NPR

The Man Who Popularized The 'Deep State' Doesn't Like The Way It's Used

Meet Mike Lofgren, a long-time congressional staffer who describes himself as a political independent. He says the current discourse has turned his notion of a 'deep state' into a 'Frankenstein.'
Mike Lofgren, a former congressional staffer, wrote <em>The Deep State</em> in 2016. While the term is now widely in use, it's not in the way that Lofgren intended. He appears here on a PBS program hosted by commentator Bill Moyers.

Mike Lofgren is the very definition of a civil servant. He was a congressional staffer for 28 years, with most of that time spent crunching numbers on the Senate and House budget committees.

He's moderate and mild-mannered, saying, "I was on the Republican side my whole career. I wasn't a culture wars Republican, basically a fiscal conservative in the manner of say, [President Dwight] Eisenhower."

Lofgren was turned off by the Tea

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