‘Do not trust him’: Elissa Slotkin calls out Mike Rogers’ voting record at fiery US Senate debate

Former Republican US Rep. Mike Rogers has a long record of opposing middle class tax cuts, supporting abortion bans, and voting to weaken Social Security and Medicare benefits.

MICHIGAN—Democratic US Rep. Elissa Slotkin and former Republican US Rep. Mike Rogers sparred over key policy issues for about an hour on Monday during the second—and final—debate between the candidates as they look to represent Michigan in the US Senate.

And with thousands of absentee ballots already being cast daily across Michigan, Slotkin used the primetime event largely to make her last-minute pitch to those who remain undecided ahead of Election Day—and to hold Rogers’ accountable for his record during his time in Congress.

“It’s part of the democratic process to talk about the differences between us, and we have a lot of differences. We have differences on the role of the middle class, on bringing manufacturing back from China to the United States, on protecting our rights and our democracy,” Slotkin said.

“But the good news is we both have records. … We don’t have to guess about what we’ve done or what we will do because we’ve had the opportunity to be in the seat to cast important votes.”

Here’s the deal:

During his 14 years in the US House, Rogers voted in support of bills that sought to raise taxes on the middle class, ban reproductive health care, and weaken both Medicare and Social Security benefits. And Slotkin isn’t letting Michiganders forget about Rogers’ voting record.

“This is not trying to scare anyone other than to outline his record,” Slotkin said. “I’m not throwing insults. You could just own your record, Mike. You voted for these things in your own time within your own free will. You had a choice. You sat in that job. You made your choice.”

Here are four claims that Slotkin made about Rogers’ voting record—with receipts:

Rogers opposed middle class tax cuts.

Slotkin said: “Rogers has voted against middle class tax cuts over, and over, and over again in his record. It’s true. It’s constant. So, the idea that somehow he cares about the middle class and middle class tax cuts? His voting record says the opposite.”

According to Rogers’ voting record, Slotkin’s assessment is accurate. 

For starters: In 2001, Rogers voted four times against proposals to cut the tax rate for Americans in the lowest income tax bracket, as well as three times against expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which would’ve boosted workers’ incomes through a tax credit. 

In 2003 and 2004, Rogers also repeatedly voted against expanding the federal Child Tax Credit. 

Rogers also reportedly backed former President George W. Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax laws that slashed federal revenues, added about $1.7 trillion to the national debt over a decade, and also provided sizable tax cuts for the highest-income taxpayers in America.

He also praised a Republican-led tax plan in 2017 that gave hefty tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations at the expense of middle-class families as an example of a “core GOP policy.”

The AFL-CIO also maintains a list of at least nine other times Rogers “voted against working people,” including his record of supporting House budgets that sought to cut taxes for millionaires and big corporations, as well as defund programs for low-income families.

Rogers has also faced criticism for his votes to protect corporate interests over Michigan’s working families—namely by voting for billions of dollars in tax breaks for the oil industry, as well as voting against federal legislation that was designed to lower drug costs for Michiganders. 

More recently, Rogers has also reportedly thrown his support behind a plan from ex-President Donald Trump which could result in even lower tax rates for the wealthy and large corporations.

“At the end of the day, it’s really about trust,” Slotkin said during this week’s debate. “Who do you trust to listen to you, learn, and then go and fight on your behalf in Washington?

Rogers voted against reproductive rights. 

Rogers has long made clear that he opposes reproductive freedom in Michigan—including voicing support for a near-total abortion ban in response to an MLive candidate survey in 2010, where he clearly stated “abortions should be legal only to prevent the death of the mother.”

More recently, after Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion care was overturned in 2022, Rogers reportedly told the Daily Mining Gazette that he had supported the decision—and vowed to back more restrictions, like a “full ban on federal funding for abortion.”

And had he lived in Michigan instead of Florida in 2022, Rogers told reporters that he would’ve voted against Proposal 3 to cement the right to reproductive freedom—including abortion care—into the state Constitution, which passed with about 56% of the vote last year.

During the debate, Slotkin also contended that “Rogers has voted for every bill, every ban, every restriction on abortion that came in front of him for 20 straight years.” And according to a review of Rogers’ voting record on abortion, that’s an accurate assessment. 

In 2012, Rogers voted for a bill that would’ve banned most abortions (without exceptions for rape or incest) in Washington, D.C. And about one year later, he co-sponsored legislation with US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that sought to ban and criminalize abortions across the country.

That legislation never made it to a vote, but Rogers later voted in support of another anti-abortion bill in 2013 that aimed to ban abortions after 20 weeks, with limited exceptions. That bill passed the US House, but never ended up passing through the US Senate.

During his time in Congress, Rogers also voted for other anti-abortion bills—including legislation to force patients to receive a misinformation-filled “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure” before getting an abortion, as well as four bills that could’ve banned in-vitro fertilization. 

Rogers’ record on opposing reproductive freedom was enough to earn him a nearly flawless candidate score from The Family Research Council, which is designated as an extremist, anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and masquerades as an “educational organization” in an attempt to steer voters toward anti-abortion candidates.

Recently, and only since launching his US Senate campaign, Rogers has shifted his public views on the issue—namely by pledging not to support national proposals to ban abortion. But Slotkin contends that Rogers’ voting record carries more weight than campaign trail promises.

“Do not trust him on this. Those are his votes,” Slotkin said. “I’m so sick of people who don’t understand women’s health, who don’t understand reproductive rights, who don’t understand that this is about the rights of our grandchildren having the same rights as their grandmother.”

She added: “Michiganders, do not believe him. He will not protect you.”

Rogers voted to weaken Social Security and Medicare.

During this week’s debate, Slotkin said: “The senior citizens of this state can know exactly what they’re going to get with Mike Rogers. He voted to privatize or cut back Social Security and Medicare over a dozen times. He voted to raise the retirement age.”

Those claims also track with Rogers’ voting record from during his time in Congress. 

One of the Republican-led federal budget plans that garnered Rogers support in 2012 sought to replace Medicare’s guarantee of coverage with a voucher-based program, raise the age of eligibility from 65 to 67, and shift substantial treatment costs to Medicare beneficiaries.

Under this plan, like other iterations that have been pitched by Republicans over the years, Michigan seniors would have had to spend more out-of-pocket to cover their healthcare costs.

Rogers has also repeatedly backed efforts to make changes to Social Security—including a plan that sought to partially privatize the program and have Americans invest benefit funds individually and directly in the stock market, reports The Michigan Independent. 

Slotkin has also criticized Rogers for voting in support of Republican-led budget bills that spent the Social Security trust fund as well as voting against legislation that was designed to protect Social Security funds from automatic spending cuts or from being used to pay for other tax cuts. 

And when asked about what he will do to protect Social Security benefits during a candidate forum last year in New Hampshire, Rogers said the federal government should “rethink what retirement looks like” and also suggested that the retirement age may need to be increased. 

“I got a bridge I want to sell you if you think this guy’s going to protect you,” Slotkin said. 

During his time in Congress, Rogers also voted in support of legislation to limit prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients, as well as voted against giving Medicare the the power to negotiate prescription drug prices directly with drug companies—something that was later accomplished through a provision in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“I believe that in the United States of America, all people deserve access to health care they can afford,” Slotkin said during this week’s debate. “I don’t have to imagine what I would do on this issue. I have done it. We have voted finally to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices.” 

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