NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF SEN. GARY PETERS
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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) released a statement and video to announce he will not seek reelection in 2026. Below are excerpts from his statement. For the full statement, click here.
“I have always believed that American democracy can only remain healthy and vibrant when every citizen takes an active role in strengthening their community. There are many ways people can choose to serve their community and all are important. The how and when we serve is different for everyone and what we do becomes part of a unique individual life story having many chapters.
“At this point in my life, I have been able to write many different chapters, and I look forward to the new ones with both anticipation and excitement.
“When I was first elected to Congress in 2008, I always knew there would come a time to pass the torch to the next generation of public servants and allow them the opportunity to bring fresh energy and ideas to our nation’s capital. Our founding fathers envisioned members of Congress as citizens serving their country for a few terms and then returning to private life. I agree. After three terms in the House and two terms in the Senate, I believe now is time for me to write a few more paragraphs in my current chapter and turn over the reins. I will therefore not seek reelection in 2026.
“I have two more years remaining in my current term and there is more work to do. I intend to continue my work on issues important to all Michiganders by working to lower costs, make sure everyone has the opportunity to succeed, feel safe in their community, and protect core American democratic values.
“My service in the Congress has been the honor of my life. It has been a humbling responsibility given to me by the voters of the state I love. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I believe my work has left our country a better place.
“I am leaving Congress, but I am not retiring. I look forward to writing many more chapters when my term ends. I do not know what those chapters will be, but I expect one of them will be me finding endless twisting back roads where I can experience the joy of total freedom riding my Harley Davidson motorcycle on a warm sunny day.
To watch a video of Senator Peters’ announcement and see his full statement, click here.
Peters has been honored to represent the State of Michigan in the U.S. Senate since 2015. He worked in the private sector for 20 years as a financial adviser. He began his career in public service as a Rochester Hills city councilman, and served two terms as a Michigan State Senator.
Peters volunteered for the U.S. Navy Reserve at age 34, where he earned a Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on our country, he volunteered again for drilling status and served overseas as part of his Reserve duty.
He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, and then to the U.S. Senate in 2014. Peters currently serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and has been the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee since 2019. To read Peters’ full biography, click here.
Over the remaining two years of his term, Peters will continue his legislative efforts, but his 16 years in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate leave a clear legacy of an elected official who delivers real results for the people of Michigan. Below are some of Peters’ most significant legislative accomplishments.
Even in an increasingly polarized Congress, Peters has been an effective legislator. Over the 10 years he’s served so far in the Senate, Peters was the author and principal sponsor of more bills signed into law than any other member of the House or Senate. These bills helped strengthen our national security, support Michigan’s robust automotive manufacturing sector, ensure veterans can receive the benefits they earned in their service, protect our Great Lakes and drinking water, and more.
- Named the #1 most effective Senator in both the 116th and 117th Congresses by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking.
- 117th Congress (2012-2022): Authored and was the principal sponsor of 19 bipartisan bills signed into law – the most enacted into law by a U.S. Senator during a single Congress in over 40 years.
- 116th Congress (2019-2020): Only Senator to pass the most bills into law as a member of the minority party, and under a Republican President, since the Center for Effective Lawmaking began collecting data over 50 years ago.
- Built on that record in the 118th Congress (2023-2024) as the author and principal sponsor of 15 bipartisan standalone bills that were signed into law – the most of any member of the House or Senate.
- Recognized as the 2nd most bipartisan Senator – and the #1 most bipartisan Democrat – in 2023 by the nonpartisan Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
When the 2008 financial crisis rocked Michigan’s automotive industry, Peters was instrumental in advocating for the rescue of the Big Three automakers, which saved more than 1 million automotive industry jobs in Michigan and across the country.
- Former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) called Peters the “single most effective person” in advocating for Michigan’s automotive industry.
- Despite being a freshman Congressman, Peters was also selected to serve on the conference committee that wrote and finalized the sweeping Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act to hold Wall Street accountable and establish strong consumer protections in the nation’s financial sector.
- Authored and secured provisions in the CHIPS and Science Act to support the domestic production of semiconductor materials and mature technologies – after the COVID-19 pandemic caused shortages. Michigan’s Hemlock Semiconductor recently finalized an agreement of up to $325 million to build a new manufacturing facility and create jobs in Michigan to expand production of hyper-pure polysilicon thanks to Peters’ efforts.
Peters served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for 12 years, rising to the rank of Lt. Commander. During that time, he drilled at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County. As a U.S. Senator, Peters has worked tirelessly to secure the future of Selfridge as Michigan’s premier military installation to maintain its role in our nation’s defense and as an economic driver for the state.
- Led the Michigan delegation to secure a full squadron of next generation KC-46A aircraft tankers, which will operate at Selfridge for the next 50 years.
- Established and secured funding for the Northern Border Mission Center to be located at Selfridge. The Center, which the Department of Homeland Security is already working to stand up, will strengthen border security and address evolving threats at the Northern Border, including illicit drug trafficking, human smuggling, and the rise of illegal drone use.
Throughout his career in public service, Peters has been a champion for protecting the Great Lakes and Michigan’s drinking water from threats like oil spills and PFAS contamination. Peters’ efforts have helped protect our most precious source of drinking water and an economic engine for our state from the devastating consequences of pollution.
- As a state senator, Peters fought for a ban on drilling the Great Lakes.
- Authored a provision signed into law to create the U.S. Coast Guard National Center of Expertise (NCOE) for the Great Lakes, and secured $1.5 million to launch the center.
- Headquartered at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise will examine the impacts of oil spills in freshwater environments and help develop effective responses that currently don’t exist.
Peters was also the first U.S. Senator to raise awareness of the PFAS contamination crisis and to work to address the effects of PFAS exposure to human health and the environment. PFAS exposure has been linked to increased risk of cancer, damage to the immune system, decreased fertility, birth defects, liver disease, and thyroid disease.
- Helped convene the first-ever hearing on PFAS contamination in the Senate in September 2018.
- Led hearings and oversight as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to examine how service members, their families, and communities across the country have been harmed by exposure to toxic PFAS substances connected to military sites.
- Passed legislation into law to discontinue use of fire-fighting foams containing PFAS at commercial airports, direct funding to help commercial airports switch to PFAS-free firefighting foams, and help protect firefighters and emergency responders from PFAS exposure in the line of duty.
Peters has always fought to ensure America’s servicemembers receive the benefits and support they earned through their service.
- Passed bipartisan Fairness for Veterans legislation as an amendment to annual defense legislation to help veterans regain access to certain benefits they were denied because they wrongfully received a less than honorable discharge due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) related to their service.
- As of the fall of 2020, more than 1,500 veterans have had their discharges upgraded and can access key health care and educational benefits since his legislation was enacted.
- Peters was honored as the Legislator of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans of America in 2017 for his work on this legislation, and was recently awarded the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award – the highest honor the Secretary of the Navy can bestow on a civilian.
As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters led significant efforts to protect against cyber-attacks that can threaten key services or risk exposing people’s personal information. Peters wide-ranging cybersecurity legislation helps better secure online information, save consumers money and prevent a major cyber-attack from disrupting key sectors that people depend on every day, like energy, transportation or communications.
- Authored and passed his bipartisan Cyber Incident Reporting Act into law to require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report to CISA within 72 hours if they are experiencing a substantial cyber-attack and within 24 hours of making a ransomware payment.
- The required reporting ensures that critical infrastructure entities such as banks, electric grids, water networks, and transportation systems are working with the federal government to quickly restore services and prevent further breaches.
- The Washington Post praised Peters’ leadership on cybersecurity policy, calling this “the most significant cyber legislation in history.”
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