Slotkin to Take on Domestic Terrorism As Head of Counterterrorism Subcommittee

HOLLY, MI –– U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) has been named the Chairwoman of the Intelligence & Counterterrorism Subcommittee within the House Committee on Homeland Security. Having spent her career preventing attacks on the United States as a CIA analyst and later as a senior Pentagon official, Slotkin brings deep expertise to this role at a time when domestic terrorism is on the rise. As the representative for Michigan's 8th Congressional District, Slotkin has also seen the local impact of the rise of extremist groups in her own community in the past year. Today she pledged to take those threats, as well as the enduring threat of foreign terrorism, head-on in leading the Counterterrorism Subcommittee.

"The ‘post-9/11' era, where our greatest threats to national security were external, is over," Slotkin said. "It's now extremists seeking to exploit internal divisions within our own country that pose the greatest threat. I have spent my career protecting the security of American citizens from foreign threats. Now, that mission turns toward the threats we face here at home, and those individuals and groups that, inspired by the division, turn their anger into terrorism and violence. It will take thoughtful, careful, collective work to improve our approach to these domestic threats –– but given the events of the last year alone, it must be our mission and mandate to air the legitimate debates on this topic and help come up with solutions to protect American citizens from the rise of terrorist violence.

"In Michigan, and in the 8th district specifically, we've seen these trends long before the events of January 6th: We saw armed protesters force their way into our state Capitol in Lansing last April, raids to arrest plotters seeking to kidnap and assassinate our Governor last fall, groups like the Proud Boys proliferating in our community, and instances of anti-Semitism increase in our state nearly four-fold in the last four years.

"The definition of terrorism is the use of violence to achieve political goals. No matter what, we cannot allow violence to become a regular tool in our political system. No matter what cause it supports, we should all refuse to accept that, to let that become normalized in our country. I'm proud to be the Chair of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, where it will be our mission to air the important and complicated questions around the issue of combatting domestic terrorism."

"I am glad Congresswoman Slotkin will be leading our Committee's Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee this Congress," said Congressman Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. "Her diverse work experience will be critical in our Committee's ongoing work to understand the many evolving threats to the homeland. In the wake of the attack on the Capitol and with the continued rise of domestic terrorism, we clearly have much work to do and I am fully confident that Rep. Slotkin is up to the task."

Slotkin was recruited to join the CIA after 9/11 and served three tours in Iraq as a Middle East Analyst, serving alongside the military. She worked on the staff of the National Security Council under President Bush, and stayed on to serve under President Obama, later becoming Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

The Intelligence and Counterterrorism (I&C) Subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security is responsible for oversight and legislative activities needed to identify and deter threats to the United States, through the collection and sharing of counterterrorism and intelligence information across Federal, State, and local law enforcement. It also examines federal intelligence and information sharing, with a focus on the Department of Homeland Security, and conducts congressional oversight of the United States Secret Service, particularly pertaining to the agency's protective, investigative, and cyber missions.

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