I get that people think there’s some “deep state”, but including WSJ reporters is a new expansion.

Can you define “state” for me here? I don’t think we’re using the same definitions.

I cannot fit the full answer in a reply here, but the deep state in this sense is the same as the Managerial State https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managerial_state , presented in such books as After Liberalism https://archive.org/details/afterliberalism00paul or Nomenklatura https://archive.org/details/nomenklaturasovi0000vosl_l7v8

But the WSJ is an independent, for-profit newspaper. It's not part of the "state" at all.