Sent to my HR rep and both senators:
March 25, 2025
Dear Representative Huizenga,
I’m writing to ask that you call for the immediate resignations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. The incompetent, careless, and illegal use of a commercially-available chat product to discuss highly-classified military operations represents a huge risk to our national security as well as to all those who serve in our military.
Sincerely,
Rev. Kenneth Arthur
The following response was received on May 27, 2025:
Dear Mr. Arthur,
Thank you for reaching out to my office to share your thoughts on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense. I’ve been setting up our D.C. and Michigan offices, so I apologize for the delayed response to your message. As your new Senator as of January 2025, I appreciate hearing from you.
As a former CIA officer and Pentagon official who has worked for both Democratic and Republican Administrations, I know that every President has the right to nominate their own people for their Administration. But, according to the Constitution, it is my responsibility as a U.S. Senator to provide advice and consent on those nominations. Each nominee appears before the Senate committee that oversees their responsibilities and responds to questions from committee members about how they will fulfill their duties. For me, that means assessing candidates’ commitment to upholding the oath of office they will swear to the U.S. Constitution—not to any one person or political party.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I had the opportunity to question Mr. Hegseth at his confirmation hearing on January 14, 2025. That public questioning left me little confidence that Mr. Hegseth would protect and preserve our apolitical military, nor would he stand in the breach if given an unconstitutional or unlawful order by the Commander in Chief. Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical scenario: in his first term, he ordered his Secretary of Defense to send in active-duty troops to quell non-violent rallies, and luckily his former Secretary of Defense convinced him otherwise. Using the military in ways that violate our U.S. Constitution is a strategic and irreversible threat to our democracy. Given that, I voted against Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation. He was narrowly confirmed on a 51-50 vote on January 24, 2025, after Vice President Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.
Once again, sincere thanks for reaching out. I believe that engaging your elected officials is a critical component of our democracy and allows us to better represent you, so thank you for taking the time to get in touch.
Last thing: if you want to keep up with my work for Michigan in the U.S. Senate, you can visit my website at https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/services/newsletter/ and sign up for my newsletter, which is the single best way to stay in touch. You can also find regular updates on social media by following me on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, or Instagram. Please do not hesitate to contact me for this or any other matter of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Elissa Slotkin
U.S. Senator for Michigan