The Steady State, a network of nearly 350 former U.S. Intelligence Community officials, says its members have applied the tools of their professions to determine that the United States is headed toward authoritarian rule. Calling its overall findings “sobering,” the group points to President Donald Trump’s executive branch overreach as the “primary” cause, and warns that, without organized resistance, that rule could become permanent.

In the executive summary of their newly-published, 29-page report, “Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline,” The Steady State “concludes—with moderate to high confidence—that the cumulative effect of multiple reinforcing dynamics is placing the nation on a trajectory toward competitive authoritarianism,” which they define as “a system in which elections, courts, and other democratic institutions persist in form but are systematically manipulated to entrench executive control.”

They warn of five trends, including “Executive overreach,” which is “being consolidated through governance by decree and weaponization of the state.”

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Also, “Erosion of judicial independence” that has “advanced not only through partisan appointments, but through strategic reliance on the Supreme Court’s ‘shadow docket;'” “Legislative weakness and abdication” that have “diminished Congress’s capacity to serve as a coequal branch;” and a re-shaping of the electoral system.

Finally, they add that “the undermining of public trust, knowledge, and civil society through attacks on the press, academia, watchdog institutions, and dissenting voices has weakened democratic culture and civic resilience.”

In a scathing rebuke, they write that “the primary driver of the U.S.’s increasing authoritarianism is the increased frequency of Executive Branch overreach. President Donald J. Trump has leveraged emergency powers, executive orders, federalized military forces, and bureaucratic politicization to consolidate control and weaken checks and balances.”

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Without “organized resistance by institutions, civil society, and the public,” the group warns, “the United States is likely to continue along a path of accelerating democratic erosion, risking further consolidation of executive dominance and a loss of credibility as a model of democracy abroad.”

The Steady State says its members include former officers of the CIA, NSA, DIA, State Department, and other national-security agencies.

They said they wrote the report “because the same tools we once used to assess foreign risks now show unmistakable warning signs at home.”

In a video announcing their report, the group’s executive director Steven Cash said that “America is facing an existential threat of growing autocracy here in the United States.”

Tomorrow, we release the Steady State’s assessment of American democracy—written by former national security officials using the same tools once used to evaluate authoritarian regimes abroad. Their conclusion is clear: the threat is real. America is facing an existential threat… https://t.co/84gwLlbrqL pic.twitter.com/VKfXmoVAX6

— TheSteadyState (@steadystate2025) October 15, 2025

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House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is the latest to lash out at Karoline Leavitt over the White House press secretary’s Thursday attack on the Democratic Party, during which she alleged it is “catering” to “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.” Leavitt’s widely-denounced remarks came as Republicans on Capitol Hill repeatedly targeted the nationwide “No Kings” Day protests set for Saturday as “Hate America” rallies.

“The Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,” Leavitt said on Fox News on Thursday afternoon. “That is who the Democrat Party is catering to — not the Trump administration, and not the White House, and not the Republican Party, who is standing up for law abiding Americans, not just across the country, but around the world.”

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Jeffries blasted Leavitt, but first took aim at a variety of Republicans over controversial issues and what he described as “racist” and “antisemitic” remarks.

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“We’ve already seen a rise in political violence and hatred in America,” the Democratic leader began. “And then you’ve got swastikas apparently appearing in the offices of Republican members of Congress.”

“You’ve got Young Republicans engaging in the most antisemitic and racist speech possible,” he continued, referring to a Politico report that drew condemnation of the group’s members.

“Like, this is apparently who many of these people are,” he said.

“They are ripping the sheets off, in plain view of the American people. Their words, their actions, revealing themselves in so many different ways.”

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“And then you got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick,” he charged. “She’s out of control. And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above.”

“But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants — this makes no sense.”

“That this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration, in the middle of a shutdown,” he observed. “So their actions continue to speak for themselves, which is why they’re on the wrong side of public sentiment.”

Jeffries: “You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick, she’s out of control. And I’m not sure if she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone cold liar, or all of the above. But the notion that an official WH spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of ‘terrorists,… pic.twitter.com/RXqBFlsujY

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, is reportedly rapidly amassing surveillance technology — including iris scanners, facial recognition software, and drones — which could be used to track not only undocumented immigrants, but also to target members of “Antifa,” which the president has sought to label a “domestic terrorist organization.”

According to a report by The Washington Post, ICE also has technology to monitor individuals’ cellphone activity and location data, physical movements, social media posts — and even software that can hack cellphones remotely.

Some of the tools ICE has acquired include “cellphone location software that can enable the tracking of a phone’s movements without a court warrant.” The Post added that “federal contracts show ICE has been expanding its fleet of small, remote-controlled drones, which it has said it is using to film protesters.”

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“Trump and other administration officials have used the term ‘antifa’ broadly to refer to protesters outside of ICE detention centers,” the Post noted, adding that “documents show that some of the technology may also be used to target what the administration regards as anti-ICE extremist groups.”

In his September executive order, President Trump alleged, “Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.  It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals.”

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, as “both former FBI Director Chris Wray and the Congressional Research Service have explained, antifa is not a group or an organization, but a decentralized movement.”

ICE’s acting director Todd M. Lyons recently vowed to use special agents and criminal investigators “to track the money” and “to track these ringleaders.”

The Post added that “Democratic lawmakers, civil rights watchdogs and former officials have expressed concern that ICE now has a green light not only to monitor immigrant communities, but also to carry out broad surveillance of Americans exercising their First Amendment right to oppose government action.”

“I’m extremely concerned about how ICE will use spyware, facial recognition and other technology to further trample on the rights of Americans and anyone who Donald Trump labels as an enemy,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in a statement to The Post.

READ MORE: ‘Deliberate Incitement’: Outrage as White House Claims Dems Cater to ‘Hamas Terrorists’

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