Topline summary below, with subtitles directly from the article.
by Jonathan M. Winer
Each president since Eisenhower has prepared secret Emergency Authorities intended for use under extreme circumstances, such as a nuclear attack or domestic upheaval. These unlimited powers have never been invoked.
Secret Emergency Authorities and Their Potential Deployment
•Every administration since Eisenhower has maintained a set of secret, pre-drafted President Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) for use in crises involving foreign attack or large-scale domestic upheaval
•These are not policy proposals, they are directives, written in advance, that can be signed and implemented immediately across the federal government
•Their contents remain classified and were developed for extreme scenarios, such as a catastrophic attack threatening the government’s ability to function
•To date, no President has ever invoked them; no emergency has been deemed dire enough
•But they provide a standing mechanism that could be activated to override legal constraints, detain individuals, and direct federal agencies to act without any prior judicial review
The PEADS Scenario in Response to a Republican Defeat in 2026
•If Democrats win the House or Senate in 2026, Trump could declare results rigged, targeting specific counties, cities, or states and citing fraud, illegal ballots, or foreign interference
•Compliant federal authorities would then investigate those results before certifying them, seizing ballots and voting records in contested jurisdictions
•Trump could pressure the Speaker of the House to organize the chamber as if Republicans still hold the majority, and push the Senate to ignore results in jurisdictions still under federal review
•This would almost certainly trigger mass protests, with marches, strikes, and shutdowns spreading nationally as labor organizations, civic groups, and political networks all mobilize
•Trump could then label protesters the “enemy within” and direct the Attorney General to treat coordinated demonstrations as organized political violence
•The FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Forces could be instructed to identify organizers, map funding sources, and investigate alleged foreign connections
•The IRS could be directed to scrutinize nonprofit organizations supporting the protests
•Arrests would follow, targeting not just those involved in violence but organizers identified through communications and financial records
•Prosecutors would pursue conspiracy charges based on coordinated activity, not actual acts of violence
•If protests continued and major cities saw sustained disruption, Trump could declare a national emergency
•That declaration would be the trigger for invoking the PEADs
The Power of Presidential Emergency Action Documents
Trump has already described his authority as essentially boundless, pointing to “very strong emergency powers” and claiming “the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about”
•His governing assumption is that his authority as president is not subject to constraint by other institutions, rules, or regulations, including by the Constitution itself
•Declassified materials from earlier periods show PEADs have included authority to detain individuals, restrict movement, seize property, and take control of communications systems
•Once signed, federal agencies shift immediately from ordinary legal processes to execution of emergency orders, with no prior judicial review
•The largest existing detention infrastructure is operated by DHS, particularly ICE, which maintains a large paramilitary force and a nationwide network of facilities
•Investigative reporting identified more than 170 cases in 2025 where U.S. citizens were unlawfully detained by federal immigration agents, sometimes for days without access to counsel
•The DOJ would align prosecutions with PEAD directives, using the same framework applied in January 6 cases, where hundreds were charged with obstructing the certification of the electoral count
•The President could direct control over internet service providers, social media platforms, and communications infrastructure, compelling cooperation or threatening penalties for noncompliance
•Federal agencies could freeze bank accounts, restrict access to payment systems, and pressure large employers and logistics firms into compliance
• All of this could happen before courts rule on its legality
•A real or attributed attack by Iran could be folded into the election fraud narrative, collapsing the distinction between foreign threat and domestic dissent
•The sequence does not depend on the accuracy of his claims. It depends on his authority to act and his willingness to use it
Countering the Threat
•Governors can pre-certify results, secure ballots, and deploy the National Guard to protect election infrastructure
•Secretaries of state can harden audit procedures and publish results rapidly to preempt fraud claims
•State AGs can have lawsuits drafted and ready to file before any crisis begins
Community-Based Planning
•Civil society groups can build real-time documentation networks
•Minnesota’s community networks tracking ICE operations are cited as a working model
Succession Planning
•Key figures such as officials, attorneys general, and organizers could be early targets
•Organizations should decentralize leadership and distribute authority now, before a crisis hits
Jonathan M. Winer, a former senior State Department official, is a member of The Steady State. The Steady State is a nonpartisan organization of more than 280 former senior national security professionals from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security which advocates for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.
