Democratic US Senator Elissa Slotkin has accused former President Donald Trump of employing strategies borrowed from authoritarian regimes to intimidate and silence his critics. The Michigan senator made the claims as she faces an investigation by the Trump administration over a video she helped produce.
Investigation Over Military Video
Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official, is under scrutiny for organising and appearing in a 90-second video alongside fellow Democrat Senator Mark Kelly and three House Representatives. The video, released in November, implored military service members to refuse "illegal orders", citing the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
In response, Trump labelled the message "treasonous" and amplified a social media post suggesting the six Democrats should be hanged. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has since moved to retroactively demote Kelly, a former navy captain and astronaut, who is now suing to block the proceedings. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro has also requested an interview with Slotkin.
'A Well-Worn Authoritarian Playbook'
In an exclusive phone interview, Senator Slotkin told The Guardian that the administration's actions represent a deliberate effort to stifle free speech. "They're now using a well-worn playbook that employs physical intimidation and legal intimidation to get, A, you to shut up, and B, for other people thinking of criticising the president on such issues to be dissuaded from doing so," she stated.
Drawing on her national security background, Slotkin added: "It's absolutely a strategy well used in other countries and other authoritarian governments. As a CIA officer I've served in places like this, I've studied places like this my entire life, and Trump is sadly using that playbook in the United States right now."
The 49-year-old senator, who completed three tours in Iraq, said she had "no regrets" about the video. She explained it was made in response to numerous service members privately expressing "questions, concerns, fears" about orders they were being given, both abroad and within the US.
Domestic Focus: The Housing Emergency
Beyond the immediate political clash, Slotkin is applying her national security lens to domestic issues, notably the escalating housing crisis. She has introduced a Senate bill calling for the president to declare a national housing emergency.
The proposed legislation would slash regulations, use the Defense Production Act to boost the construction of 4 million homes, and reward pro-growth communities with federal funds. Slotkin argues that while Trump and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have proposed housing measures, their plans are insufficient.
"Home prices have risen nearly 55% since 2020. Rents are up more than 30% across the country," she noted, highlighting that the average first-time buyer is now 40, compared to 28 for her parents' generation. "The root of that problem is that it's too expensive and too onerous because of regulation to quickly build a lot of single-family homes."
She criticised the Trump administration for focusing on foreign policy over domestic affordability: "He ran on lowering your costs and preserving the American dream and he's done extremely small amounts of work on this in the past year."
Democracy as a Kitchen Table Issue
With midterm elections approaching, Slotkin plans a major speech arguing that threats to democracy are not abstract but directly impact citizens' daily lives. "Democracy isn't just some highfalutin concept," she asserted. "If the rules of our democracy get broken or get rigged, fundamentally that will affect our freedom here at home."
She also offered blunt criticism of her own party, dismissing the traditional moderate-progressive divide. The real split, she contends, is between those who see Trump as an "existential threat to democracy" and those who believe Democrats should simply wait him out.
Slotkin's warning comes amid heightened global tensions, with Trump ordering military operations in nine different locations—seven countries and two oceans—in his first year, a record pace. His recent threats against NATO ally Greenland have left Slotkin "embarrassed to take people's phone calls."
