Welcome

The Steady State was formed in March of 2020 by over 200 former national security professionals concerned about the direction of United States foreign and security policy. The members of The Steady State are former U.S. officials who served throughout our country’s national security infrastructure in areas such as intelligence, defense policy, diplomacy, law enforcement, and as Congressional staff. We are members of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or are resolutely independent. We have served our country during both Democratic and Republican administrations; our personal politics never entered the calculus of our actions or the execution of our duties as non-partisan public officials.

This diverse group came together to address a real danger to the country, as U.S. national security was damaged and our long-standing alliances were weakened. We saw the credibility of our country and our standing in the world diminished. The foundations of our democracy, as well as our global position and influence were badly shaken, as an authoritarian, anti-democratic strain became a part of our domestic politics.

Before the 2020 election, members of The Steady State wrote and spoke about U.S. national security and dangers to our security and our democracy. Now, in 2021 and beyond, the Steady State will support the rebuilding of our damaged national security consensus. We will work to help the new administration restore trust in public service, rebuild a government that works for all American citizens, and restore confidence in the United States around the globe.

The Steady State will be driven by policy goals rather than partisan politics. We will publish, speak, and educate on issues that contribute to stronger national and global security. These include rule of law, free and fair elections, political civility, transparent policymaking based on facts, reasonable analysis, and science, the importance of coordinating with like-minded democratic countries, and government run by experienced professionals who commit to putting their country first. 

While we will remain a non-partisan organization, we will resolutely oppose what has come to be known as “Trumpism.” We will oppose those who deny the legitimacy of President Biden’s election, those who supported the January 6, 2021 terroristic and seditious attack on the Capitol, and those who peddle false stories of voting fraud in order to suppress the voting rights of American citizens. We expect truth from our government; we will write and speak against division and demagoguery.

It is in all of our interests to restore a government that serves the needs of all the American people. Governing successfully means solving national issues, which in today’s world include conquering the COVID-19 virus through science; putting our economy back on solid ground; solving issues rooted in racial and income inequality; reestablishing long-term alliances; strengthening the rule of law; ensuring free and fair elections; and attacking the crisis of climate change. Each of these challenges has a significant national security component. Members of The Steady State will work to help the administration succeed, using our expertise in national security issues to write and speak in support of realistic, expert-based, honest answers to the array of complex problems our country faces.