President Trump and his new administration have been dismantling the U.S. government's administrative state, what they call the "deep state." This hour, we take a look at what government bureaucrats do, the impact of Trump's actions, and how the reality of the administrative state differs from the rhetoric surrounding it.

Plus, we'll hear from the longtime congressional staffer who popularized the term "deep state" about how it's being used. And, a look at cultural depictions of the bureaucracy.

GUESTS: 

• Cristina Rodríguez: Professor of Law at Yale Law School
• Mike Lofgren: Worked in Congress for twenty-eight years. He is the author of The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted, as well as The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government
• Jennifer Szalai: Nonfiction book critic for The New York Times

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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