Former Ukraine Ambassador Bridget Brink announces Michigan congressional bid
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink announced her campaign for Congress in Michigan on Wednesday, running as a Democrat in a battleground seat.
Brink, who served in Kyiv from 2022 until she stepped down in April, focused heavily on her role supporting Ukraine and combatting Russian President Vladimir Putin in her three-minute announcement video.
'President [Donald] Trump keeps pressuring our democratic ally, Ukraine, rather than the aggressor, Russia,' Brink said in the video posted on X. 'Appeasing a dictator never has and never will achieve a lasting peace, and it's just not who we are.'
Brink said she stepped down from her position in April after Trump shifted U.S. policy to ramp up pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while softening its stance toward Russia.
'Unfortunately, the policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia,' Brink said in an op-ed in May. 'As such, I could no longer in good faith carry out the administration's policy and felt it was my duty to step down.'
Brink is looking to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett after he narrowly flipped the battleground district in 2024. Democrats are targeting Barrett's seat, which was held by Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin until she ran for Senate last year.
Barrett defeated former Michigan state Sen. Curtis Hertel by about four percentage points in November's election.
Brink is expected to face some competition in the primary. Matt Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL and military aide to President Barack Obama, is reportedly considering a run in the same district.
Prior to serving in Ukraine, Brink — who grew up near Lansing, Michigan — was nominated by Trump in 2019 as ambassador to Slovakia, having previously worked at the State Department since 1996.
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