Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Who Resigned in Protest Launches Run for Congress in Michigan
Bridget Brink, who stepped down as US ambassador to Ukraine this year in protest of what she said was President Donald Trump's unfair treatment of the war-torn country, announced Wednesday that she's running for Congress in one of Michigan's most competitive districts.
The longtime diplomat, who previously held high-ranking State Department roles in other former Soviet and Eastern European countries, is casting herself as a public servant as she runs in next year's midterm elections when her fellow Democrats hope to win control of the House. 'My next mission: to fight for what's right here at home,' she said.
Trump picked Brink to be the country's ambassador to Slovakia in 2019, and Biden tapped her to be ambassador to Ukraine shortly after Russia invaded the country in 2022. She resigned in April, saying in an op-ed published in the Detroit Free Press that Trump 'continues to pressure Ukraine and not Russia.' 'Appeasing a dictator never has and never will achieve lasting peace,' she said in a video announcing her candidacy. 'And it's just not who we are.'
Having worked as a diplomat under five presidents, Brink said that if elected she would take on extremists and powerful influences such as Elon Musk. She criticized Republicans for cutting government funding and programs.
Brink, who grew up in Grand Rapids, is running in the 7th District, which covers a swath of southern and central Michigan that includes the capital, Lansing, and is one of the state's most competitive. Last year, Army veteran Tom Barrett flipped the district for Republicans, delivering a key win for the party as it kept its House majority. He defeated Democrat Curtis Hill by almost four percent in the open race. The seat was previously held by centrist Democrat Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who successfully ran for US Senate in 2024.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leaders
an hour ago
- Leaders
US Military Preparations at its Peak: Col. Abbas Dahouk
Over the past few days, Trump has made several posts that suggest a direct US military involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict, which erupted on Friday, June 13, 2025. His remarks included that the US has a 'total control of the skies over Iran' and that Tehran should submit to an 'unconditional surrender.' Then, he said about the US striking Iran 'I may do it, I may not do it.' In this context, the Former Senior Military Advisor to US Department of State and Member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on US-Arab Relations, Colonel (Ret.) Abbas Dahouk, said that the Trump administration is preparing for a military operation while using coercive diplomacy. Military Operation Coming Speaking to BBC Arabic, Dahouk said: 'It seems that the Trump administration tries to gather all these elements to launch a military operation against the most fortified nuclear facility in Iran, which is Fordo.' 'But at the same time, the US continues to use coercive diplomacy to try to put pressure on the Iranian regime through the above-mentioned remarks, that the US is serious about the unconditional surrender,' he added. The Former Senior Military Advisor to US Department of State also suggested that the fact that Israel is dropping bombs on Tehran 'disappoints the Iranians and may push them to take a position on this war and take an action.' So, 'Trump's coercive diplomacy continues and at the same time, preparations go on,' he noted. Moving US Assets American officials told Israeli counterparts that the next 48 hours will be decisive, raising questions about what may happen. In the light of this, Col. Dahouk said: 'The military preparations seem to be at its peak. All these strategic assets have been moved.' These assets include refueling aircraft, US Navy destroyers and warships that have moved to the Middle East. Targeting Fordo All these elements come together to 'prepare for what could be a major strike on specific targets inside Iran,' Dahouk said. In case of US involvement, 'this engagement will be very specific and will target certain nuclear facilities, namely the Fordo nuclear compound, which requires US assets to destroy it,' he said. Moreover, US assets are needed to destroy 'the infrastructure related to Iran's nuclear program, an advanced infrastructure that contributes to building a nuclear bomb,' Dahouk added. Geopolitical Dilemma 'This requires a political decision. Trump has not decided yet on this operation, some elements in his administration want to destroy Iran's nuclear program once and for all, and topple the Iranian regime,' Dahouk noted. On the other hand, he said that other elements want Trump to fulfill his 'America First' promises and to not engage in new wars in the Middle East. Thus, it is a 'geopolitical dilemma' that Trump is trying to decide. But militarily, everything seems ready, according to Dahouk. Short link : Post Views: 75
Leaders
an hour ago
- Leaders
'Nobody Knows': Trump on US Striking Iran
The US President, Donald Trump, declined to say whether his administration has decided to move forward with striking Iran or its nuclear facilities, reported the Associated Press (AP). Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said: 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' The US President added that Tehran still has a chance to abandon its nuclear program. 'Nothing's too late. 'I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble,' he said. Trump also noted that the upcoming week 'is going to be very big— maybe less than a week.' On Tuesday, Trump warned the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that his 'patience is wearing thin,' demanding Tehran's 'unconditional surrender.' In response, Khamenei rejected Trump's threats, saying that Iran will not surrender. He also threatened that any direct US military intervention in Israel's war against Iran will bring 'irreparable damage' for Washington. Commenting on Khamenei's remarks, Trump said: 'I say good luck.' The US President also said that Iranian officials try to reach out to the White House, but 'there's a big difference between now and a week ago.' However, Iran's mission to the UN denied Trump's claim. 'No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,' it said in a statement on X. 'Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress,' it noted, adding that 'Iran shall respond to any threat with a counter-threat, and to any action with reciprocal measures.' Meanwhile, the US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said that the Pentagon was providing options to Trump as he decides next steps on Iran, but refused to say whether the military was planning to take part in Israeli strikes. Short link : Post Views: 129
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Fear Stalks Tehran as Israel Bombards, Shelters Fill Up and Communicating Grows Harder
The streets of Tehran are empty, businesses closed, communications patchy at best. With no bona fide bomb shelters open to the public, panicked masses spend restless nights on the floors of metro stations as strikes boom overhead. This is Iran's capital city, just under a week into a fierce Israeli blitz to destroy the country's nuclear program and its military capabilities. After knocking out much of Iran's air defense system, Israel says its warplanes have free rein over the city's skies. US President Donald Trump on Monday told Tehran's roughly 10 million residents to evacuate 'immediately.' Thousands have fled, spending hours in gridlock as they head toward the suburbs, the Caspian Sea, or even Armenia or Türkiye. But others — those elderly and infirm — are stuck in high-rise apartment buildings. Their relatives fret: what to do? Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 585 people and wounded over 1,300, a human rights group says. State media, also a target of bombardment, have stopped reporting on the attacks, leaving Iranians in the dark. There are few visible signs of state authority: Police appear largely undercover, air raid sirens are unreliable, and there's scant information on what to do in case of attack. Shirin, 49, who lives in the southern part of Tehran, said every call or text to friends and family in recent days has felt like it could be the last. 'We don't know if tomorrow we will be alive,' she said. Many Iranians feel conflicted. Some support Israel's targeting of Iranian political and military officials they see as repressive. Others staunchly defend the country and retaliatory strikes on Israel. Then, there are those who oppose Iran's rulers, but still don't want to see their country bombed. To stay, or to go? The Associated Press interviewed five people in Iran and one Iranian American in the US over the phone. All spoke either on the condition of anonymity or only allowed their first names to be used, for fear of retribution from the state against them or their families. Most of the calls ended abruptly and within minutes, cutting off conversations as people grew nervous or because the connection dropped. Iran's government has acknowledged disrupting internet access. It says it's to protect the country, though that has blocked average Iranians from getting information from the outside world. Iranians in the diaspora wait anxiously for news from relatives. One, an Iranian American human rights researcher in the US, said he last heard from relatives when some were trying to flee Tehran earlier in the week. He believes that lack of gas and traffic prevented them from leaving. The most heartbreaking interaction, he said, was when his older cousins with whom he grew up in Iran told him 'We don't know where to go. If we die, we die.' 'Their sense was just despair,' he said. Some families have made the decision to split up. A 23-year-old Afghan refugee who has lived in Iran for four years said he stayed behind in Tehran but sent his wife and newborn son out of the city after a strike Monday hit a nearby pharmacy. 'It was a very bad shock for them,' he said. Some, like Shirin, said fleeing was not an option. The apartment buildings in Tehran are towering and dense. Her father has Alzheimer's and needs an ambulance to move. Her mother's severe arthritis would make even a short trip extremely painful. Still, hoping escape might be possible, she spent the last several days trying to gather their medications. Her brother waited at a gas station until 3 a.m., only to be turned away when the fuel ran out. As of Monday, gas was being rationed to under 20 liters (5 gallons) per driver at stations across Iran after an Israeli strike set fire to the world's largest gas field. Some people, like Arshia, said they are just tired. 'I don't want to go in traffic for 40 hours, 30 hours, 20 hours, just to get to somewhere that might get bombed eventually,' he said. The 22-year-old has been staying in the house with his parents since the initial Israeli strike. He said his once-lively neighborhood of Saadat Abad in northwestern Tehran is now a ghost town. Schools are closed. Very few people even step outside to walk their dogs. Most local stores have run out of drinking water and cooking oil. Others closed. Still, Arshia said the prospect of finding a new place is too daunting. 'We don't have the resources to leave at the moment,' he said. Residents are on their own No air raid sirens went off as Israeli strikes began pounding Tehran before dawn Friday. For many, it was an early sign civilians would have to go it alone. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Tehran was a low-slung city, many homes had basements to shelter in, and there were air raid drills and sirens. Now the capital is packed with close-built high-rise apartments without shelters. 'It's a kind of failing of the past that they didn't build shelters,' said a 29-year-old Tehran resident who left the city Monday. 'Even though we've been under the shadow of a war, as long as I can remember.' Her friend's boyfriend was killed while going to the store. 'You don't really expect your boyfriend or your anyone, really to leave the house and never return when they just went out for a routine normal shopping trip,' she said. Those who choose to relocate do so without help from the government. The state has said it is opening mosques, schools and metro stations for use as shelters. Some are closed, others overcrowded. Hundreds crammed into one Tehran metro station Friday night. Small family groups lay on the floor. One student, a refugee from another country, said she spent 12 hours in the station with her relatives. 'Everyone there was panicking because of the situation,' she said. 'Everyone doesn't know what will happen next, if there is war in the future and what they should do. People think nowhere is safe for them.' Soon after leaving the station, she saw that Israel had warned a swath of Tehran to evacuate. 'For immigrant communities, this is so hard to live in this kind of situation,' she said, explaining she feels like she has nowhere to escape to, especially not her home country, which she asked not be identified. Fear of Iran mingles with fear of Israel For Shirin, the hostilities are bittersweet. Despite being against the theocracy and its treatment of women, the idea that Israel may determine the future does not sit well with her. 'As much as we want the end of this regime, we didn't want it to come at the hands of a foreign government,' she said. 'We would have preferred that if there were to be a change, it would be the result of a people's movement in Iran.' Meanwhile, the 29-year-old who left Tehran had an even more basic message for those outside Iran: 'I just want people to remember that whatever is happening here, it's not routine business for us. People's lives here — people's livelihoods — feel as important to them as they feel to anyone in any other place. How would you feel if your city or your country was under bombardment by another country, and people were dying left and right?' 'We are kind of like, this can't be happening. This can't be my life.'
