Elissa Slotkin
Elissa Slotkin | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 8th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Mike Bishop |
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs | |
In office November 14, 2014 – January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Derek Chollet |
Succeeded by | Kenneth Handelman (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | July 10, 1976
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | David Moore |
Children | 2 |
Education | Cornell University (BA) Columbia University (MIA) |
Awards | Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service |
Website | House website |
Elissa Blair Slotkin (born July 10, 1976) is an American government official and politician who serves as the U.S. Representative from Michigan's 8th congressional district.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a CIA analyst and as a Department of Defense official.
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Early life and education[edit]
Slotkin was born in 1976 in New York City, the daughter of Judith (Spitz) Slotkin. She is Jewish.[2][3][4][5] Slotkin spent her early life on a farm in Holly, Michigan, roughly halfway between Flint and Detroit. She attended Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills.
She received a B.A. from Cornell University (1998) and an M.I.A. from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (2003).[6] In 2001, she completed a course in the Arabic language at The American University in Cairo.[6]
Her early employment included: community organizer for Roca, Incorporated (1998–2000) and Swahili language translator for Harbor Area Early Childhood (1999–2000), both in Massachusetts; grant writer at Isha L'Isha (meaning 'Woman to Woman' in Hebrew) (2000–2001); and intern at the U.S. Department of State (2002).[6]
Career[edit]
Slotkin's professional experience included working for the Central Intelligence Agency as a political analyst (2003-2004) and intelligence briefer (2004-2005).[6] From 2005 to 2006, she was a senior assistant on the staff of the Director of National Intelligence.[6] She was the leader of a CIA assessment team in Iraq from 2006 to 2007 and the National Security Council staff's director for Iraq policy from 2007 to 2009.[6]
From 2009 to 2011, Slotkin was a senior advisor on Iraq policy at the U.S. State Department, and in 2011 she joined the staff of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy as an adviser on Middle East policy.[6] In 2012, Slotkin became chief of staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy, and later that year she was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy.[6] Slotkin was appointed Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in 2013, and in 2014 she was appointed as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.[6] From 2015 to 2017, Slotkin was acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.[6]
After leaving the Defense Department in January 2017, Slotkin moved back to her family's farm in Holly, where she owned and operated Pinpoint Consulting.[7]
U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
In July 2017, Slotkin announced her candidacy for the 8th District.[8] The district is based in the state capital of Lansing, and stretches into the outer northern suburbs of Detroit. She has stated that she was motivated to challenge two-term Republican incumbent Mike Bishop when she saw him smile at a White House celebration after he and the Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[9] She faced Michigan State University criminal justice professor Christopher Smith in the Democratic primary. On August 7, she defeated Smith, receiving 70.7% of the votes.[10]
In November 2018, Slotkin defeated Bishop[1] with 50.6% of the vote.[11] She is the first Democrat to represent this district since 2001.[11] Her victory, and that of Haley Stevens in the neighboring 11th District, means that there are no Republicans representing Oakland County in the House for the first time since the 1930s.[12]
Slotkin was the main sponsor of the 2020 Iran War Powers Resolution, which passed 224-194.[13]
Committee assignments[edit]
Caucus memberships[edit]
Electoral history[edit]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Elissa Slotkin | 57,819 | 70.7 | |
Democratic | Christopher E. Smith | 23,996 | 29.3 | |
Total votes | 81,815 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Elissa Slotkin | 172,880 | 50.6 | |
Republican | Mike Bishop (incumbent) | 159,782 | 46.8 | |
Libertarian | Brian Ellison | 6,302 | 1.8 | |
Taxpayers | David Lillis | 2,629 | 0.8 | |
Total votes | 341,593 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Personal life[edit]
Her husband, Dave Moore, retired as an Army colonel and Apache helicopter pilot.[16] They met in Baghdad during the Iraq War and reside in Holly.[16] Slotkin has two stepdaughters, one an Army officer, and the other a physician.[17]
See also[edit]
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
- List of Jewish American politicians
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Democratic ex-CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin defeats Republican Rep. Mike Bishop to claim a Michigan congressional seat". Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^ "Candidate Conversation - Elissa Slotkin (D)". www.insideelections.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ "Judith Slotkin loses life to cancer".
- ^ "Remembering my grandfather, Ted, today on the anniversary of #DDay". Twitter. Retrieved Sep 26, 2019.
- ^ "These Jewish women are running for office because of Trump". The Times of Israel. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Biography, Elissa Slotkin". Votesmart.org. Des Moines, IA: Vote Smart. 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ Melinn, Kyle (May 3, 2018). "Yes, a Democrat could be our next member of Congress. Her name is Elissa Slotkin. Her game is beating Mike Bishop". City Pulse. Lansing, MI.
- ^ "Former U.S. Defense official Elissa Slotkin announces Congressional run". MLive.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ "Democrat Elissa Slotkin tells of mother's ovarian cancer in new ad". Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ^ "Michigan Primary Election Results". The New York Times. New York, NY. September 24, 2018.
- ^ a b Spangler, Todd; Howard, Phoebe Wall; Anderson, Elisha (November 7, 2018). "Elissa Slotkin wins Michigan Congress seat, Mike Bishop concedes". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, MI.
- ^ Laitner, Bill (November 8, 2018). "Republican and Patterson's hold on Oakland County may be at an end". Detroit Free Press.
All four congressional districts with a footprint in Oakland County will be held by Democrats come Jan. 1, with both the 8th District and the 11th District flipping from Republican on Tuesday.
- ^ These Republicans voted yes on the War Powers resolution By Clare Foran, Haley Byrd, Holmes Lybrand, & Caroline Kelly, CNN, Jan 10, 2020
- ^ FOX 47 News (January 15, 2019). "Rep. Elissa Slotkin Appointed to House Armed Services Committee". Fox47.
- ^ Thompson, Bennie. "Chairman Thompson Announces Homeland Security Committee Democratic Members". U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ a b Lessenberry, Jack (April 25, 2018). "Hot dogs, the CIA, and Congress". Metro Times. Detroit, MI.
- ^ Cavitt, Mark (October 22, 2018). "ELECTION 2018: Elissa Slotkin Q&A". The Oakland Press. Pontiac, MI.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "US Department of Defense".
External links[edit]
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin official House website
- Campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Mike Bishop |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 8th congressional district 2019–present |
Incumbent |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Mikie Sherrill |
United States Representatives by seniority 408th |
Succeeded by Abigail Spanberger |
116th | Senate: D. Stabenow • G. Peters | House: F. Upton • T. Walberg • J. Amash • B. Huizenga • D. Kildee • D. Dingell • B. Lawrence • J. Moolenaar • J. Bergman • P. Mitchell • A. Levin • E. Slotkin • H. Stevens • R. Tlaib |
- 1976 births
- American civil servants
- American Jews
- Cornell University alumni
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
- Jewish women politicians
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan
- Michigan Democrats
- People from Holly, Michigan
- People of the Central Intelligence Agency
- United States Department of Defense officials