{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/2025/11/03/what-they-are-saying-slotkin-delivers-speech-at-brookings-institution-calls-out-trumps-authoritarian-playbook/", "WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Slotkin Delivers Speech at Brookings Institution, Calls out Trump\u2019s Authoritarian Playbook", "2025-11-03", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "MI", "Elissa Slotkin", "S001208", "www.slotkin.senate.gov", "slotkin", "https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/newsroom/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Last week, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered remarks at the Brookings Institution\u2019s Knight forum on Geopolitics. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and a former national security professional, Slotkin focused on President Trump\u2019s use of the military, use of force, his authoritarian playbook and how this all impacts our democracy.\n\nSlotkin warned that amidst domestic deployments of the National Guard in American cities and strikes against unnamed terrorist groups in the Caribbean, President Trump is using a clear authoritarian playbook that could potentially include lethal force on Americans domestically, using every lever of government to go after his perceived enemies and opponents and undermining our ability to hold competitive and fair elections.\n\nWatch and download her full speech\n\nWHAT THEY ARE SAYING:\n\nMI Advance: \u2018I\u2019m popping a flare\u2019: Slotkin says Trump is using \u2018same playbook as every authoritarian in history\u2019\n\nSlotkin, herself a CIA officer and former Pentagon official, laid out how Trump had garnered so much power \u2014 running on a legitimate concern of cost of living, surrounding himself with those loyal to him, and accumulating influence.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s more than one way to lose our democracy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m popping a flare today because we\u2019re in danger of that happening here at home.\u201d But Slotkin also found hope in the \u201cinternal barometer for things that sound and smell authoritarian\u201d that she said Americans have.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s what Trump hasn\u2019t planned for: the will of the American people,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen this in Michigan, where even ardent Trump supporters don\u2019t like what they\u2019re seeing.\u201d\n\nDetroit News: Slotkin slams Trump\u2019s \u2018secret war\u2019 at sea, warns of next steps in \u2018authoritarian playbook\u2019\n\n\u201cIf he [Trump] keeps a secret list of groups that we\u2019re going after in the Caribbean, are we going to also have a secret list of domestic terrorist organizations? And then what exactly is he going to do to target those organizations?\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t say this lightly, but I think between the strikes in the Caribbean, his efforts to identify domestic terrorists and his deployment of force in American cities, that seems to be where we\u2019re headed,\u201d Slotkin said in the speech.\n\nDetroit Free Press: Slotkin paints dark picture of future saying Trump intends \u2018to hold onto power\u2019\n\n\u201cHe has one goal, making sure that he and his ilk never have to give up power,\u201d Slotkin, D-Michigan, said in remarks delivered during a forum on international policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington.\u201d\n\nSlotkin said she could see circumstances in which military strikes against cartels attempting to bring drugs into the U.S. might be valid but that the Trump administration has so far refused to either identify specifically what groups or individuals it is aiming to stop or provide a legal justification by its lawyers for doing so.\n\nSlotkin said it\u2019s up to Congress and members of both parties to \u201creclaim our power, like yesterday, over the use of force.\u201d\n\nDetroit Free Press: Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Trump is laying the groundwork to stay in power\n\nWhile delivering remarks on international policy, Senator Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., laid out what she believes are President Trump\u2019s plans to \u201cnever have to give up power.\u201d\n\nMSNBC: Deadline White House Segment\n\nSenator Slotkin insisted she is not being an alarmist, but in her words, popping a flare at what a fraught moment this is in our nation\u2019s history.\n\nMSNBC: \u2018Popping a flare on authoritarianism\u2019: Senator calls for no troops in our streets\n\nSen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., joins Morning Joe to discuss \u2018No Troops in Our Streets Act,\u2019 which she introduced on Wednesday. Sen. Slotkin also discusses the continued government shutdown.\n\nKen Klippenstein: @SenatorSlotkin raises NSPM-7 at Brookings, warning of Americans being added to the terrorist watchlist: \u201dThe secret lists are not made up of drug traffickers in international waters; it\u2019ll be Americans on American streets and in American homes.\u201d\n\nThe Bulwark: Sen. Slotkin: \u201cI believe Trump is reshaping the country to hold on to power. Trump is following the same playbook as almost every authoritarian in history. The playbook is first, get elected to address legitimate issues\u2026 Once in office, surround yourself with people loyal to you, accumulate power and influence, and then start using it against your perceived enemies. But here\u2019s the kicker\u2026\u201d\n\nMichigan Public: Sen. Slotkin Says Public Deserves to Know Who is Killed in Strikes on Alleged Drug Traffickers\n\nSlotkin, a Democrat, says the president is refusing to identify the specific groups it\u2019s targeting. \u201cWhatever our differences are these days, I think it\u2019s safe to say, that the American people deserve to know who we are at war with\u2026especially if people are being killed in our name,\u201d said Slotkin.\n\nThe Senator says she is concerned the president may use similar tactics against his personal domestic opponents. \u201cIf he\u2019s willing to use lethal force against enemies abroad\u2026what\u2019s stopping him using lethal force against enemies here at home,\u201d said Slotkin, \u201cThat question should chill every American to the bone.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/2025/11/03/what-they-are-saying-slotkin-delivers-speech-at-brookings-institution-calls-out-trumps-authoritarian-playbook/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1622561141848564, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}