Elissa Slotkin assails Trump's early actions, offers Democrats a way to
fight back
[March 05, 2025]
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — First-term Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin accused
President Donald Trump of driving up costs while pushing for an
“unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends” in Tuesday night's
Democratic response to his first joint congressional address of his
second term.
Slotkin, just months into her first term in the U.S. Senate after
winning an open Michigan seat despite Trump carrying the state, said
Trump “has not laid out a credible plan” to address rising everyday
expenses for Americans. She said tariffs that went into effect early
Tuesday would only worsen the economy.
Slotkin spoke from Wyandotte, Michigan, a working-class community south
of Detroit, after Trump delivered the longest address to Congress by a
president in U.S. history. In her opening, Slotkin acknowledged that
“America wants change. But there is a responsible way to make change,
and a reckless way.”
“We can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and
as a democracy,” said Slotkin.
In a speech that lasted an hour and 40 minutes, Trump claimed credit for
“swift and unrelenting action” in reshaping the nation’s economy,
immigration and foreign policy within his first weeks in office. The
Republican-controlled House and Senate have done little to check the
president’s agenda.
In her rebuttal, which lasted a little more than 10 minutes, Slotkin
told Americans that “change doesn’t need to be chaotic or make us less
safe" and warned of the dangers of Trump's economic approach.
“For those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down,”
Slotkin said. “And if he’s not careful, he could walk us right into a
recession.”
Slotkin, a former CIA analyst with an extensive background in national
security, said the meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week must have had former President Ronald
Reagan "rolling in his grave.”
Her remarks came as Democrats struggle to find a unified message to
counter Trump. That was evident Tuesday night in the House chamber,
where some Democratic members held placards with various messages. Some
Democrats chose not to attend the speech at all while others sat in
silence. Some shouted criticism at Trump, and one House member, Texas
Rep. Al Green, was escorted from the chamber after repeatedly
interrupting him.
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Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., rehearses the Democratic response to
President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of congress
Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Wyandotte, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya,
Pool)
Slotkin focused on economic issues after Trump’s Monday announcement
that 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would begin
Tuesday reignited fears of a North American trade war, which has
already shown signs of driving up inflation and stalling growth.
“President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to
his billionaire friends,” she said. "He’s on the hunt to find
trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America. And
to do that, he’s going to make you pay in every part of your life.
“Grocery and home prices are going up, not down — and he hasn’t laid
out a credible plan to deal with either.”
She also warned that democracy, which “has been the aspiration of
the world,” is at risk.
“It’s at risk when the president decides to pick and choose what
rules you want to follow, when he ignores court orders and the
Constitution itself, or when elected leaders stand by and just let
it happen,” Slotkin said.
Her team said her guest for the Trump address was Marine veteran
Andrew Lennox, who recently spoke out after losing his job at a
Veterans Affairs hospital in Ann Arbor due to cuts implemented by
the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire
Elon Musk.
The 48-year-old Slotkin is seen as a leading figure in the party’s
next generation. She first ran for office in 2018, defeating a
two-term incumbent Republican. After redistricting, she consistently
won one of the nation’s most competitive House seats, earning a
reputation as one of the party’s top fundraisers. In 2023, she
announced a run for Michigan's open Senate seat after Sen. Debbie
Stabenow announced she would not seek a fifth term.
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