In Congress, Elissa Slotkin uses her security background to support veterans

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, is a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst who has applied her security experience to her role in Congress, where she now works on issues affecting the well-being of military service members and veterans.

Slotkin says the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, were the primary motivator that led her to begin a career in public service and national security. She was a graduate student at Columbia University in New York City when al-Qaida terrorists crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

After earning her graduate degree, Slotkin was recruited by the CIA to work as an intelligence analyst, and she went on to serve three tours in Iraq. In between her tours in the Middle East, Slotkin worked under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama as part of the National Security Council.

Slotkin began working at the Pentagon in 2011 and became an acting assistant secretary of defense in 2015. She served in that position for two years, during which she oversaw America’s military defense strategies in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She also helped coordinate efforts in the fight against ISIS.

Slotkin told a crowd at Detroit’s 2023 Veteran’s Day parade that her experience working alongside the military taught her the value of personal leadership and putting the mission before yourself.

“Those are lessons that you learn in the military; they are lessons that you need for the rest of your life, and they are the lessons that, frankly, a lot of Americans could use right now,” Slotkin said.

When Slotkin was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019, she made supporting service members and veterans one of her top legislative priorities. She’s since sponsored and backed several bills concerned with veterans issues that have been signed into law, including legislation requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase its outreach efforts to veterans transitioning back into civilian life and legislation to assist veterans in getting dog therapy training and service dogs.

In her 2024 Senate bid, Slotkin has received an endorsement from the political action committee of VoteVets, an organization that represents over 1.5 million veterans and military supporters across the country, according to its website.

Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and the chair of the VoteVets PAC, said in a statement that Slotkin has a deep understanding of the national security threats facing the country and has a plan to keep Americans safe.

“She’s a strong voice for our national security but understands that our Troops must never be used as anything but as a last resort,” Soltz said. “She’s been a strong friend to the Veterans’ community and is a patriot through and through. She also never forgets where she came from and who she’s there to serve.”