U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party’s election night watch party in Detroit on Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
U.S. Senator-elect for Michigan Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) will be officially sworn in to office Friday afternoon in Washington D.C. as the mid-Michigan Democrat says she’s committed to lowering the cost of living, bringing jobs and economic growth to Michigan, increasing public safety and maintaining democracy.
That last point, given the political climate following a turbulent election year, is existential to the continuing of American governance, Slotkin told members of the media on a Zoom call ahead of her swearing in. Michigan, ever the purple state, was the backdrop to several close and impassioned races, including Slotkin’s, where the three-term congresswoman defeated Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) in November by about 18,000 votes.
While Slotkin’s victory maintained Democrats’ hold on the Senate seat left open by the retirement of longtime U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Republicans flipped the majority in the chamber. The 2024 election marked banner triumphs for Republicans with the country sending former President Donald Trump back to the White House. He will officially take office on Jan. 20.
But wheels continue to turn in Michigan as Slotkin says she stands ready to introduce legislation to help support Michiganders and protect democratic processes from those who would seek to pull back fundamental rights and silence the voices of citizens.
“I’ve sworn an oath many times to protect and defend the Constitution, but nothing means as much as this day for me and to be here in front of my family, to watch my dad get to experience this. It’s just, it’s an honor,” Slotkin said.
Coming from a national security background, joining the Central Intelligence Agency after the 9/11 terrorist attack and serving three tours in Iraq as a CIA analyst, Slotkin says one of her main priorities entering into the U.S. Senate is national security. Following her time in the CIA she served on then-President George W. Bush’s National Security Council and then served as acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for National Security Affairs for then-President Barack Obama.
Slotkin will serve on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, as well as the Armed Services Committee alongside Michigan’s other U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.). Additionally, she was given a seat in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, having served on the U.S. House of Representatives’ versions of all three of those committees.
But truly securing national security means recognizing all the areas threats to democracy and safety come from and being mindful to include the safety of the country’s youngest residents, Slotkin said.
“Protecting our country, for me, is job number one. It always has been. But then there’s also protecting our kids from things like school shootings, protecting our kids from despair and not feeling like they couldn’t achieve what their parents achieved,” Slotkin said.
Slotkin’s fourth committee assignment is on the Senate Agriculture Committee where her predecessor Debbie Stabenow served as the Chair.
“Senator Stabenow is the queen of agriculture…so I’ve had a great teacher,” Slotkin said. “I’ve been on the House Ag Committee for two years, but for me, my job is to make sure that the small and medium sized farmers of cherries apples, mint and dairy, I mean, you name it, corn, soybeans, all of our farmers don’t get lost in the shuffle, and so I’m really happy to be continuing that legacy.”
On the campaign trail, the Senator-elect reiterated that she’s stepping into some pretty big shoes following Stabenow’s retirement as Slotkin is taking over a seat Stabenow has held since 2001, when the Lansing native became the state’s first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate after trailblazing other firsts in the state.
But she’s a different person than Stabenow, and that’s a positive thing in government, Slotkin said. Coming from her national security background she says she understands not just the economic value of supporting the state’s agricultural heritage, but also so the U.S. can stand on its own two feet no matter the national political climate.
“I really see food security as national security…Nothing is more essential than always being able to feed ourselves by ourselves. That’s just imperative,” Slotkin said. “And so I really think of it as a national security issue, and I want to elevate it as a national security issue. It’s not just for farmers, it’s for all of us.”
Michigan was built by the automotive industry and debate over electric vehicles and mandates for clean energy standards were top line issues in Slotkin’s race, with her opponent often asserting that Slotkin and her allies want to force everyone to have to buy a new electric vehicle.
But Slotkin said she will likely not be buying an electric vehicle any time soon, as like plenty of Michiganders, her home is on a dirt road, away from the electric vehicle infrastructure that makes such vehicles make sense for residents.
However, Michigan automakers should be empowered to be on the cutting edge of innovation and growth in ushering in an electric vehicle economy, Slotkin said.
“President Trump has said a lot of things, but…his closest advisor right now is the head of a big electric vehicle company, so I’m hoping that part of their conversations is that electric vehicles, you don’t have to drive one, but we want to make them,” Slotkin said pointing at Trump’s alliance with Tesla Founder Elon Musk. “China is eating our lunch on electric vehicles…if I have a choice, it’s Team America over team China, any day of the week.”
Slotkin told media members to expect to hear about legislation she’s introducing soon as she plans on pursuing issues that will make the U.S. more self-sufficient and resilient to an ever changing world. And as she begins her tenure, Slotkin hopes that Michiganders, whether they voted for her or not, will soon feel more supported by having more “adults in the room in Washington”.
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