When she gives her party’s response to Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress, Democratic senator Elissa Slotkin will be under intense scrutiny.
Despite being considered a promising figure by senior members of the Democratic party, she has faced several controversies since her initial election in 2018.
In February 2023, the Michigan senator revealed her separation from Army veteran Dave Moore. However, it was previously disclosed that she had relocated to a Michigan apartment belonging to a well-known contributor.
And in August last year, the New York Post reported how she received a farming tax credit – even though her Michigan property didn’t have a license.
Slotkin worked as a CIA analyst and Defense Department official before turning to a career in politics.
Slotkin wanted to work in intelligence after the 9/11 terror attacks.
She joined the CIA as a Middle East analyst before being deployed to Baghdad just one year into the role.
It was in Iraq where she met Moore, a former colonel, in 2009. They tied the knot in 2011.
Moore was part of the American team that was negotiating with Iraq. He had previously served in the first Gulf War, Korea, and Kosovo.
The couple tied the knot at her family farm in Holly – located around 55 miles from Detroit – in 2011, and they were married for 12 years.
During his career, Moore worked as a counter-terrorism planner for the Pentagon.
And, on her financial disclosure forms, she revealed in 2018 and 2019 he worked for a consultancy firm, per Fox News.
In her 2018 filing, she claimed he earned between $100,001 and $250,000.
But filings from 2020 and 2021 were missing information before Slotkin amended the documents.
Initially, she only published that he received a military pension.
Her team said the omission was linked to a clerical error.
In 2023, Slotkin announced she and Moore were divorcing.
“After careful consideration, we are saddened to announce that we are divorcing after 12 years of marriage,” she told the Detroit Free Press at the time.
“We’ve reached this decision together after much reflection and we do it on agreeable terms.”
Before the elections in November 2022, she moved into a Lansing property owned by a lobbyist, according to Fox News.
She paid around $2,000 a month, as reported by The Mail.
It’s unclear if there was a link between her property move and the divorce.
But it was reported that the couple separated in August 2022.
TAX CREDIT ‘SCANDAL’
The clerical error is not the only controversy that Slotkin has been embroiled in.
She received a tax credit on her home that was able to save her $2,700 a year.
But, it was controversial as no farming activity took place on the land.
But, officials labeled the home as “agricultural improved,” which meant she could avoid paying property tax.
The controversy was used as an attack line by her Republican opponents.
A Slotkin campaign spokesperson told the Post how the home had been part of her family since the 1950s and had been agricultural.
POLITICAL BACKGROUND
In 2018, she ousted incumbent Mike Bishop in the election to represent Michigan’s eighth congressional district.
But months before her victory, she made an admission in a Father’s Day tribute to her dad, Curt.
In a Medium post, she revealed Curt thought Congress lacked integrity.
“To be honest, he was very skeptical of me running for Congress,” Slotkin wrote.
She revealed her campaign would be centered around the principle of integrity.
Slotkin explained that integrity matters in different areas – ranging from politics to business.
“I use the lessons my father taught me every day,” she wrote.
“And I believe the simple value of integrity matters, even in a complicated place like Congress.”
Marking Father’s Day in June 2019, she shared one image of herself with Curt standing by a barbecue where he was seen flipping sausages.
“He has always been surprised by my career choices, but over the past year he threw himself into my race, was a regular at events, held it together through attack ads, and has always been there when I needed him,” she wrote on Facebook.
What will Trump say in his address to Congress?
DONALD Trump will address lawmakers in a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4.
What time will it start? 9pm EST
Where will it take place? The chamber of the US House of Representatives.
Will the speech be broadcast? Major news networks will carry the speech, and there will be a live stream on the Associated Press YouTube channel.
Who will attend: House and Senate lawmakers, members of the Supreme Court, Trump’s cabinet. Trump might also invite guests to watch from the balcony above the House floor
What will Trump say? Trump will lay out his agenda for his second administration. Ukraine, inflation, Gaza, migration are all likely to be topics featuring within the speech.
Who will deliver the Democratic response: Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin. The Democratic response is likely to focus on the economy.
Is Trump’s speech a State of the Union address? No. This is because the speech will take place in the early weeks of Trump’s first term.
In another post, she said Curt was “deeply skeptical and deeply supportive.”
Slotkin was re-elected in 2020 and was elected as congresswoman for Michigan’s 7th congressional district two years later.
She raised $9.8 million, and her election was the most expensive House race in that year’s cycle.
Just months after prevailing in the 2022 midterms, she positioned herself to succeed now-former Senator Debbie Stabenow.
“She feels, I think, very connected to making sure her legacy is upheld by passing the torch to someone who can win it,” Slotkin said in January 2023.
‘RISING STAR’
Slotkin managed to win the Senate seat in November 2024 despite Trump winning Michigan in the presidential election.
And Chuck Schumer, the former Senate majority leader, described Slotkin as a “rising star.”
She is set to focus on the economy in her rebuttal to Trump’s speech.
“She will offer a bold vision of hope, unity, and a brighter future for everyone, not just the wealthy few at the top,” Schumer said.
“Elissa Slotkin will layout the fight to tackle the deep challenges we face today, chart a path forward, and shape the future of our nation.”
Trump will address lawmakers in the House chamber around six weeks after taking the oath of office.
His address will not be a State of the Union speech because he is only weeks into his administration.
State of the Union speeches allow presidents to discuss their achievements over the past year.
Topics likely to feature in Trump’s speech include Ukraine, Gaza, tariffs, inflation, and migration.
In Trump’s first six weeks, he signed a flurry of executive orders as he reversed Joe Biden’s agenda.
Trump has signed more than 70 executive orders so far.
In the first 100 days of his first term in 2017, Trump signed 33 executive orders, while Biden signed 42 in 2021.
But the address will take place against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty.
Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday turned chaotic, and all military aid to Ukraine has been paused.
And tariffs slapped on Mexican and Canadian goods have come into force.
Meanwhile, at home, Americans are grappling with high egg prices after avian flu sparked a huge shortage.
