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Mike Rogers
MI · At-large
In plain English: Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan.
Term
2001-01-03 – 2015-01-03
Next election
2026-11-03Open seat: Sen. Gary Peters (D) is not seeking a third term. Rogers won the Aug 4, 2026 Republican primary unopposed; faces Abdul El-Sayed (D) in the general. Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up. Debates held Oct 8 (WOOD-TV) and scheduled Oct 21. Republicans have not won a Michigan Senate race since 1994.
Running for
U.S. Senate (MI), 2026
Committees
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (chair, 2011-2015); Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Communications and Technology; Subcommittee on Health
Mike Rogers (R) is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2026. He served seven terms in the U.S. House (MI-08, 2001-2015) and chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (2011-2015). Before Congress he was an FBI special agent in Chicago and served in the Michigan Senate (1995-2000). He lost the 2024 Michigan Senate race to Elissa Slotkin by about 19,000 votes and faces Abdul El-Sayed (D) on Nov 3, 2026, for the open seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters.
Bio source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Rogers_(Michigan_politician)
1. Follow the money, in plain English
What we don’t have yet: verified donor records for this leader. Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
Every money claim on this page carries its source and its confidence level; the full item-by-item money record is in the evidence below.
2. What they promised
Each promise is tracked against documented votes and actions. A status is set only from the record; where a promise has not been tested yet, the card says so.
- PROMISEIn progress
"As Michigan's senator, I'll bring both parties together to lower your prices. That's job number one."
- PROMISEIn progress
End the U.S.-Canada tariff war and broker a trade deal with Canada. In the ad: "Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now." At the Oct 8 debate he said he contacted the White House that week to press for a "deal": "We were originally told that the Canadian tariff was going to be settled and settled quickly. It didn't happen. My argument is, and I made this to the administration, time to wrap it up." Status so far: On Aug 29, 2026 he said "tariffs are necessary," and on Sept 22, 2026, asked about raising tariffs on Canadian imports to 50%, he said, "If it's good for Michigan, I'm going to be for it." At the Oct 8, 2026 debate he said he had contacted the White House that week to press for a deal to end the tariff war with Canada.
Verification note: Position shift documented: on Aug 29, 2026 he said "President Trump is right to put America First - and tariffs are necessary"; on Sept 22 he said of the 50% Canada tariffs, "If it's good for Michigan, I'm going to be for it."
- PROMISEIn progress
End the Iran war quickly. In September 2026 he said the war needs to "end quickly"; at the Oct 8 debate: "I do believe it's going to come to an end. We need it to come to an end." Status so far: In May 2026 he called the Iran war a "win-win-win." In September 2026 he said the war needs to "end quickly," and at the Oct 8, 2026 debate he said, "We need it to come to an end."
Verification note: Position shift documented: in May 2026 he called the Iran war a "win-win-win" (per USA Today debate coverage, Oct 8, 2026).
- PROMISEIn progress
[Paraphrase] Bring manufacturing and defense work to Michigan, boost home ownership and children's literacy rates, and put shop class back in every high school.
- PROMISEIn progress
[Paraphrase] Support a diesel rebate and a federal and state gas tax holiday to lower fuel costs.
- PROMISEIn progress
[Paraphrase] A one-year statewide moratorium on new data-center construction in Michigan.
Verification note: Position shift documented: WSJ reports he previously defended data-center construction.
- PROMISEIn progress
[Paraphrase] During his House tenure (2001-2015) he "pushed the acceleration of generic drugs," over pharmaceutical industry opposition: "Trust me, the pharmaceutical companies were not happy about it." Offered as evidence of independence from drug companies.
Verification note: Past-tense claim about his House record, recorded as stated; specific legislation not named on stage.
- PROMISENo test yet
Use Title I money for a phonics-based 'reading reclamation program' between 3rd and 4th grade, plus restoring shop and trades classes in schools.
3. The evidence
Everything on this page comes from the record below, grouped so you can find things: what they said, what they did, money and influence, and what happened after. Every item carries its date, its source, and the date we last verified it.
Open the full record ↓
What they said
- STATEMENT
At a 2013 House Intelligence Committee hearing: "You can't have your privacy violated if you don't know your privacy is violated."
Verification note: Quote relayed by the El-Sayed campaign site; widely reported contemporaneously.
- STATEMENT
Described critics of CISPA as "14-year-olds in their basements clicking around on the Internet."
- STATEMENT
As House Intelligence chairman, "warned his colleagues about the upcoming select committee to investigate Benghazi," downplayed CIA contractors' closed-session testimony, and said he did not believe the CIA had stonewalled his committee. Lake reported Rogers, Buck McKeon, and Darrell Issa "all opposed the formation of a select committee on Benghazi."
Verification note: Reported speech via Daily Beast national-security correspondent; not a verbatim transcript.
- STATEMENT
"President Trump is right to put America First - and tariffs are necessary, but are not a one-size-fits-all solution."
- STATEMENT
Asked whether Trump should rethink raising tariffs on Canadian imports to 50%: "If it's good for Michigan, I'm going to be for it."
- STATEMENT
At the first Senate debate: "I'm Mike Rogers, United States Army officer, FBI agent. Don't listen to this guy. I will make and fight for a better Michigan." He called El-Sayed a "con man."
- FACT
Kristi Clemens, a former press aide to Coalition Provisional Authority head L. Paul Bremer in Iraq, pitched the British private military firm Aegis Defence Services on launching a U.S. branch. She became executive vice president, then president (2008), chief executive (2009), and vice chairman of Aegis LLC US (2011).
- FACT
Rogers divorced his wife of 17 years in 2007 and married Clemens in 2010.
- FACT
Aegis won a $293M Pentagon contract (2004) to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq; a $475M Defense Department award (2007) supporting Army Corps of Engineers reconstruction in Iraq; and, on July 29, 2011, the $1.017B contract to guard the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2010 Aegis was one of eight firms qualified to bid on the State Department's $10B Worldwide Protection program. Kristi Rogers later claimed credit in a (since-scrubbed) law-firm biography for leading "a two-year pursuit and capture strategy to win a five-year, $10 billion contract."
Verification note: Contract figures per Drop Site's reporting; the Kabul award date (seven months after Rogers became Intel chair Jan 3, 2011) is the investigation's central timeline point.
- FACT
Kristi Rogers testified as Aegis's president before the congressional Commission on Wartime Contracting. She had declined an earlier appearance, citing her honeymoon in spring 2010; one commissioner noted her board had advised against attending. Under questioning she acknowledged Aegis personnel operated the center coordinating other armed contractors in Iraq, called the conflict-of-interest whistleblower a "disgruntled former employee," and admitted the company was forced to terminate its Afghanistan contractor-oversight duties.
- FACT
HPSCI announced a "no interaction policy with Mrs. Rogers or any Aegis employee" via spokesperson Susan Phalan: "strictly observed and enforced" policies barred committee interaction with her on official business.
- FACT
Per Drop Site's review of Rogers's financial disclosures: after his 2007 divorce he had "few assets to his name and little wealth." The household added at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in net worth during his Intelligence Committee chairmanship and millions more after he left the House for the private security and tech sectors. Note: the House requires disclosure of "unearned income" (interest, dividends) only, not a spouse's salary or bonuses.
Verification note: Wealth trajectory per Drop Site's disclosure review; not an independent WWF audit of the filings.
- STATEMENT
Rogers's campaign: "The accusation that Mike used his position in Congress to protect his family in any way, shape, or form is patently false."
- FACT
Rogers's HPSCI Benghazi report (Nov 2014) found no CIA wrongdoing in the Sept 11, 2012 attack. Sen. Lindsey Graham called the report "full of crap" (CNN).
- ALLEGATION
Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova accused Rogers on WMAL radio of "sabotaging the Benghazi hearings" and of "dishonorable conduct." Status: opinion; no legal finding
Verification note: Opinion/accusation by a commentator; no proceeding resulted.
- ALLEGATION
Operative Dick Morris wrote that Rogers was "a key force in obstructing and delaying the Benghazi investigation in order to shield his wife, Kristi, from scrutiny," claiming Aegis won contracts "likely through Mrs. Rogers' influence as the wife of the House Intel Committee." Status: opinion; no legal finding
Verification note: Partisan operative's claim; the "likely through influence" phrasing is his characterization, not a finding.
- FACT
Al Jazeera reported Aegis was bidding for a $5B contract to secure Libya's borders; Judicial Watch (2014), citing WikiLeaks documents, found Aegis had been active in Libya since early 2011 and assessed Benghazi in the summer before the Sept 2012 attack. Aegis was not responsible for security at the Benghazi compound.
Verification note: Attribution chain: Al Jazeera reporting; Judicial Watch analysis of WikiLeaks documents.
- FACT
After Congress, Rogers worked in cybersecurity and corporate security, including as a chief security adviser to AT&T and an adviser to the venture firm Forgepoint Capital (which invests in cybersecurity/AI startups, some with federal contracts). Michigan Democrats/Metro Times (2026) report he advised Forgepoint from Oct 2018 to at least Aug 2025 and held investments in its funds.
Verification note: Via partisan source citing public records; underlying disclosure records not independently pulled in this pass.
- STATEMENT
"We're going to get our kids reading at grade-level again, we're going to make housing more affordable so every Michigander can achieve the American dream. We're going to bring back those 200,000 manufacturing jobs that the Democrats chased out of our state and overseas," Rogers said in a speech.
- STATEMENT
Responding to Abdul El-Sayed's denial of Muslim Brotherhood ties, a Rogers campaign spokesperson told the Post: "Abdul El-Sayed is clearly falling apart. He lied about his connections to designated terrorist organizations on national television, and his attempted clean up isn't going so well."
Verification note: Spokesperson statement, not Rogers' own words; NYT-adjacent corroboration not found.
- STATEMENT
"We are not going to let Michigan be the first Democrat Socialists of America state in the union, to have somebody in the United States Senate. We're not going to do it," Rogers told supporters. On El-Sayed's denial of Muslim Brotherhood family ties: "He looked at the camera and lied to America when he said, my family or me had no connections to the Muslim brotherhood." He also attacked El-Sayed's energy agenda as raising utility bills and gas prices: "Money in your pocket. Hell, you won't even have pants when he's done with it."
Verification note: Partisan GETTR relay; no neutral outlet independently confirmed the rally remarks. Opponent-attack claims are Rogers' allegations, not verified facts.
- FACT
The Americans4Hindus (A4H) PAC Michigan Chapter endorsed Mike Rogers, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Michigan, at an endorsement gathering in Troy, Michigan on Oct 10, 2026; the endorsement was publicly announced Oct 11.
Verification note: Gathering itself occurred Oct 10 (just outside window); announcement published Oct 11. Minor PAC endorsement.
- STATEMENT
On releasing the Epstein files, argued that names of people who merely associated with or traveled with Epstein should be redacted from any public release, to protect victims and innocent people: "I do believe you have to protect victims. You also have to protect somebody who got on an airplane and rode with him." "You can't put that person out there. The court of public opinion would ruin their life for no reason."
Verification note: Position is Rogers's own words, on the record; the two quotations are as carried by multiple Oct 20-21, 2026 reports quoting the audio (the exact July 2025 air date is not pinned down in that sourcing, so the wording is carried conservatively). Corrections to the viral framing: the audio is NOT leaked and is from July 2025, not recent; Rogers has held no office since Jan 3, 2015, cast no vote on releasing the files, and blocked nothing; Raw Story's Oct 20 claim that he was "defending his vote against releasing the unredacted Epstein files" is false, as no such vote exists. The Michigan Democrats' charge that he wants documents "redacted to protect Trump and his other associates" is their characterization, not a documented fact. Separately documented: as of Nov 2025 he had declined to state a position on making the files public (Michigan Democratic Party statement at the time of the House release vote).
- STATEMENT
On AI: 'I support the national security framework for AI, including maybe even a kill switch.'
What they did
- VOTE
H.R. 3162: USA PATRIOT Act (2001) Yea on passage (passed)
Verification note: Vote reported via campaign-opposition research site; the 2001 PATRIOT Act roll call is a matter of public record.
- VOTE
H.J.Res. 114: Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Yea on passage (passed 296-133)
Verification note: Vote reported via secondary source; the 2002 Iraq AUMF roll call is a matter of public record.
- VOTE
H.R. 6304: FISA Amendments Act (2008 surveillance law) Yea on passage (passed)
Verification note: Described as the 2008 law letting the government target believed-overseas persons without individual court orders; vote reported via secondary source.
- VOTE
H.R. 6304 (telecom immunity title): Retroactive immunity for telecom companies assisting post-9/11 surveillance Yea on passage (passed)
Verification note: Vote reported via secondary source; Rogers defended the protections for companies that helped "in good faith."
- FACT
Primary sponsor of the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act (H.R. 5037); signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2006.
- FACT
Introduced the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) on Nov 30, 2011, and again in 2013. The bill would have let private companies share user data with the government for cybersecurity purposes without judicial oversight; opposed by the ACLU, EFF, and Reporters Without Borders. It never became law (Obama threatened a veto).
- FACT
Introduced the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 (H.R. 4681), authorizing intelligence agencies and appropriations.
Money and influence
- DATA UNAVAILABLE
Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
- FACT
Endorsed by President Donald Trump for the 2026 Senate race ("COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT," Truth Social, Oct 2026).
- FACT
Post-Congress private-sector roles in cybersecurity/corporate security (AT&T chief security adviser; Forgepoint Capital adviser). El-Sayed campaign frames these as profiting from industries he regulated; Rogers's campaign denies any misuse of office.
What happened after
- OUTCOME
Left Congress after seven terms. Announced on WJR radio (Detroit) March 28, 2014, that he would not seek an eighth term, citing belief in "a citizen legislature" and an intent to return to the private sector. He said he would host a talk-radio show on the Cumulus network; the Detroit Free Press later reported the media venture never launched. Status: completed
- OUTCOME
Lost the 2024 Michigan U.S. Senate general election to Elissa Slotkin (D): Slotkin 2,712,686 votes to Rogers 2,693,680, a margin of about 19,000 (under half a point). Rogers had won the Aug 6, 2024 Republican primary with about 63% over Justin Amash. Trump carried Michigan on the same ballot. Status: completed
- ALLEGATION
El-Sayed has called Rogers a "corrupt corporate sellout" and nicknamed him "Mike Dodgers" over debate scheduling; he has also attacked Rogers for making "up to $14 million in the private sector from the types of companies he was tasked with regulating" (per Bridge Michigan). No court or ethics finding supports the corruption characterization. Status: campaign claim; challenger's characterization
Sources
- Wikipedia: Mike Rogers (Michigan politician)
- Drop Site News: Aegis/wife contracts investigation (Oct 14, 2026)
- Daily Beast (Eli Lake): Benghazi select-committee opposition (May 2014)
- CNN: Rogers breaks with Trump on Canada tariffs (Oct 7, 2026)
- Wall Street Journal: breaks with Trump again (Oct 7, 2026)
- USA Today: Michigan Senate debate takeaways (Oct 8, 2026)
- Lansing State Journal: Rogers profile (Sept 25, 2026)
- Washington Examiner: MikeIsWatching.com / Patriot Act record (Oct 2026)
- Reason: Rogers retirement (Mar 28, 2014)
- WCMU Public Media
- New York Post
- Space Woman Reporter News via GETTR
- IndiaPost NewsPaper
- USA Today live blog (Oct 21)
- Semblen debate transcript (Oct 21)
Evidence
Related receipts
No receipts filed for this leader yet.
Every factual item carries its source, date, and last-verified stamp. Items marked unavailable are genuinely missing. Never filled in.