LANSING, Mich. – 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.
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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.
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.