Michigan US Senator Elissa Slotkin made an appearance at the Western Michigan University student center on Oct. 30 to talk with students following a night of rallying for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Slotkin said some of the most common concerns students shared had to do with affordability, the job market, and AI.
“We heard a lot about affording education, affording to live and go to school and not work three jobs. We heard a lot about — and I asked a lot about — how do we keep and retain more young people in the state of Michigan after they graduate?" Slotkin said.
Slotkin said she’s focused on rebuilding the middle class during her upcoming years as a senior senator, and said middle-class prosperity is necessary to improve job opportunities and housing affordability among younger residents in the state.
During a student roundtable, Slotkin said several students voiced concerns about the growing role of AI in classrooms and the job market.
“You could hear it in the stories of the young people, right?
I mean, they were talking about just like AI and healthcare. You know, are we okay if an AI model is deciding whether my mom gets a surgery or not, right? When she's sick. Are we okay with AI making decisions of life and death in our military? I'm not," Slotkin said.
She said she's working with other senate Democrats on legislation to hold AI companies accountable when their products cause harm.
Slotkin said another large priority for her in the near future is banning the import and sale of Chinese cars in the US, which she said could be detrimental to the state's auto industry.
"Chinese cars would devastate our economy here in Michigan. They are subsidized by the Chinese government. They collect video and 3D mapping of our cities and towns and sensitive sites. So for me as Michigan senator, I feel very strongly about banning Chinese cars from ever coming to the US," Slotkin said.
Fresh off of an appearance with El-Sayed, Slotkin said she's gotten a lot of questions about how she, a more moderate-leaning Democrat, would serve alongside the staunchly-progressive El-Sayed if he were to be elected to Senate.
"The truth is with Abdul — we're — we talk all the time. We spent time behind stage. We don't agree on everything and that's okay because we agree on the really big things, which are putting a check and balance on Donald Trump and preserving our democracy. So I'm willing to work with anybody who's willing to to stand up for our constitution and push back on corruption," Slotkin said.
Slotkin said she voted in favor of impeaching President Trump twice during her time as a representative, but isn’t sure if House Democrats will pursue the impeachment route for Trump and other cabinet members.
“I've been talking about how important it is to have a conversation around these — what I call signature cases, you know, people who have done egregious violations of the law or abuse of taxpayer dollars and making sure that we hold them accountable, right? And I'm certainly willing to consider any impeachment articles that are entered," Slotkin said.
She said as a Senator, she can’t file impeachment articles herself — but says she will look closely at any efforts to impeach Trump and then convict him in the Senate.
