NPC Resolution: DSA Against Authoritarianism
SMC is pleased that at the in-person meeting of the National Political Committee in Denver on November 8th and 9th, we were able to pass the resolution DSA Against Authoritarianism, authored and introduced by SMC members and lightly amended by the full NPC.
The resolution commits DSA to participating in mobilizations against authoritarianism that are happening on multiple levels across our society, including anti-ICE organizing, preparing for May Day 2028 strikes, and the one-day No Kings mass mobilizations. As many SMC members have previously noted, abstention from these coalitions does DSA no favors. SMC believes that DSA must place itself at the forefront of the anti-fascist popular front as only socialism can beat fascism.
The original text, introduced by NPC member Jeremy Cohan (SMC), is in default black font. Amended passages, written by NPC members Hayley (B&R), Cerena (B&R), Ella (B&R), and Francesca (SoR), are in blue. Passages removed and/or replaced by the amendments are struck through.
A link to the full approved text will be added here when the NPC meeting’s notes are made public.
Resolution Text
WHEREAS, since the inauguration — and even since the DSA Convention in August — the Trump administration has rapidly accelerated its push toward authoritarianism, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration has delivered increasingly cruel attacks on migrants and US citizens alike, to uphold oligarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism, and
WHEREAS, the Trump tactics of militaristic spectacle and enforcement tactics, including expedited removal and erosion of due process, exacerbate the exploitation, dispossession, and violence faced by working-class people here and abroad, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration has undertaken a series of unprecedented military occupations in multiple large cities in America, to execute mass deportations, repress political dissent, and intimidate their political enemies and the American working class, and
WHEREAS, Trump’s presidential directive, NSPM-7, aims to categorize all political dissent as “domestic terrorism” and set loose the federal government on the left, and on a wide range of hitherto protected political speech and activity, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration has ripped up union contracts throughout federal agencies, engaged in mass firings, and stated in no uncertain terms its intention to extirpate unionism from government employment and terminally weaken the labor movement, and
WHEREAS, Trump’s Supreme Court is likely going to eviscerate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and commence a new wave of mass voter suppression of People of Color, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration relies on a growing and already existing prison-industrial complex, including detention centers, border walls, surveillance technologies, and the nation’s largest federal police force (a combination of ICE, Border Patrol and deputized local police) to carry out their fascist agenda, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration is amassing military forces for a regime change operation in Venezuela and committing extrajudicial killings of civilians in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean under the false pretext of preventing drug trafficking, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration has joined together streams of Christian nationalism, xenophobia, and the repression of student protest in solidarity with Palestine to launch a massive attack — in the words of one historian, “worse than McCarthyism” — on the American university system, threatening basic research functions, academic freedom of speech, tenure and faculty jobs, students’ rights to protest, and even the very existence of international students, and
WHEREAS, the passage of the Trump administration's "Big Beautiful Bill" created the largest budget since DHS' formation in 2005, of $75 billion dollars over the next 4 years, or $18.7 billion dollars every year, while also undertaking a massive transfer of wealth to the top 1%, and cutting food assistance and healthcare for millions of working-class people, and
WHEREAS, this budget has already led to a 700% increase in weapons spending, particularly in the ongoing ICE and National Guard occupations of multiple American cities, and
WHEREAS, the Trump administration — in the midst of a government shutdown, as 42 million Americans face rising hunger, and millions more stare down the largest Medicaid cut in the program’s history — is making blatantly clear its imperial and oligarchic priorities, by sending $50 million to Israel and Argentina, spending $300 million being spent on the ballroom, and funneling $230 million to the DOJ to cover Trump’s legal costs, and
WHEREAS, Steve Bannon has spoken to the press about plans for Trump to serve a 3rd, unconstitutional Presidential term, and
WHEREAS, Trump’s call for a wave of Republican gerrymandering is explicitly designed to suppress the political power of any opponents, and make it impossible for Republicans to lose federal power for a generation,
WHEREAS, a recently leaked Pentagon memo directing the National Guard to create and prepare “quick reaction” forces to deploy in every state by January, and
WHEREAS, Trump’s budget offers real mass organizing opportunities as it betrays many of the people who voted for him in the name of a massive wealth transfer to the oligarchs, and
WHEREAS, the Democratic establishment, due to their integration into the oligarchic political status quo, has proven completely incapable of resisting onrushing American authoritarianism, and of exercising the power they possess in “blue states” to blunt the force of the federal government’s actions by taxing the rich and otherwise prioritizing the victims of Trump’s actions, and
WHEREAS, in a political moment rife with tremendous dangers and with major political opportunities, it is vitally important for the left to develop coherent analysis and strategy, to demonstrate leadership in mass action and struggle, and to avoid organizational abstentionism;
Therefore, be it resolved, that the DSA National Political Committee (NPC) will prioritize 1) engaging in regular and ongoing strategic assessment of the political moment and rapidly accelerating authoritarianism in the United States, and 2) supporting initiatives that engage in, and lead, key defensive and offensive fights against the authoritarian push; and
Be it further resolved, that the NPC will seek to immerse the organization in popular mobilization against authoritarianism, while making the case in theory and in practice — even and especially when working with forces with a mass base that are to our right — that there is no other path to defeating fascism than confronting the oligarchic tendencies in American life, the end to the capitalist system of exploitation through building a mass socialist movement capable of engaging in disruptive action, and providing a political expression of the rising class consciousness in society. speaking to people’s deeply and widely felt needs and promising them a better life (i.e. it is socialism or barbarism); and
Be it further resolved, that DSA will join the No Kings Coalition, as the grouping that has hitherto organized the largest protests in American history, and engaged in mass action demonstrating the size and power of a potential resistance to Trumpian authoritarianism. Joining the coalition will entail:
Continuing to communicate to chapters encouraging loud and proud DSA attendance at marches, and sharing chapter toolkits with advanced notice, such as the comprehensive toolkit prepared for the Oct 18 mobilizations
Highlighting the connection between US imperial war-mongering and devastating cuts for working people
Appointing 2 representatives to any national meetings of the coalition; these can be chosen from among a bench made up of 3 at-large NPC members, the NPC Co-Chairs, and the NLC co-chairs
Membership in the coalition and DSA reps will be made known to members. Representatives will provide a detailed report back of coalition meetings, including member groups attending, to the NPC. Whenever possible, non-sensitive information will be shared with DSA membership.
Participating in good faith in the coalition to make the marches as large as possible
Engaging in the coalition to represent the socialist current of the movement against Trump and fascism and working to ensure the inclusion of Palestinian liberation and class struggle as part of the mobilizations messaging.
Coordinating as much as possible with labor movement participation, in particular with rank and file members and formations in the mobilizations, and developing coalitional relationships
Making the case, locally and nationally, the continual need to call out the inaction of the Democratic Party establishment and the necessity of the formation of a new party that represents the interests of the working class and the need to escalate engagement in non-violent disruptive action to impose costs on elites for their complicity in the authoritarian push; and
Be it further resolved, that the NPC will aim to align DSA with the left-wing of the labor movement as much as possible, which includes:
Joining the May Day Strong coalition in the ways discussed above
Joining with the labor-left in tying together May Day and No Kings organizing
Pushing within the labor movement to get locals and internationals to put real resources and effort into anti-authoritarian organizing
Orienting toward May 1, 2026 as a day of mass economic disruption, and developing educational initiatives and mobilizations for the next 5 months that make that a reality; and
Be it further resolved, that the NPC will join with the labor left in a “No Kings, No Cuts, No Billionaires” framing, where possible, in future communication and campaign work;
Be it further resolved, that the NPC and TARC will facilitate political education and mass calls led by chapters who have been doing work on the leading edge of fighting back against authoritarianism; and
Be it further resolved, that these political education events and chapter exchanges will draw on chapter experience and leadership along multiple tactical fronts, e.g. chapters that have engaged in concerted response to ICE and national guard occupations, chapters that have engaged in pressure campaigns for legislative responses to ICE, chapters that have aligned with the labor movement to build a powerful anti-authoritarian force, etc., from chapters such as DSA Los Angeles, Portland DSA, Chicago DSA, and NYC-DSA; and
Be it further resolved, DSA will expand chapters’ ability to initiate mass mobilizations and protests in response to authoritarian offensives and imperial warmongering, by tasking staff to develop a training and template resources on mass mobilization planning, including (but not limited to):
Training topics
Narrative and visuals development
Direct and mass communication outreach
Logistics
Safety and risk management
Resources
Turnout spreadsheet
Printable signs and templates for painting/screen printing
List of roles with descriptions
Be it further resolved, DSA will in accordance with R-26 Fight Fascist State Repression and ICE and with the appropriate support by the expand support for the International Migrant Rights Working Group, will develop including trainings on topics like ICE Watch programs and organizing against 287(g) agreements, by providing:
Communications support for sending emails, social media posts, and other promotion for events
Creation of visual templates for the aforementioned mobilizations (posters, flyers) in support of abolishing ICE and an end to mass deportations
Technical support for mass calls and trainings
Including events in emails to chapter leaders and district organizing calls, and
Be it further resolved, that DSA will develop resources for chapters including reading lists and sample agendas encourages chapters, to the extent they are able, to engage in political discussion on the far right and rising authoritarianism on the chapter level, and to engage in political actions consistent with this strategy and a socialist approach, and
Be it further resolved, that in its next meetings the NPC will strategize on how best to mobilize against the terrible cuts in food stamps SNAP benefits and Medicaid soon to hit the American working class from the “Big Beautiful Bill”; how to reenergize the fight for universal healthcare in the US; and how to build campaign infrastructure to bring people into action around urgently and deeply felt needs; and,
Be it further resolved, that the NPC will frame the importance of the electoral terrain in 2026, through to 2028, as a structure test for the movement to defeat fascism in the US.