for things to be restored.

5. It Balances Private Industry and the Public Interest

Free markets drive innovation, but they also have natural incentives to cut costs, exploit workers, and prioritize profit over safety.

• The SEC regulates Wall Street to prevent financial meltdowns like the 2008 crash.

• The EPA enforces clean air and water standards that private industries wouldn’t regulate themselves.

• The FDA ensures that food and drugs are safe, preventing the kind of public health disasters seen in unregulated markets.

• The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects workers, ensuring that corporations follow basic labor laws.

A professional bureaucracy ensures that businesses can thrive without putting the public at risk.

Of course, not anymore. Instead, the system we’re running is Tamney Hall at the largest scale imaginable. Pay-for-play is the new order of the day.

The Return of Patronage—Disguised as Reform

For most of American history, government jobs weren’t based on expertise—they were handed out as political favors. This was the norm in the 19th century, when a new president would fire thousands of civil servants and replace them with his own people. The idea was simple: Loyalty to the party mattered more than competence.

This system wasn’t just inefficient—it was corrupt.

• Government officials weren’t experts in their fields. They were party hacks, businessmen, or relatives of politicians.

• Public offices were used as personal profit centers, with political appointees expecting to make money off their positions.

• The government served the ruling party, not the country. Federal workers took orders from patrons, not the Constitution.

Theodore Roosevelt and other reformers fought to change this system—not because they loved bureaucracy, but because they understood that a functioning government needs independent professionals. The Pendleton Act of 1883 laid the groundwork for a nonpartisan civil service, one where federal employees kept their jobs regardless of political shifts. This system ensured that government workers served the American people, not the president’s friends, allies, or donors.

Now, that system is being dismantled—not because it’s inefficient, but because Trump and Musk want a government that works for them, not for the country.

This Isn’t About Efficiency—It’s About Corruption

Let’s be clear: There is no serious cost-cutting effort here.

• USAID, EPA, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau don’t make up a significant portion of the U.S. budget.

• There is no independent audit proving that these firings improve efficiency.

• The agencies being targeted all have one thing in common: they either regulate Musk’s businesses or challenge Trump’s authority.

If this were just about trimming bureaucracy, why are national security jobs now subject to loyalty tests? Why are FBI candidates being asked whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen?

This isn’t reform. This is a gang. The mob of “made men,” who have pledged allegiance to “Il Don Arancione e il suo piccolo lecchino Musk.”

What Happens When Government Runs on Fear & Corruption?

Let’s set aside Trump and Musk for a moment. Instead of focusing on the politics of the moment, let’s consider the long-term consequences of purging the civil service and replacing it with a patronage-based system—one where loyalty to a leader, rather than expertise or competence, determines who gets to govern.

Hiring and firing the government workforce based on political allegiance fundamentally alters how public institutions function. The people who are meant to serve the country as a whole are instead incentivized to serve the interests of a single person or party. That isn’t just partisan governance—it’s how corruption, dysfunction, and failure seep into the very fabric of the state.

Would You Trust an Air Traffic Controller Hired for Loyalty Over Skill?

Air travel in the United States was among the safest in the world, not because of luck but because of strict training, regulatory oversight, and professional air traffic controllers who undergo rigorous testing.

• Would you trust the person directing your flight if they got their job because they pledged loyalty to a president rather than passing a competency exam? Right now, Sean Duffy is all “Nobody woke! Women and blacks need not apply!” The President said they all have to come from “MIT” (whatever the hell that means, I presume his thought is everyone at MIT is somehow a genius qualified to be an ATC staffer.)

• What happens when unqualified but politically connected people are placed in charge of flight safety regulations?

• Would you feel comfortable flying if airport inspections were performed by party loyalists instead of career aviation experts?

This isn’t a theoretical concern—history proves what happens when loyalty replaces competence in critical systems. In the Soviet Union, for example, unqualified political appointees led to catastrophic failures in infrastructure and safety oversight. The same is true in modern authoritarian states, where corruption and incompetence turn preventable disasters into routine tragedies.

I used to log nearly 100,000 miles a year in the air. Now? I’ve stopped flying unless absolutely necessary. Every time I board a plane, it feels like spinning a revolver in a game of Russian roulette, all thanks to the "anti-woke" purge of the ATC system. The margin for failure in air travel is razor-thin—even a 1% increase in errors is enough to cause mid-air collisions, runway crashes, and mechanical failures.

It seems as if we went from one deadly plane crash every 30 years to one every 30 minutes—all because the President and his lackeys decided expertise didn’t matter anymore.

What Happens When Financial Regulators Are Chosen Based on Politics, Not Expertise?

The 2008 financial crisis was caused, in part, by a failure of regulation and oversight. When watchdog agencies lack independence, are pressured to look the other way, or are staffed by people whose primary goal is to protect their political allies, the economy becomes a playground for exploitation, fraud, and instability.

If financial regulators become political appointees rather than experienced professionals, they can be:

• Pressured to ignore risky financial practices that benefit politically connected businesses.

• Directed to target political opponents with audits while shielding allies from scrutiny.

• Dissuaded from acting against corporate fraud, environmental violations, or consumer protection failures if doing so would anger political backers.

The result? A system that doesn’t serve the public but instead serves the ruling party. And history has shown that when financial institutions operate without proper oversight, the public—not the politicians—pays the price through recessions, job losses, and economic turmoil.

I opened international banking accounts. Why? Because when Trump and his cronies decide the Federal Reserve is “woke” and the entire banking system collapses—that’s it. Money gone. And then what? Trumpshitcoin becomes the new currency?

A CBP agent gave me side-eye on my trip to Canada, but who cares? It’s not illegal to sign documents in a foreign country, and it’s not illegal to move money out of the U.S.—yet.

Eventually, I’ll write about exactly what I did and why I did it. But here’s the short version: I don’t trust this system to survive. The day will come when Trump decides “JPOW IS WOKE!”—and when that happens, the entire U.S. banking system will implode overnight. And suddenly, we’ll be told:

"Trumpshitcoin! You’re going to love it."

Yeah. Not a chance.

What Happens When Political Loyalists make Disaster Relief, Infrastructure, and Security Decisions?

Government isn’t just about policy—it’s about responding to real-world crises. And when disaster strikes, the quality of government leadership can mean the difference between life and death.

• Would you trust FEMA to respond to hurricanes and wildfires if it was run by party operatives rather than disaster response experts?

• What happens when infrastructure projects—bridges, highways, power grids—are approved based on political loyalty instead of engineering expertise?

• How do you feel about national security agencies, such as the CIA, FBI, and NSA, being staffed by people who are more interested in pleasing a leader than protecting the country?

It’s easy to dismiss bureaucracy as a bloated, faceless institution, but when real crises hit—pandemics, natural disasters, economic crashes, or foreign threats—these agencies are the difference between chaos and stability. When those agencies are staffed by professionals, they function as they should. When they are staffed by loyalists, their mission shifts from protecting the people to protecting the leader.

Obey or Fired: The New Reality

The purge of the civil service doesn’t just remove so-called “Deep State actors”—it sends a chilling message to everyone who remains: Obey or leave.

• Scientists in regulatory agencies will have to decide: Do they report accurate climate and pollution data, or do they say what the administration wants to hear?

• National security officials will have to consider: Do they investigate threats impartially, or do they ignore corruption and wrongdoing among the president’s allies?

• Law enforcement officers will face a choice: Do they apply the law fairly, or do they selectively target political opponents while shielding those in power?

Some will choose to comply out of fear. Others will leave. What remains is not a government of professionals, but a government of enforcers.

The stories I hear, they’re just devastating. People who spent their whole lives in public service. As someone who only spent a fraction of his career in public service, I learned quickly that it is a public trust. Yes, some workers don’t treat it seriously, but the vast majority are committed to the American People.

That will be erased.

This Is About Functionality, Not Politics

None of this is about Democrats vs. Republicans. It’s about whether the government functions as a system designed to serve the American public—or as an extension of a leader’s will.

A government run by experts can still be reformed. A government run by loyalists is not designed to be fixed—it’s designed to serve the leader indefinitely.

And once the civil service is fully transformed into a patronage system, getting it back isn’t just difficult—it’s nearly impossible.

This isn’t just corruption—it’s state capture, the same playbook used by authoritarian regimes around the world to consolidate power and funnel government resources into the hands of the ruling class.

State Capture: The Endgame of Government Takeover

What’s happening right now isn’t just corruption—it’s state capture.

That term might not be as well-known as “Deep State” or “Drain the Swamp,” but it’s the real playbook being run here. State capture is when a government is systematically taken over by private interests, oligarchs, or political elites, not through elections or coups, but by rewiring the entire system to serve them and them alone.

It’s what happened in Russia under Putin. It’s how Orban turned Hungary into a one-party state. It’s what happens when institutions stop serving the public and start serving the ruling class.

And now, it’s happening here.

How State Capture Works

Step 1: Purge the Experts

• Fire career professionals who know how to run things—regulators, auditors, investigators, scientists, and national security experts.

• Replace them with loyalists who don’t care about the law, the Constitution, or even basic competence.

• Make sure no one is left in power who might say “no” when things go wrong.

Step 2: Turn the Government into a Protection Racket

• Regulation doesn’t disappear—it just becomes selective. Environmental laws? Enforced against political opponents, ignored for donors.

• Tax audits? Used as a weapon. If you’re in the good graces of Il Don Arancione e il suo piccolo lecchino Musk, you get tax breaks, government contracts, and deregulation. If you’re an enemy? You get raided, audited, or sued into oblivion.

• Law enforcement stops being about crime—it becomes a tool for revenge.

Step 3: Make Elections Meaningless

• Control election oversight agencies and decertify votes in places that don’t support the regime.

• Stack courts with judges who rule not on the law, but on what benefits those in power.

• Make sure loyalists run key government departments, so that even if an election is lost, the machinery of power remains in the same hands.

Step 4: Loot the System Until It Collapses

• The final stage of state capture is what we’ve seen in Venezuela, Russia, and Hungary—the government stops serving the public entirely and becomes a money pipeline for those at the top.

• Infrastructure, public services, and disaster relief become pay-to-play operations.

• The economy stagnates, but the ruling class gets richer than ever—protected by a government that now exists only to serve them.

This Isn’t a Theory—It’s Happening Right Now

When Trump and Musk gutted the civil service, they didn’t replace it with efficiency—they replaced it with a government that serves private interests over the public good.

The FAA isn’t collapsing because government is “too big.”
Planes are falling out of the sky because the people who kept them in the air were fired and replaced with hacks.

Medicare and Social Security aren’t grinding to a halt because of “waste.”
They’re grinding to a halt because OMB shut down payment systems to force a crisis.

The financial system isn’t on the verge of collapse because of “too much regulation.”
It’s collapsing because regulators were replaced with party loyalists who let their friends run wild.

This isn’t mismanagement. It’s deliberate.

And the worst part? Once state capture reaches critical mass, it doesn’t matter who wins the next election—because the real levers of power have already been seized.

That’s the real game here. It’s not about policy. It’s not about reform.

It’s about locking in control so thoroughly that the system can never be restored.

And if history teaches us anything, it’s this: Once a government is fully captured, the people don’t get it back without a fight.

This Has Happened Before—And It Never Ends Well

If this all feels familiar, that’s because it is. History is filled with examples of governments that hollowed out their institutions, replaced experts with loyalists, and ultimately collapsed under the weight of their own corruption. The United States isn’t experiencing something unique—it’s following a well-worn path that has led other democracies to authoritarian rule, economic implosion, or outright state failure.

Trump and Musk are not innovators. They are copying a playbook that has been used by dictators, oligarchs, and strongmen throughout history to consolidate power and make their rule unbreakable.

1. Russia—When a Government Becomes a Private Mafia

Vladimir Putin didn’t take power overnight. He inherited a chaotic but democratic system in the early 2000s and spent the next two decades purging civil servants, replacing them with political loyalists, and turning government agencies into extensions of his personal power.

• Russian regulators no longer regulate—they exist to punish Putin’s enemies and enrich his allies.

• Courts don’t enforce the law—they enforce the will of the regime.

• State-run industries funnel wealth into the hands of a few oligarchs, while ordinary Russians live in economic stagnation.

Trump is not copying Putin by accident—he has openly admired him, calling him "a strong leader" while ignoring the fact that Putin’s brand of "strength" has left Russia weak, corrupt, and dependent on repression to survive.

2. Hungary—The “Soft” Authoritarian Model

Hungary under Viktor Orbán is what happens when a leader captures the state without needing tanks in the streets.

• Elections still happen, but the entire system is rigged in the ruling party’s favor.

• Government contracts go exclusively to loyalists, turning the economy into a pay-to-play operation.

• Civil servants have been purged—only those willing to swear loyalty to Orbán remain.

• The press has been systematically silenced or co-opted.

Sound familiar? Trump has tried every single one of these tactics.

• Demanding that the DOJ prosecute his enemies.

• Stacking courts with loyalists.

• Requiring FBI candidates to pledge allegiance to his version of the 2020 election.

• Using regulatory agencies to attack opponents.

Hungary is a warning: once an authoritarian seizes not just the presidency but the institutions surrounding it, elections become meaningless formalities.

3. Turkey—How a Democracy Becomes a Cult of Personality

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected democratically but then systematically dismantled the independent state so that only his loyalists remained.

• Judges, prosecutors, military officials, and regulators were purged.

• The financial system was hijacked, with economic policies dictated by Erdoğan’s whims rather than economic expertise.

• Opposition leaders and journalists were jailed or forced into exile.

Turkey today isn’t a dictatorship on paper, but in practice, there is no functioning democracy left. Every election is held under a cloud of intimidation, media manipulation, and legal trickery.

And here’s the scariest part: Erdoğan still claims to be running a democracy.

That’s precisely where Trump and Musk are taking the U.S.—a system where elections still happen, but they don’t matter because all the levers of power have already been captured.

You Don’t Have to Like the Civil Service to Worry About This

The destruction of the professional civil service isn’t just a political maneuver—it’s a fundamental shift in how the U.S. government operates. And once this shift is complete, it will be nearly impossible to undo.

There’s a reason every authoritarian regime throughout history has targeted the administrative state first: because a government that is based on expertise and impartiality cannot easily be bent to the will of a single leader. A government staffed by loyalists, enforcers, and sycophants, however, will do whatever it is told—regardless of whether it is legal, ethical, or in the interest of the public.

This is not reform. It is not about efficiency. It is not about serving the American people. It is about consolidating power, destroying accountability, and ensuring that those who remain in government serve one man rather than the country.

The consequences will not be abstract. They will be felt in every aspect of American life:

• Public safety will decline. Air travel, food safety, disaster relief, and infrastructure maintenance will all suffer when professionals are replaced with political loyalists.

• Corruption will flourish. Laws will be selectively enforced, regulatory agencies will become tools for rewarding allies and punishing enemies, and government contracts will be handed out to political insiders rather than the most qualified firms.

• America’s ability to respond to crises will collapse. When the next financial meltdown, pandemic, or natural disaster hits, our government will lack the expertise to respond because the people who knew how to handle these challenges will have been purged.

• The rule of law will erode. Federal agencies will not serve the Constitution or the public—they will serve whoever holds the presidency, ensuring their continued rule through legal intimidation, selective enforcement, and outright suppression of opposition.

This is not a hypothetical scenario—it is happening in real time. The question is not whether the United States is heading toward a government based on patronage, cronyism, and political loyalty over competence—it’s how much damage will be done before people realize what has been lost.

At some point—when planes start falling out of the sky (more frequently), when a financial institution collapses, when the food could (and does) kill us, when vaccines aren’t available, when medicine research halts, or when a natural disaster response fails catastrophically—even those who celebrated the dismantling of the civil service will come to understand the cost of what they cheered for.

By then, it will be too late. And the people who built this disaster? They won’t be the ones paying the price.

You will.

If you found this piece valuable, subscribe. Because independent voices are disappearing fast. Because state capture thrives on silence. And because once this system is fully hijacked, getting it back won’t be easy.