A group of ex-national security officials is protesting the Trump administration’s recent removal of high-level intelligence officers as “a purge.”

In an open letter published Saturday, the group, which calls itself “The Steady State,” condemned the Trump administration’s decision to fire three FBI officials: former Acting Director Brian Driscoll and Special Agents Walter Giardina and Michael Feinberg. The signatories said the removal of these agents appeared “part of a broader campaign to dismantle the FBI’s long-standing independence and recast it as a tool of political loyalty.”

The letter continued by denouncing the move as “a purge” of officials whose views expressed “perceived personal disloyalty to former President Donald Trump.”

The Steady State is a group of hundreds of former intelligence, defense policy, diplomacy, law enforcement, and Congressional workers that claims to be nonpartisan, although recent statements by the group’s Executive Director, Steven Cash, show an anti-Trump lean.

Speaking about the recent revelations about the Trump-Russia collusion allegations, Cash said in an interview that, “A lot of documents have been released, but it doesn’t appear to be anything there that makes sense.” Cash continued by calling the renewal of the Trump administration’s efforts to uncover the truth about the Russiagate conspiracy evidence of  “a democracy sliding into an autocracy.”

Critics have called the removal of Driscoll, Giardina, and Feinberg politically motivated. Although no official reason has been released, analysts have pointed out that these officials may have acted against the commands of the Commander in Chief, among other things.

According to MSNBC’s Ken Dilanian, Driscoll’s ouster was directly related to his refusal to carry out an order from then Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to compile a list of all agents involved in investigating cases related to January 6th.

Similarly, analysts have connected Giardina’s firing to his involvement in the investigation of former Trump trade official Peter Navarro, who Trump often said was “treated horribly by the Deep State.”

Feinberg retired, he claimed, at the threat of the Trump administration, which was probing his relationship with Peter Strzok, the lead FBI agent who investigated President Trump’s connection with Russia before revelations of extreme anti-Trump rhetoric with subordinates.

The current director of the FBI, Kash Patel, wrote a letter to Giardina explaining his firing.

“This document provides official notice that you are being summarily dismissed from your position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and removed from the federal service, under my authority as the FBI Director, effective immediately,” Patel wrote. “You have exercised poor judgment and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties, leading to the political weaponization of the government.”

The Steady State’s letter also singled out Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who they claim are “unqualified political loyalists.”

Referring to Bongino and Patel’s appointments, The Steady State said, “The aim, it seems, is to transform the FBI from a respected, constitutionally grounded investigative service into a personal enforcement arm of a political figure.”

To no one’s surprise, besides the “experts” who get paid for their predictions, the consumer price index increased just 0.2% month-over-month in July and remained at a steady year-over-year rate of 2.7%.

The consumer price index (CPI), which is a widely viewed measure of inflation, once again showed a lower year-over-year increase than what economists predicted as more of President Donald Trump’s tariffs go into effect, CNBC reported. The economic report published Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics marked the second-straight month showing an annual inflation rate of 2.7%.

With another solid inflation report under his belt, Trump is again putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its next meeting, which is scheduled for September 16-17. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump said that “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate.”

“The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we’ve blown through Powell and the complacent Board,” Trump added.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% for the month and 3.1% for the year. The monthly increase was in line with expectations, while the annual core CPI rise was slightly above what economists predicted, according to CNBC. Most of the CPI increase was driven by a rise in shelter prices, the BLS reported. Energy prices, meanwhile, dropped 1.1% and food prices remained steady. Prices for used cars and trucks jumped 0.5% while transportation and medical care services also saw a rise of 0.8%.

The CPI report showed that Trump’s tariffs have had little to no effect on prices. Household furnishings and supplies showed a slight increase of 0.7%, but other products that are largely imported, including clothing and canned fruits and vegetables, remained mostly flat.

Former White House economist Jared Bernstein, who worked under former President Joe Biden, even admitted that tariffs are not having a major effect on inflation “at this point.”

“The tariffs are in the numbers, but they’re certainly not jumping out hair on fire at this point,” Bernstein told CNBC.

CNN was also surprised by the low inflation numbers reported on Tuesday.

“Look at that food. This is where people spend their money, right? … Food [is] flat, 0%, and actually down at the grocery store by 0.1%.”

Stocks rose Tuesday morning following the lighter-than-expected inflation report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 jumping 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.8% on the good economic news.

Trump’s tariffs on over 90 countries finally went into effect last week after he extended the deadline and struck numerous trade deals. Some of the president’s highest tariff rates include 50% tariffs on India and Brazil, while other tariff rates range from 15% to 40%. On Monday, the president extended the tariff deadline for China for an additional 90 days as his trade officials seek to work out a deal with the communist country.