Contrary to the views of some in this administration, American power was never just about tanks, missiles or aircraft carriers. It was about trust. For decades, allies believed that the United States might be imperfect, sometimes frustrating, often slow but ultimately serious. That, when Washington made commitments, it meant them. That American leadership, while messy, […]
Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 360 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, […]
PDF AVAILABLE HERE We assess with high confidence that the cumulative effect of the Trump Administration’s ongoing actions indicates that democratic backsliding continues. While some institutional resistance exists and may be growing, the trajectory poses both immediate and long-term risks to constitutional order and national security. The period from October 1, 2025—January 18, 2026 saw […]
A still frame from a video taken by the ICE agent that fired at Renee Good “It is the policy of the Department of Justice to value and preserve human life.” Department of Justice Policy on the Use of Force (Adopted May 20, 2022) We all have seen and heard them. A picture is worth […]
Dear General Caine: My time as an officer in the US Navy was completed well before you were born but my career as a senior official of the CIA in its later years would have corresponded with the launch of your military career. I retired from the CIA twenty years before your arrival there as […]
When President Trump muses aloud about canceling elections, serving a third term, ignoring statutes he dislikes, or deciding who governs cities and states, many Americans respond with a reflexive reassurance: He can’t do that. If by can’t we mean cannot do so in a way that is constitutional or lawful, that response is correct. The […]
The Fourth Amendment is one of the most celebrated protections in the American Constitution. It promises that the government will not subject people to unreasonable searches and seizures. Yet for most of modern American history, that promise has been enforced in a surprisingly narrow way: through the exclusionary rule. In broad strokes, when the government […]
In the coming days, we will learn more about whether justice demands the prosecution of the officer who shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis this week. But it’s already clear that whatever the facts show, this administration intends to shield him from legal accountability. Just hours after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi […]
Over the past several months, we have heard from many people who want to be involved in The Steady State’s work — to advocate, educate, and sound the alarm about the existential threat facing American democracy: the rise of authoritarianism led by Donald Trump, his associates, and his family. The Steady State’s core membership is, […]
In Episode 4, former Congressmember Adam Kinzinger shares the human toll of standing up to the cult of Donald Trump and putting country before party. Speaking with co-hosts and former CIA experts Jim Lawler and John Sipher, Kinzinger bares all about what 10 years of Donald Trump has done to America’s soul. (recorded 12-15-2025). Powered […]