Press Kit
Updated May 2026
Key Contact Info: contact@thesteadystate.org, (212) 685-9660
1. Overview
The Steady State defends and advocates for American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law by bringing the experience and voices of former national security professionals to bear on rising authoritarian threats at home and abroad.
The Steady State is an organization of more than 400 former national security professionals committed to defending American democracy from rising authoritarian threats. Members include Ambassadors, CIA Chiefs of Station, senior Defense and State Department officials, FBI and DHS leaders, USAID and NSC staff, and senior Congressional staff from both Republican and Democratic administrations. United by a shared oath to support and defend the Constitution, we bring deep experience in intelligence, diplomacy, defense, and governance. Our work draws on lived experience confronting autocrats, war criminals, and anti-democratic movements abroad and at home to help Americans understand the dangers of democratic backsliding and how to counter it.
Founded in 2016, The Steady State educates the public, policymakers, and media about the risks of authoritarianism and the importance of principled, apolitical national security leadership. Its members brief Members of Congress, appear regularly in national and international media, speak on campuses and in civic forums, and publish analyses, including Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline (October 2025 and updated regularly).
“The authoritarian threat in the United States is no longer theoretical — it is present, accelerating, and requires immediate democratic defense.”— Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline, October 2025
2. Select Media Resources
Flagship Assessment
Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline (October 2025)
A detailed assessment applying U.S. Intelligence Community–style analytic tradecraft to the U.S. domestic context.
Concludes, with moderate to high confidence, that the United States is on a trajectory toward “competitive authoritarianism,” which we define as a system in which elections, courts, and other democratic institutions persist in form but are systematically manipulated to entrench executive control.
Widely shared among policymakers, academics, journalists, and civic leaders concerned with democratic resilience.
Additional Highlights
Democracy Situation Report (SITREP) updates tracking ongoing authoritarian dynamics.
Briefings to members of Congress and staff on democratic backsliding and national security.
Media interviews and op-eds in major outlets explaining the national security implications of U.S. democratic decline.
3. Media Commentary and Op-Eds
Members regularly publish opinion pieces and analysis in leading national and international outlets and appear on television, radio, and podcasts to explain democratic backsliding, national security threats, and authoritarian tactics.
Recent and ongoing themes include:
The authoritarian threat to the U.S. constitutional system
Politicization of law enforcement and national security institutions
Foreign interference and information operations
Civil-military relations and the role of the military in a democracy
The impact of U.S. democratic decline on global alliances and security
Browse recent media and posts.
The Steady State Substack
The Steady State publishes daily articles covering recent events, primers on complex national security and democracy issues, and expert analysis on broader democratic trends. All articles are written by our members, relying on their decades of experience in national security and protecting democracy.
Expert Voices
The Steady State draws on members who have:
Negotiated with adversaries and allies as Ambassadors and senior diplomats
Run intelligence operations against terrorist, criminal, and hostile-state targets
Managed crises from war zones to natural disasters and complex emergencies
Advised Presidents, Cabinet officials, and members of Congress on national security
These experts are available for:
On-the-record and on-background interviews
Commentary on breaking news
Deep background for long-form reporting and documentaries
4. Campus and Civic Outreach
Members of The Steady State visit colleges, universities, and civic organizations to:
Detail how democratic backsliding happens and how it can be prevented
Share lessons from careers in public service and national security
Engage with students, veterans, and community leaders on civic responsibility and democratic norms
5. What We Offer Reporters
Expert analysis on foreign and domestic authoritarian trends
On-background briefings and deep background context
Quotable, plain-language explanations of complex national security issues
Former Ambassadors, CIA Chiefs of Station, NSC, DHS, FBI, DoD, and Congressional staff available for interviews
Speakers and panelists for universities, civic groups, conferences, and policy events
Context and framing for stories on intelligence, foreign policy, civil-military relations, democratic decline, and national security law
Sample uses:
Quick expert quote on a breaking authoritarian-related development
Background briefing on how democratic erosion looks in practice
Comparative perspective from members who served in countries that slid into authoritarianism
Human stories from career public servants who took an oath to the Constitution, not to any leader
6. Leadership and Key Voices
Board of Directors Include:
James C. O’Brien — Chair: James C. O’Brien is a veteran American diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs until 2025. Over more than three decades, he led U.S. policy on the Balkans, hostage affairs, and sanctions, and later co-founded private firms advising clients in more than 100 countries. A Yale-trained lawyer, he continues to shape transatlantic policy through academic and policy work, including a 2025 fellowship at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.
Steven A. Cash — Executive Director: Steven A. Cash is the Executive Director of The Steady State and a former Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security. He previously served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director (Minority) to a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee, Chief Counsel to Senator Dianne Feinstein, and as an intelligence officer at the CIA.
Margaret Henoch: Margaret Henoch retired from the CIA in March 2007 after a twenty-five-year career as a senior operations officer in the Directorate of Operations.
Ambassador (ret.) Eric Rubin: Ambassador Eric Rubin retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2023 after a 38-year career that included serving as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. He served on President Clinton’s staff and later as president of the American Foreign Service Association. Rubin is now a Senior Fellow at RAND and the Center for European Policy Analysis and is a visiting fellow at the National Defense University.
Gail Helt: After nearly a dozen years at the CIA working on East Asian security, politics, and governance, Gail Helt now directs a security and intelligence studies program at a private liberal arts university in Tennessee. Recruited by the CIA from a PhD program at the University of Arizona, she holds degrees from Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Her research focuses on democratization, democratic backsliding, human rights, and political stability.
Social & Digital Media
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