Mike Rogers, a former congressman making his second run for the U.S. Senate, has made it clear that representing the interests of average Michiganders is not his priority.
In a fundraising appeal this summer, Rogers warned that if Democrats win a Senate majority, they would subpoena Musk and investigate his role in the destructive DOGE rampage through federal agencies.
“When you stand with my Senate campaign, you are directly shielding Elon Musk,” Rogers wrote. He asked for an “immediate, urgent contribution right now to protect Elon and save America.”
It’s pretty stunning, but it’s not out of character for Rogers to be looking out for the interests of billionaire backers at the expense of the people of Michigan.
“Throughout his political career, the Republican US Senate hopeful has received millions of dollars in contributions to his campaigns and political action committees from wealthy elitists like former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Texas oil tycoon and Christian Nationalist Tim Dunn, as well as private-sector organizations in the pharmaceutical and oil and gas industries,” The ‘Gander reported.
The Detroit Metro Times exposed Rogers’ support for efforts by the billionaire owners of a toll bridge to Canada to prevent the opening of a publicly funded alternative. Rogers reportedly made almost $2 million in 2022 and 2023 by “cashing in on the revolving door between Congress and the private sector.”
With his pledge to shield Musk from investigations, Rogers seems oblivious to the fact that congressional oversight is key to our system of constitutional checks and balances. That puts him in line with Republican congressional leaders who have shown that they are unwilling to stand up to President Donald Trump’s corruption and abuse of power.
And now that Elon Musk has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns to keep Republicans like Rogers in control of Congress, you can be sure that if he’s successful there will be no oversight of his shady deals—not to mention his increasingly overt racism and support of neo-fascist forces around the world.
Speaking of bigotry, Rogers and his allies—including Trump—have deployed vile religious and racial bigotry in their dishonest attacks on his Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed.
Rogers has also drawn criticism for urging Republicans to recruit off-duty or retired police officers as poll watchers in Detroit, seemingly to intimidate voters. “I mean, they wouldn’t be able to wear their uniforms, but they would, you know, all you got to do is open your jacket and you see the badge on the belt, right?” Rogers said.
Rogers has a track record of opposing legal equality for LGBTQ Americans and legal access to abortion, though he’s now trying to muddle his anti-abortion extremism. He’s closely aligned with Trump and welcomed the president’s endorsement. But on “Meet the Press” this week, he refused to answer a simple direct question about whether he considers himself to be a MAGA Republican.
He doesn’t have to tell us, because he’s shown us. He’s more MAGA than Michigander.
