“The employees that worked for me at the CIA nearly uniformly were aimed at achieving the president’s objectives and America’s objectives,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Pompeo: No 'deep state' at State or CIA

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he does not believe there are “deep state” forces at work at the State Department or CIA, despite President Donald Trump's claims of government employees conspiring against him.

Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday, “Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State,” a reference to the reports that a federal informant had contacted the Trump campaign in 2016, which the president and his allies have characterized as the FBI spying on him in its investigation of Russian interference in the election.


"I haven’t seen the comments from the president," Pompeo said during a hearing on Capitol Hill. "I don’t believe there’s a deep state at the State Department.”

“You know, this term ‘deep state’ has been thrown around," he said. "I’ll say this, the employees that worked for me at the CIA nearly uniformly were aimed at achieving the president’s objectives and America’s objectives.”

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While there have been instances of career employees and officials caught at odds with the administration, there has been no proof of a systematic conspiracy to undermine the president.

Pompeo was somewhat less emphatic in responding to a question about whether "deep state" anti-Trump forces were mobilized in the Justice Department, which has been the main target of Trump’s ire. But Pompeo said his experience at the CIA matched his interactions with the FBI and Justice Department, albeit with a caveat.

“There are always exceptions to every rule. I’ve never led an organization that didn’t have bad actors,” he said. “I don’t think any government organization is exempt from having malfeasance as well.”

