Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Donald Trump and many Republicans have long railed against what they call the “deep state” — an alleged shadowy network of unelected bureaucrats working to undermine the president’s agenda. This narrative has become a cornerstone of conservative rhetoric, painting career civil servants as political saboteurs. But while they decry this so-called deep state, Trump’s proposed Schedule F executive order would effectively create the very thing they claim to oppose.

Schedule F, first introduced late in Trump’s term, would reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees, stripping them of job protections and making them easier to fire and replace. In theory, it’s about ensuring loyalty and responsiveness. In practice, it would allow any future administration to purge experienced, nonpartisan public servants and replace them with ideologically loyal operatives — people chosen for allegiance, not expertise. If reinstated, it would mark a dramatic politicization of the civil service, turning vast portions of the federal government into an arm of the ruling party.

Far from eliminating the “deep state,” Schedule F could manufacture a loyalist bureaucracy operating in the shadows of federal power — a true deep state, handpicked for loyalty over law or fact. It wouldn’t be about draining the swamp; it would be flooding it with sycophants. The irony is stark: while Trump and Republicans continue to fearmonger about unelected influence, Schedule F is a blueprint for authoritarian-style control over the machinery of government, embedding loyalists deep within its core.