1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge immediate intervention to counter the authoritarian trajectory threatening our democratic institutions. In October, the Steady State, a nonprofit comprising more than 340 former national security professionals from the CIA, FBI, State Department, Defense Department, and Homeland Security, issued a report warning that America is moving toward competitive authoritarianism. This system allows democratic institutions to persist in form while being systematically manipulated to entrench executive control. The report documents alarming trends including weaponization of state institutions to punish opponents and shield allies, an increasingly partisan judiciary aligned with executive interests, and erosion of institutional checks and balances. These are not abstract concerns. The Texas attorney general is collecting lists of transgender people from public records and urging citizens to photograph and report suspected trans people in restrooms. Federal officials have designated trans people advocating for civil rights as domestic terrorists. Scholars studying politically sensitive issues including gender face harassment and self-censorship, with some resigning or relocating abroad. Press freedom is under direct assault. The administration repeatedly labels factual reporting as fake news and calls critical reporters the enemy. CBS pulled an investigative report on migrants in a Salvadoran prison under pressure from new leadership. As someone who followed these patterns internationally during my years with the Committee to Protect Journalists, I recognize these warning signs from countries like China and Russia, where attacks on specific vulnerable groups signaled broader democratic collapse. Civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill emphasizes the need for quick action and intense resistance. I urge you to use your position to defend institutional independence, protect press freedom, safeguard vulnerable communities from state persecution, and resist executive overreach that undermines constitutional checks and balances. History shows that democratic backsliding accelerates when officials remain silent. Your voice and action matter now.