Washington(CNN) Asked whether a "deep state" of entrenched government employees exists, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Friday that some federal employees were working to advance the previous administration's agenda.
"I think that there's no question when you have eight years of one party in office, there are people who stay in government -- and continue to espouse the agenda of the previous administration," Spicer said.
What's a 'Deep State'
"So I don't think it should come as any surprise there are people that burrowed into government during eight years of the last administration and may have believed in that agenda and may continue to seek it," he went on. "I don't think that should come as a surprise."
Spicer denied that the CIA was working to identify those people and remove them from office.
"That's not part of the CIA's mandate under any circumstances," he said.
But to some, "Deep State" has a far more insidious meaning than just government bureaucrats and Obama appointees still working in Washington.
Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, alleged last weekend -- without evidence -- that Obama and his family were living in Washington in an attempt to undermine Trump's presidency.
"He's only there for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to run a shadow government that is totally going to upset the new agenda," Kelly said during an event in his home district.
Obama and his family rented a home in Washington after departing the White House so their youngest daughter could finish high school.
Kelly, in his remarks, alleged that Obama-era federal employees were rejecting the new administration's directives.
The week in politics
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 1. The mark on her head was in observance of Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the holy season of Lent for many Christians in the West.
President Trump walks with his grandchildren Arabella and Joseph across the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, March 3. They were about to board Marine One for a short flight to Andrews Air Force Base.
From left, US Reps. Brenda Lawrence, Joyce Beatty, Marcia Fudge and Val Demings pose for a photo before Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday, February 27. Many Democrats wore white as a nod to
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer answers questions at a Washington news conference on Thursday, March 2. Schumer
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Supreme Court justices attend President Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday, February 28. From left are John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Trump greets Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after delivering his speech to Congress.
First lady Melania Trump, bottom right, is applauded as she arrives in the House chamber for her husband's speech.
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch visits the Washington office of US Sen. Angus King on Wednesday, March 1. Gorsuch has been visiting with senators from both parties.
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Members of the media look on as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, February 28.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer walks across the tarmac Thursday, March 2, at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
An emotional Carryn Owens, center, looks up as
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White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway takes an Oval Office photo of President Trump and leaders of historically black colleges and universities on Monday, February 27. The image of her kneeling on the couch
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President Trump stands in the doorway of the House chamber while being introduced for his speech to Congress.
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"The same people were there and they don't think the new owners or the new managers should be running the ship," he said.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, told CNN's Kate Bolduan last month he disagreed with "a lot of people here in Washington and maybe some supporters of Trump who say that this is an effort by the Obama administration to undermine the Trump administration."
"I'm worried it's something deeper than that," Massie said. "I'm concerned that it's an effort on those who want a provocation with Russia or other countries to sort of push the president in the direction. So I don't think it's Trump vs. Obama, I think it's really the Deep State vs. the president, the duly elected president."
The phrase, as it's used by Massie, was popularized in Turkey. In 2012, a CNN report described it as a "term many Turks use to refer to alleged criminal networks within security forces and the government bureaucracy." It was first used in The New York Times in reference to Turkey in a 1997 article that defined it as "a set of obscure forces that seem to function beyond the reach of the law."
It has since been used to describe unelected but influential members of groups including the bureaucracy or the military in countries like Egypt and Russia, and increasingly in some circles, the United States.