Former Republican congressman Mike Rogers announced his campaign for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat on Wednesday morning, giving national Republicans their top recruit for what could be the most competitive race in the country. 

With his announcement, Rogers became the first high-profile Republican to announce a run to replace the retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). The U.S. Army veteran and former congressman said he is running for Senate to help American families “get back on track” after facing more than two years of President Joe Biden’s economy. 

“America under Biden and his cronies is going in the wrong direction: Open borders, a broken system of justice — one for the D.C. elites and one for the rest of us,” Rogers says in his announcement video. “Biden’s bad policies are making gas and groceries more expensive and home ownership harder.” 

Rogers represented Michigan’s 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2015 and served as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee from 2011 to 2015. He was also a special agent in the FBI where he focused on organized crime. After serving in Congress, Rogers built cyber security companies to help small businesses fight cyber threats from bad actors such as China. 

National Republicans have signaled that Rogers will have support from the party in his primary. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told The Daily Wire that Rogers is “the type of candidate who can perform well with suburban Michiganders and be a strong part of the eventual ticket in Michigan.”

“Mike Rogers has devoted his life to serving the people of Michigan and holding communist China accountable,” Daines said. “I am pleased to see Mike stepping up to run for the U.S. Senate.”

Daines has said the party is changing course in 2024 and will actively take sides in primaries, in hopes of improving candidate quality for general elections. The likely Democrat opponent in Michigan will be Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who has already entered the race and is expected to win the nomination.

Democrats have held onto both Michigan Senate seats since 2001, but the race is considered to be one of the party’s many potential Senate losses in 2024. Democrats hold just a two-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, and may have to hold onto the Michigan seat to keep control of the upper chamber. Michigan will also likely be a main battleground in the presidential contest, making having a strong ticket all the more important for both parties. 

Rogers joins three other lesser-known Republicans who have declared their candidacy, including, Michigan State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder, businessman Michael Hoover, and attorney Alexandria Taylor, a former Democrat. Other more high-profile candidates, however, are expected to join the race. 

Former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), who lost his primary election after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, formed an exploratory committee last week. Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who ran for governor last cycle, is also a likely candidate for the seat. 

Rogers says he would work to get Senate to focus on issues that matter, like China taking advantage of American businesses.

“Politics has gotten so small and so petty. We’re failing to address big problems,” says Rogers. “Families are struggling, but politicians are fighting over banning gas stoves while China is stealing our intellectual property and our jobs, and Biden is letting them do it. We can do better.”  

Over a dozen Congressional Republicans introduced a measure on Tuesday to repeal the Biden administration’s latest student loan forgiveness efforts that lawmakers argue would transfer over $500 billion of debt onto taxpayers.

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s massive $430 billion student debt relief plan in June, the administration unveiled an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that allows borrowers to repay their debt based on income and family size rather than the loan balance itself. After ten years of payments, those with less than $12,000 would have the rest forgiven.

“Once again, Biden’s newest student loan scheme only shifts the burden from those who chose to take out loans to those who decided not to go to college, paid their way, or already responsibly paid off their loans,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the ranking Republican member on the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), said in a news release.

Cassidy, along with 16 Republican colleagues in both chambers of Congress, introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the “reckless” Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan that would relieve the principal amount on primarily bachelor’s degree student loans — costing taxpayers as much as $559 billion.

The lawmakers said that under the plan, 91% of new student debt would be eligible for reduced
payments and eventual transfer of $0.50 on every $1 borrowed to taxpayers.

“Our resolution protects the 87% of Americans who don’t have student debt and will be forced to shoulder the burden of the President’s irresponsible and unfair policy,” he added.

According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the IDR rule would disperse billions of dollars annually to community college students expecting to have their debt relieved, which lawmakers said would turn the federal student loan financing system into a “poorly targeted, taxpayer-funded grant program.”

Reps. Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC) called the Biden administration’s student loan plan a “scam” and the costliest regulation in U.S. history.

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“The only difference between President Biden and a snake oil salesman is a title,” Foxx and McClain said in a statement. “Biden’s administration knows what it’s doing is illegal, but it’s pushing forward anyway, promoting its SAVE scheme as a solution to America’s broken student loan system. In reality, the SAVE scheme is a desperate effort to curry favor and buy votes ahead of the next election.”

Congressional Republicans and Democrats reportedly have criticized the president’s student loan relief efforts. GOP lawmakers said such plans overlook underlying issues that have led to the skyrocketing cost of college and the increasing debt students take on.

It’s unclear if Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would bring the CRA to the floor for a vote, considering he opposed Republicans’ “cruel” attempt to shut down Biden’s student loan forgiveness program before the nation’s highest court overruled it.

The Biden administration has so far forgiven approximately $116 billion to more than 3.4 million people.

After the Supreme Court blocked the president’s initial student debt relief plan, Biden said he would “stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families.”

Last week, officials canceled $72 million in student loans for about 2,300 student borrowers who attended Ashford University, an online for-profit school based in San Diego that the University of Arizona has since acquired.