Haley Stevens

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democratic candidate in Michigan's U.S. Senate primary, sat for an endorsement interview with the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board on June 10. Here's what Stevens told us about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and how she'd determine whether and when foreign aid is appropriate.

Editorial Page Editor Nancy Kaffer: The United States is involved in a number of conflicts and military actions, either whether it's material aid in Ukraine or Israel. Share your thought process to determine where U.S. foreign aid is appropriate, where direct intervention would be appropriate, and where you draw the line on assistance in foreign conflicts.

Haley Stevens: Just to be very clear out of the gate, because I know this kind of popped up when we were all up at (the) Mackinac (Policy Conference), my votes on behalf of Michigan are for the people of Michigan, right? My positions aren't owned by anyone.

I look at everything from the lens of what is in the best strategic interests of the United States. I come at this more so, we've got some incredible people, (U.S. Sen.) Elissa Slotkin's one of them, (U.S. Sen.) Gary Peters with his background in service. They've got a military and national security background. I have a trade manufacturing industrial policy background. So I tend to look at things through the lens of, what, obviously I am a steward of our nation's safety, and, as a congressional member and as someone running for Senate, would be in that kind of role.

But I also look at, in terms of strategic interests, what makes sure that we're trading with our allies and protecting and growing Michigan jobs. So particularly around Ukraine, for instance, there was a ton of pushback from Republicans who, by the way, have all been complicit in voting for and protecting (President Donald) Trump's illegal war with Iran. But these Republicans were not supporting aid to Ukraine, and they were making these false claims that we were just giving Ukraine checks. What we were doing is, we were investing.

The thing is, our defense budget, and that was our defense ... right, which is located in Madison Heights and makes tankers that get shipped over to Ukraine. And it's on that front line. So I look at who are our democratic allies, and who are our trade partners? And that's also, for a lot of my career, how I have approached it in the Midwest. Now we have something cooking where that's very real, and certainly an area that I have felt, and dealt with, particularly in my work on hostage affairs. I ended up in this role of standing up for the hostages around the world because of Paul Whelan, right?

But then 10-7 hit, and you had Hamas take a bunch of hostages. Well, those hostage families were not happy with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. I have always known Israel is a strategic ally of the U.S. I believe in the state of Israel. I also represent one of the largest concentrations of Jewish people in a congressional district in the the Midwest. And so I've been alongside them through a lot of this pain and all of us wanting to get these hostages homes home and see long term peace.

What has happened is we took a vote in ‘24, in April of 24, four votes. Aid to Ukraine, aid to Taiwan, aid to Israel and humanitarian aid, because the humanitarian aid is a very important one. You can't look away from what was going on in Gaza. We have to say that the U.S. and Israel has got to get aid in into that country. So that's the votes we've taken.

Now, you've got some disagreements about what they're actually doing over there. But I've got to stay focused on making sure we get aid and that we support a two-state solution, which I do, right, obviously. I believe in a state of Israel and I believe in a functional state of Palestine that protects the dignity and integrity of innocent people. And anyone who's supporting Haley Stevens, me, anyone who supports me for the roles I'm in, running for House, running for Senate, is doing so because of the long record I have and the articulated record I have on behalf of Michigan and what people in our state need. But that's kind of how I've evaluated it. I mean, I could go deeper because I have some other … yeah. And if you want to follow up …

NK: Yes, and I want to refocus. So, yes, there are definitely disagreements about what's happening there. There have been, I think, as of this spring, 70,000 casualties in Gaza, of which a large number are civilians. I know that you're not someone who's callous or thinks that's acceptable. In this race you’re the candidate who is most hawkish on Gaza and most strongly supportive of Israel's actions. I'd like to give you the space to speak to that and to talk about how you view those deaths, and particularly civilian deaths. And of course, not to overlook the civilian deaths that happened in Israel on Oct. 7, or the ongoing threat from Hamas … I would like to hear, from you, how you think about this, and how it informs your actions in Congress.

HS: Without a doubt. The images, the deaths, the children. I mean, I remember I issued a statement really early on, it might have still been ‘23. And I was one of the earlier voices saying, “We’ve got to help people.” ...

It takes your breath away. I mean, it's … It's unthinkable to watch that. And then to see some claims that this looks like another endless war ... What's going to get us long-term peace, which always has to be the goal? And, it’s how I feel. I don't think any one senator from the United States is going to end hundreds of years of conflict. But what we can project is the goal of long-term peace.

I know hearing from Michiganders, my friend Mike ... who's a Palestinian refugee by way of Syria, escaped almost 40 years ago. He's lived the American dream, building this enterprise with his dad. He came here in high school, really not even speaking English. And I spend a lot of time with Mike, spend a ton of time with him, on issues tied to Michigan, obviously tied to some of the pain that his family has gone through. His business was also getting whacked by tariffs. But I let the ethos of long-term peace be the goal to guide my work. And that is why every chance I've gotten, I have very strongly and passionately voted for humanitarian aid.

NK: So when I look at recent news, it's Israel kills nine in Gaza as Egypt hosts new ceasefire talks. Israel kills 13 in Gaza. Netanyahu seizes, or wants to seize, 70% of territory, violating the ceasefire deal. Is the U.S. doing enough, first, to hold Israel accountable to the ceasefire agreement, and second, to following international law?

HS: I've been watching this one very closely. You know, when we started to see the extreme settler violence, particularly, in the West Bank, rearing up, and, it was one of the first reports coming out, of rising settler violence. I thought, well, what are they saying in Israel? And the state issues like, you guys got to cool it, but then they don't do anything to stop it. And I will just say I have not agreed, and I have disagreed, with Netanyahu many times.

I support a two-state solution. And that doesn't, that means I support two states, but not necessarily the ruling enterprises in those states. Israel, I don't vote in Israel, but my gosh, you know, I'm not giving Netanyahu a vote. He doesn't share my views. The same thing with the Palestinian community who's been torn by ... they've got the PLA who wants the Palestinian state. And then they've told us ... this was before 10-7, but we know how they feel. They can’t stand Hamas. So, you know, yeah, I mean, there's been a lot of mistakes that Netanyahu's made. I've been with those hostage families who were livid at him. I think there's ways in which he's not handling things properly, to say the least. I mean, I don't agree with him on everything.

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