Elissa Slotkin

Elissa Slotkin is an American politician and former intelligence official serving as a U.S. Senator from Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, where she represented Michigan's 8th and later 7th congressional districts. Slotkin's background is rooted in national security; she earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an analyst. During her tenure at the CIA, she served three tours in Iraq, working alongside the U.S. military to provide intelligence support. In the executive branch, Slotkin held several high-level roles within the Obama administration, including positions at the National Security Council and the Department of Defense. She eventually served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 2015 to 2017. Her legislative career has been characterized by a focus on bipartisanship, national security, and domestic manufacturing. In 2024, she was elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Slotkin's stated positions focus on middle-class economic stability, national security, and healthcare accessibility. She supports the Affordable Care Act and has advocated for policies to lower the cost of prescription drugs, including allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. On the economy, she emphasizes the importance of 'bringing supply chains home,' particularly for semiconductors and electric vehicle components, to strengthen Michigan's manufacturing sector. Her environmental platform includes protecting the Great Lakes from pollution and addressing PFAS contamination in water supplies. Slotkin is a proponent of codifying reproductive rights into federal law. In terms of foreign policy, she supports maintaining strong international alliances, specifically within NATO, and has taken a firm stance on countering the influence of China through both economic policy and military readiness. She also supports comprehensive immigration reform that pairs enhanced border security with a pathway to legal status for certain undocumented individuals.