• The United States has been added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist due to the group’s concerns over President Donald Trump’s actions.
• The U.S. joins 41 other countries, including France, Germany and Argentina in receiving a “narrowed” rating, indicating occasional violations of basic rights.
• The White House dismissed the CIVICUS report, calling it “nonsense,” seeking to emphasize President Trump’s commitment to transparency.

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The United States has been added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, a research platform highlighting the state of freedoms and threats to civil liberties on a global level. The nonprofit said the move is directly related to President Donald Trump’s actions since his return to the White House in January.

“This is an unparalleled attack on the rule of law in the United States, not seen since the days of McCarthyism in the twentieth century,” Mandeep Tiwana, interim co-secretary general of CIVICUS, said in a statement.

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Which Trump initiatives did CIVICUS mention? 

CIVICUS cited Trump’s effort to fire federal workers and dismantle foreign aid programs as some of the main reasons for the action. It also noted his treatment of the media.

“Gross abuses of executive power raise serious concerns over the freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression and association,” the group wrote in its report about the U.S. rating.

The U.S. joins Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia in CIVICUS’ updates for 2025.

According to CIVICUS, the monitor list “draws attention to countries where there is a serious decline in respect for civic space, based on an assessment by CIVICUS Monitor research findings, our research partners and consultations with activists on the ground.”

Which other countries are on the list?

The U.S., along with 41 other countries, get a “narrowed” rating on freedom, which is the group’s second tier after “open” and used to signify countries where citizens face occasional violations of basic rights. Other countries rated “narrow” include France, Germany and Argentina.

Places categorized as “open” include the island of Taiwan, as well as the countries of Canada, Japan and Denmark.

“Closed,” “repressed” and “obstructed” are the most restrictive tiers. Thirty countries, including Russia, North Korea and Iran, are categorized as “closed.”

How did the White House respond to the CIVICUS report?

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Time, “This is nonsense: President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history.”