US Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, will speak on the fourth and final days of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago on August 22, 2024. Mandel NGAN/AFP hides captions via Getty Image
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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
This is a well-known mission for the newly minted US Senator, considered a rising star of the Democratic Party.
Elissa Slotkin ran to the Senate last year after three terms in the House of Representatives representing the state’s seventh district. Currently, the first term of the Senator will be on the national stage.
Slotkin brings Democrats back to Congress’ joint sessions of Congress to President Trump’s first speech in the second term. Trump is scheduled to speak Tuesday night.
With each of her campaigns, Slotkin has focused on her background in national security. She is a former CIA analyst and joined the agency on September 11th and toured in Iraq. She served both Bush and President Obama.
Slotkin highlighted her bipartisan background and the political trends in both her inauguration. Her hometown, which is in a critical swing state, is considered one of the most competitive in the country.
On the campaign trail last fall, she asked supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Slotkin then lamented the current state of politics, adding, “If in the past six or seven years your relationship with family, friends and colleagues is tense due to national politics, raise your hand.”
She looked around the room with her raised hands and said, “I always believed that public service should mean crossing the aisle to get things done.”
“And I’m proud to say it as a Democrat representing a district that is leaning towards Republicans,” Slotkin said.
If anything, the political gap has widened within the weeks since Trump and Slotkin took office. Since then, she has voted against candidates for Trump Cabinet, including Pete Hegses, as Secretary of Defense.
“If President (Hegseth) asked him to do something not constitutional, he couldn’t be more clearly said that he would push back.
Slotkin’s rebuttal is a way of highlighting who Democrats consider to be a rising star, according to Matt Grossman, a political scientist at Michigan State University.
But Grossman also warns that such speeches also have the risk that they are “tight or small next to their presidency’s neighbors.”
This is the problem faced by all speakers who have worked on this task. Plus, Grossman warns, and Democrats ready to fight Trump won’t want to hear that they’ll reach across the aisle.
“Slotkin won the seat at (the state Trump won). From the start, she worked with the presidents of both parties and ran as someone who placed national security before the party. But Democrat bases are looking for signs of an offensive battle.”
“It’s going to be a difficult line to step on,” Grossman added.
So far, President Trump has given enough attacks to the attacks, from the potential economic impact of tariffs on Canada to the massive layoffs of federal workers who have reached small towns and communities, to the thousands of veterans who have been caught up in layoffs. The key is to stay true to the persona she has embodied, yet separates criticism.
The democratic response to Trump will be broadcast and streamed shortly after the president’s speech is over.
