Draft:The Steady State

• Comment: Still not sure it could pass WP:NCORP as most of the coverage is too trivial to contribute to notability. Nighfidelity (talk) 14:27, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: The sourcing is still problematic. The issue under WP:NORG is that we would be ideally looking for 3 reliable sources to give in depth profiles of the organisation. There is one source that seems to do this (but under a paywall), which is Intelligence Online, which is part of Indigo, but essentially a limited oversight blog site. The other sources give news of specific events but not of the organisation itself. It is appreciated that the organisation has its own reasons to stay in the shadows, but that in turn makes it difficult to meet the notability hurdle.
  The formatting of the article would help to make the article more encyclopedic, in terms of sections and wording. Some language seems promotional (was LLM / AI used here?) such as describing a report as a landmark. That's a minor issue, and is easily changed. ChrysGalley (talk) 18:30, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Subject may be notable, but its sourcing is extremely inconsistent. The issues pointed by S0091 largely remain the same. Ironically, the section with the most references have little to nothing to do with the organization itself. You should use mostly secondary sources that are substantial, independent and reliable. NeoGaze (talk) 20:57, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Almost all the sources are what those affiliated with The Steady State have said or written which are primary sources and not independent. Also, Google Docs is not a reliable source nor are blogs (even if published by NBC, etc.) so should not be used. S0091 (talk) 16:13, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: External links should be removed or converted to inline citations where appropriate. Greenman (talk) 08:42, 28 May 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest policy, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. StevenACash (talk) 13:02, 11 May 2025 (UTC)

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Not to be confused with the steady state systems theory, disambiguation.

Logo of The Steady State

The Steady State is an American advocacy organization and think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization is "composed of former U.S. national security, intelligence, and diplomatic officials. Founded in 2016, the group states its mission is to advocate for 'constitutional democracy and rule-of-law-based national security."

In October 2025, the group released an intelligence‑style assessment warning that the United States was "on a trajectory" toward competitive authoritarianism, a report covered by multiple independent news outlets. The organization describes itself as nonpartisan and counts more than 425 former officials among its members who regularly engage on key issues of national security.

Many members have been made public, others remain concealed to protect the identities of those currently holding sensitive positions. Drawn largely from retired senior officials from the intelligence, diplomatic and defense communities, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, its membership initially focused on providing assistance and expertise to the newly-elected administration but in 2019, shifted its focus to active public advocacy.

In March 2020, The Steady State endorsed candidate Joe Biden for President, as well as other candidates for Congressional offices, and engaged in growing public advocacy. Major outlets treated the endorsements as an unusual public intervention by career national‑security professionals. The organization is endorsing candidates in the 2026 midterm Congressional elections.

In 2020, The Steady State, as amicus curiae, filed a brief with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the prosecution of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Steady State members appeared in events sponsored by the University of Las Vegas School of Law and Harvard University.

On August 9, 2025, The Steady State issued an "Open Letter" in response to widespread firing of senior FBI Officials. On August 18, 2025, The Steady State filed an amicus curiae brief in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in support of Governor Gavin Newsom and the State of California in their challenge to President Donald Trump's domestic deployment of U.S. military forces. The Steady State's report "Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline" was published in October 2025, warning that the U.S. is on a trajectory toward competitive authoritarianism. The authors applied the tools used during their careers as national security analysts to diagnose domestic threats to democracy. That month the organization also spoke out on the prosecution of former government officials, including John Bolton, President Trump's national security advisor from 2018-19. The Steady State's Steven Cash testified in the June 2026 the House Committee on Homeland Security Democrats hearing “Tracked and Targeted: The Unconstitutional Surveillance State.”

The organization has faced criticism from conservative think tanks and commentators, calling the group a dangerous, subversive or treasonous organization. The Center for Security Policy published an article titled "The Steady State – Treason From Within," in which it accuses the group of functioning as a clandestine "network that cuts across many agencies and exercises enormous power," implying that it may wield undue influence within the intelligence community and act counter to the interests of duly elected officials. One article portrays The Steady State as a partisan, anti‑Trump network of former intelligence officials whose founder allegedly promotes foreign “regime‑change” tactics and maintains government contracts while engaging in political activism.

The Steady State supports broader national security awareness, including the purge of career law enforcement and national security staff and election claims by the Trump administration.

Mission and Activities

The organization advocates for adherence to constitutional processes and fact‑based national‑security policymaking. In October 2025, the Steady State published Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline, applying intelligence‑community analytic tradecraft to the U.S. political system. The report concluded, with "moderate to high confidence," that multiple reinforcing trends were moving the country toward competitive authoritarianism; its release and findings were reported and summarized by The Guardian.

The group is endorsing Congressional candidates in the 2026 United States elections as in previous elections.

In August 2025, major outlets reported on a Steady State open letter to FBI personnel, criticizing leadership changes the group argued risked undermining the FBI's institutional independence. Coverage noted the letter's claims, identified several dismissed officials referenced by the group, and framed the episode as part of ongoing debates about politicization of federal law enforcement.

Earlier, in March 2020, the Steady State attracted attention for a letter endorsing Joe Biden and criticizing President Donald Trump's national‑security leadership; independent political magazines and international press covered the statement, its signatories, and its atypical nature among former career officials.

Publications

The Steady State publishes thought pieces from contributors and the organization via Substack, social media, college campus engagement, panels, letters and advocacy to Congress, the Administration, and a podcast.

• The Sentinel Podcast launched in January 2026.
• Steady State Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics Report (updated January 2026).
• Strategic Business Risk Assessment: Growing Authoritarianism and American Business.
• Steady State members have appeared on PBS Newshour, MS Now, National Public Radio,, Salon, Scripps News, Univision, and on the podcasts SpyTalk, Just Security, and The Jack Hopkins Show and have voiced its views on national security matters.

Organization and Funding

The Steady State was formalized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization in 2025; donations are not tax‑deductible.

Personnel

Steven Cash is executive director of The Steady State. He grew up in New York and served as former Senior Advisor the Under Secretary for Intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security and as Chief Counsel and Staff Director (Minority) to a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Chief Counsel to former Senator Dianne Feinstein. He served at the CIA from 1994-2001. Cash, and other members of The Steady State often comment on key issues of the day, for example, the Iran conflict, and other matters in the media.