The Deep State: The Headless Fourth Branch of Government

It wasn’t long ago that the use of the term “deep state” would raise eyebrows. Nowadays it’s pretty much acknowledged openly. The bureaucracy is the most crony part of the US government. More than the lobbyists, the politicians on The Hill and in The White House, more than the leadership within the Pentagon, it is the vast machine of government that is the toughest bugaboo for those who oppose crony capitalism. The sheer inertia of the “government” makes it almost(?) impossible to wrangle or even reform.

(From Mises)

…It is this national-security oriented branch of the administrative state that is likely to prove the most dangerous. This is due to these agencies’ ability to carry out operations kept secret from the public, their access to seemingly limitless amounts of funding, and their ability to investigate and prosecute elected policymakers.