Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) says there is a "deep state" of entrenched federal government employees undermining President Trump.

"Of course, the deep state exists," Gingrich told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "There's a permanent state of massive bureaucracies that do whatever they want and set up deliberate leaks to attack the president.

"They are fighting to keep hold of their power. This is what the deep state does: They create a lie, spread a lie, fail to check the lie and then deny they were behind the lie."

White House press secretary Sean Spicer last week said there may be "a deep state" working against Trump and his administration.

"I think there's no question when you have eight years of one party in office that stays in government [they're] affiliated with, joined [to] and continue to espouse the agenda of the previous administration," Spicer said.

He characterized the "deep state" opposing Trump as former President Obama loyalists throughout the federal government.

"I don't think it should come as a surprise that there are people burrowed into government during eight years of the last administration and may have believed in that agenda and want to continue to seek it," he said. "I don't think that should come as surprise to anyone."

Trump campaigned as a political outsider during the 2016 presidential election, repeatedly vowing to "drain the swamp" in Washington and end government corruption.

The president has since frequently decried leaks from inside his administration to the press, leading some conservative figures to blame Obama-administration holdovers.

Right-leaning media figures have increasingly cited the "deep state" for damaging revelations about some of Trump's associates and their ties with Russia.

Breitbart News has called the recurring leaks "#DeepStateGate," while Fox News's Sean Hannity urged Trump to "purge" the executive branch of Obama-era bureaucrats and appointees last week.