Establishment Reeling After Trump’s 7-Month War Against Deep State

President Donald Trump has issued a slew of executive orders targeting the Washington, D.C., establishment during a seven-month campaign aimed at federal bureaucratic institutions.

The Trump administration has focused on dismantling the “Deep State” by firing bureaucrats and career politicians Trump has argued are influenced by partisan interests — a promise he highlighted during his presidential campaign.

A February executive order moved all regulatory bodies under White House supervision, erasing decades of autonomy and paving the way for the gutting of agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (RELATED: Politics Democratic Party Sues Trump Administration)

Trump has fired or demoted more than 20 inspector generals since he took office, according to a New York Times (NYT) report.

In his most recent move, Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook was nominated to the board by former President Joe Biden.

🚨 President Donald J. Trump relieves Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of her position pic.twitter.com/tJV8m4mlHW

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 26, 2025

Trump took to Truth Social to demand Cook’s resignation after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced he would refer her to the Department of Justice (DOJ) over alleged mortgage fraud.

In a letter posted to X later that day, Trump said he was invoking his authority under the Federal Reserve Act to fire Cook, accusing her of signing documents that listed her as a resident of two different states.

He has also moved to retake control of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by nominating economist E.J. Antoni and instructed his team to remove Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, following what he called a disappointing July jobs report.

In the post, Trump accused McEntarfer of “[faking] the jobs numbers” ahead of the 2024 election to allegedly improve former Vice President Kamala Harris’ “chances of victory.”

His remarks came after the BLS reported the U.S. economy added only 73,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July.

Trump has also made it a priority to tackle crime in the nation’s capital.

Earlier this month, Trump declared a crime emergency in D.C. and deployed the National Guard to address the crisis. (RELATED: ‘We’re Taking It Back’: Trump Deploying National Guard To Streets Of Nation’s Capital)

He told reporters Friday that Chicago, Illinois, could be his next focus once the D.C. operation is complete, followed potentially by New York City.

“So I think Chicago will be our next and then we’ll help with New York,” Trump said when discussing his potential plans.

Trump has also referred to himself as the “Chief Law Enforcement Officer,” and the DOJ is now overseeing criminal investigations into Russiagate.

The Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released pages of documents regarding the “Russiagate” scandal, or the debunked allegations that Trump’s first campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

Since then, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has revoked nearly 40 security clearances from former and current intelligence professionals. She accused them of “[abusing] public trust by politicizing” information, and multiple officials were reportedly involved in the Obama DNI James Clapper’s 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA).

Gabbard is also cutting federal government waste, fraud and abuse by dramatically reducing intelligence staff. Just last week, she informed ODNI employees she would slash personnel by 40% and shut down centers she said had politicized intelligence.

In addition to slashing waste, Trump’s ODNI has made efforts to increase transparency.

The Trump administration previously released more than 60,000 pages of classified documents related to former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

🚨 President Trump announces that the JFK Files will be released tomorrow:

“People have been waiting for decades for this.” pic.twitter.com/VrXDy2saRz

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 17, 2025

Gabbard also released over 10,000 pages of previously classified documents on the assassinations of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. The files on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. alone include more than 230,000 pages, all released under Trump’s January executive order.

Following Trump’s lead in rooting out corruption at the Department of Defense (DOD), Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, adding to the growing list of officials dismissed since Hegseth took office.

The move comes after a leaked DIA preliminary assessment from June concluded that U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities caused no lasting damage — an assessment widely disputed by other agencies and officials.

Trump has also called for an investigation into the Smithsonian museums. The White House released a summary titled “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian,” highlighting the institution’s left-wing bias.

In February, Trump overhauled the board of the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and announced his intention to appoint himself chairman. He criticized the center’s “woke” direction and promised to shape future performances to reflect his vision.

As part of the takeover, Trump appointed former Ambassador to Germany and conservative Richard Grenell as president, who has publicly supported removing politically charged programming and performers from the institution. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump-Run Kennedy Center Takes The Air Out Of Notorious Broadway Union)

Trump also announced that the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held at the Kennedy Center on December 5. Since becoming chairman, he has also unveiled the first five Kennedy Center Honorees — Kiss, Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor and actor Michael Crawford — praising their outstanding accomplishments.

🇺🇸Watch🇺🇸

It was a special day at the Kennedy Center with a visit from our Chairman, President Donald J. Trump, and the announcement of our five incredible Honorees for the 48th Kennedy Center Honors. pic.twitter.com/MlPRcZaZqJ

— The Kennedy Center (@kencen) August 14, 2025

Trump previously told the Daily Caller he was “about 98% involved” in the selection process and “they all” went through him.

The Kennedy Center announced its 2025–2026 theater season in May, which will feature non-union productions and several shows not affiliated with the Actors’ Equity Association, marking a significant departure from its usual programming.