U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan will be delivering the Democratic response to President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
“I am eager to speak directly to the American people next week. The public expects their leaders to be honest with them about what’s truly happening in our country,” Slotkin shared in a post on X following Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s announcement about her response.
“From economic stability to national security, we need to forge a path forward that enhances people’s lives in the country we all cherish. I look forward to outlining that vision.”
About Senator Elissa Slotkin
At 48, Slotkin is a former CIA officer with extensive experience in national security positions in the Pentagon, working under both the Bush and Obama administrations. She has emphasized her ability to work across party lines as a moderate Democrat. During her service in the military, she completed three tours in Iraq alongside U.S. forces.
During the Obama administration, Slotkin was responsible for briefing the former president on critical national security matters before being appointed assistant secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the Pentagon, as outlined in her Senate biography.
Slotkin was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 and has been reelected in 2020 and 2022. She built her campaign on a commitment to bringing her bipartisan approach to the Senate, which she attributes in part to growing up in a household with a Republican father and a Democratic mother.
“I strongly believe in bipartisan legislation. It’s always more effective when it’s bipartisan,” Slotkin remarked in a one-on-one interview with CBS News Detroit in October 2024.
“The notion that I would be so partisan that I couldn’t share Thanksgiving dinner with my dad doesn’t resonate with me. National security is not a partisan issue,” she continued.
Shortly after longtime Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow announced she would not run for reelection, Slotkin quickly declared her intentions to run for that seat, becoming the first Democratic candidate to enter the race. In the August 2024 primary, she maintained a strong lead against actor Hill Harper before facing Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.
The Slotkin-Rogers contest garnered significant attention, especially since Michigan had not elected a Republican in over thirty years. Slotkin narrowly defeated Rogers in November, solidifying Democratic control over both U.S. Senate seats.
She received four committee assignments in the Senate: Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Agriculture, and Veterans’ Affairs. Slotkin was one of four Democrats to win a U.S. Senate race in a state that Mr. Trump had previously secured.
Before the 2024 election, Slotkin emphasized to CBS News Detroit her focus on military and economic threats, especially from China.
“It’s a unique kind of threat because of our reliance on them in a global economy. However, whether it’s their military capabilities or their dominance over our supply chains, impacting our economic security, it’s critical for us to develop thoughtful, bipartisan strategies to ensure we are prepared militarily when necessary and to approach seriously the investments from China in things like our farmland and manufacturing facilities,” Slotkin explained.
