If the presidency gains at‑will firing power over commissioners at the FTC, SEC, FEC, or Fed, regulatory independence collapses. Lawsuits from the DNC, consumer groups, and agency insiders are already in motion⁶. A ruling in favor of limits would preserve a key check — independent rulemaking and enforcement.
Freeze Schedule F
The January 20 order must be enjoined or delayed long enough to prevent mass reclassifications. The union lawsuits in federal court⁷ offer one path; another is legislative delay through funding bills. If the administration is forced to slow or abandon the reclassification of tens of thousands of staff, institutional memory and policy expertise survive. If not, a compliant bureaucracy becomes the default.
Prevent Use of the Insurrection Act
So far, courts have blocked Guard deployments in Oregon and Illinois, citing lack of “rebellion.”¹² But the language of the Act remains vague — and dangerous. If invoked under pretext, it would authorize military policing of dissent. State attorneys general and governors must continue to resist any domestic military deployment not backed by judicial approval or bipartisan congressional oversight.
Preserve Press Access
At the Pentagon and White House, credential revocations and new access rules are already limiting visibility⁸. The ACLU and press coalitions are in court to challenge retaliatory restrictions. If those cases succeed, investigative accountability remains viable. If they fail, secrecy deepens — and with it, impunity.
Sustain Nonviolent Mass Mobilization
The October 18 protests were massive¹. But they must continue — and grow. Research shows that movements with sustained, broad‑based participation apply pressure not just to elected officials, but to courts, donors, bureaucrats, and the media². Movements delay, and sometimes reverse, consolidation.
“You don’t defeat authoritarianism by calling it out,” said movement strategist Heather Booth. “You defeat it by making it ungovernable.”¹³
Together, these measures define the battle lines of 2025.
The next 90 days are the hinge. If the Supreme Court limits the White House’s reach, and if Schedule F lawsuits succeed, then democracy may yet stagger through the fire and into 2026 with enough structure intact to recover. But if the Court sides with the administration, and agencies begin mass firings under Schedule F, the presidency will hold the tools to remake enforcement, oversight, and the civil service in its own image.
By then, elections alone won’t be enough. And so the streets remain.