As an acting director of national intelligence under the Trump administration, I understand the growing threat China poses better than most. That’s why I’m worried about the outcome of Michigan’s tight Senate race.

The Communist nation is a threat to our economy, our national security and our way of life.

China is constantly probing our weaknesses. That’s why it’s stealing our intellectual property to help its businesses, infiltrating our government and private systems through persistent hacking and collecting information on our children through platforms like TikTok. 

Worse still, the Chinese Communist Party leverages students and faculty at American universities for espionage and theft.

Just a few weeks ago, in my home state, five Chinese nationals who were enrolled at the University of Michigan were caught spying at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan. That’s where the US military trains Taiwanese soldiers how to defend themselves in the event of a Chinese invasion.

The message could not be clearer: China cannot be trusted. 

After four years of weakness on the world stage, America can’t afford leaders who fail to understand the China threat. Yet one elected official who’s shown weakness toward China could become Michigan’s next senator.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a political appointee in the Obama administration, signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 to help a Chinese battery company get hundreds of millions of dollars from Michigan taxpayers.

This battery company, Gotion, is directly connected to the Chinese Communist Party and wants to set up shop about 90 miles from one of America’s largest National Guard training facilities.

This is such a massive national security risk that even Slotkin’s former boss Obama Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta acknowledged it during a congressional hearing this year. Panetta testified in January there’s no doubt the Chinese Communist Party would use the plant “for their own intelligence purposes.”

On the campaign trail, Slotkin claims to be a China hawk and national-security expert. Yet she’s signing secret deals and refusing to release herself from them.

Michigan voters deserve better than Slotkin’s underhand dealing, deceptiveness and poor judgment.

Why would Slotkin, or any sitting member of Congress, sign a nondisclosure agreement with anyone — let alone a company connected to the government of a foreign adversary?

And if Slotkin doesn’t want to be tied to the Gotion plant and a secret agreement, why hasn’t she released herself from her years-long NDA?

Slotkin clearly has something to hide. I have a simple solution for the congresswoman: Release yourself from your secret deal and come clean so voters have a clear picture of your involvement.

Michigan voters deserve the truth.

They deserve a principled senator with sound judgment and the spine to stand up to America’s enemies.

They deserve a senator like former FBI special agent Mike Rogers, who has fought the China threat tooth and nail and protected our nation as House Intelligence Committee chairman.

I am calling on Slotkin to release herself from her deal before Nov. 5. Michigan voters deserve to know the truth about her secret work.