WASHINGTON — Two Democrats with national security backgrounds are mulling bids for Congress in the toss-up mid-Michigan district held by freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, including the recently resigned U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink.

Brink, who grew up in west Michigan, recently returned to Michigan after 28 years as a diplomat, including as ambassador to Slovakia during President Donald Trump's first term. She's now considering a run in Michigan's 7th District, which is among the most competitive swing districts nationally.

"I’ve dedicated my life to public service — working under five Presidents, both Democratic and Republican, and am exploring my options and the best way to continue to serve my country and my great home state of Michigan," Brink said in a Thursday statement to The Detroit News.

"I’m seriously considering a campaign for Congress — and appreciate the encouragement from Michiganders across the state.”

Brink resigned as ambassador to Ukraine and from the Foreign Service because of Trump's policy to put pressure on Ukraine, rather than on Russia, which was the aggressor in the war. "I fully agree that the war needs to end, but I believe that peace at any price is not peace at all," Brink said this week on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"It's appeasement and as we know from history, appeasement only leads to more war."

In addition to Brink, a retired Navy SEAL and former military aide to President Barack Obama is taking steps to run for Barrett's seat.

Matt Maasdam, 50, of Ann Arbor graduated from the University of Michigan, deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and the Pacific as a SEAL and later served as Obama’s military aide at the White House, responsible for carrying the "nuclear football" for the president starting in 2010, according to his bio.

Maasdam is now having conversations with stakeholders including elected officials and voters in the 7th as he considers a run, according to a Democratic source familiar with his efforts.

He's also met with national Democratic strategists in Washington, D.C., including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC, an independent group aligned with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, and with representatives with veteran or service backgrounds.

Maasdam is being advised by Emma Grundhauser, who managed then-Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin's 2022 House campaign and was Slotkin's deputy campaign manager for her Senate race last year. He's planning a campaign launch this summer after the next fundraising quarter starts.

"Matt has deep roots in Michigan and a remarkable record of service in the military as a Navy SEAL and at the White House under President Obama," said Austin Cook, a former Slotkin adviser. "In a district like the 7th, his biography is as strong as you could hope for."

National Democrats and Republicans both are targeting the 7th in the 2026 midterm elections, with Democrats aiming to flip control of the seat. A veteran candidate like Maasdam could be an attractive counterweight to Barrett, a veteran who served in Iraq and previously served as a state lawmaker.

Barrett, a former Army helicopter pilot, had a strong fundraising quarter in the first three months of the year, bringing in over $900,000 during the first quarter. He defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel last fall by 3.7 percentage points when the seat was open because Slotkin ran for the Senate.

"In his first four months in office, Congressman Barrett has already established himself as a bipartisan leader who is getting things done. He’s already had two bipartisan bills pass the House, successfully reopened a Social Security office which had been closed to residents for most of the year, helped secure the release two Michiganders imprisoned in Mexico over a timeshare dispute, and brought the VA Secretary to visit two key VA hospitals that service 7th District veterans," said Jason Cabel Roe, an adviser to Barrett.

"He’s working hard for his constituents, and we are confident his record will earn him reelection in 2026."

Other possible Democratic contenders floated for the 7th include Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, and former House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski. Lasinski and Maasdam live outside the district, and it's unclear where Brink has resettled.

Brink was raised by a single mom, growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan and living with her grandparents in Grand Rapids. Brink's grandfather grew up in Charlotte in Eaton County and her grandmother in Lansing ― both cities within the 7th District.

She speaks Russian and holds master’s degrees in international relations and political theory from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kenyon College, according to her State Department bio.

Her career has centered on European affairs, with assignments in Belgrade, Greece, Georgia, Turkey and Uzbekistan. She served on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council, where she helped coordinate U.S. foreign policy and advance U.S. interests with Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

Brink later was appointed deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in 2015 to oversee issues related to Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and regional conflicts in Europe.

Trump nominated Brink to be ambassador to Slovakia in 2019, where she served until shortly after Russia began its war on Ukraine in 2022, when President Joe Biden nominated her to be ambassador to Ukraine.

She spent three years in Ukraine ― the first American female ambassador to serve in a war zone. Brink resigned last month, writing in a Detroit Free Press guest column on May 16 that she could "no longer in good faith carry out the administration's policy."

"I cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded, and children killed with impunity. I believe that the only way to secure U.S. interests is to stand up for democracies and to stand against autocrats," she wrote.

Maasdam is originally from just outside Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was a state champion swimmer, he said on a 2023 podcast. He received his bachelor's degree from UM, where he played water polo, in 1997 and later got a master's of public administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 2008.

As part of SEAL Team Three in Iraq, Maasdam was the agent in charge of security for the Iraqi vice president, according to his bio.

He became the lead instructor for “Hell Week” at SEAL training, and represented the U.S. Special Operations Command at the National Counterterrorism Center, focused on strategic planning against Al-Qaeda.

After 14 years as a commander in the U.S. Navy, he retired and entered the private sector as an executive at Under Armour. According to his bio, he headed e-commerce operations and served as chief of staff for a 2,000-person team before launching apparel and outdoor product companies.

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(Staff writer Craig Mauger contributed.)

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