Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin says Democrats should pursue a handful of high-profile corruption cases against people who have enabled President Donald Trump, arguing the prosecutions would send a warning to young people weighing jobs in his administration. The former CIA analyst made the case during a Tuesday appearance at the University of Chicago, where she laid out what she called a strategy of picking a few egregious examples rather than chasing every target.
“You have to pick signature cases and you have to go after people and projects that are just super egregious,” Slotkin said, according to Mediaite. She argued that officials working under Trump do not share the legal protections of the presidency itself, telling the audience, “the people around Donald Trump who are doing his bidding and enabling this have no such immunity.” Her reasoning, as relayed in the same account, was that Trump could not carry out his agenda without the people around him, so those associates should face accountability for enabling it.
A Deterrence Strategy Aimed at Young Job Seekers
Slotkin framed the goal explicitly as deterrence, not just punishment. “I want that deterrence message sent,” she said, per the outlet's report, adding that she hopes young graduates reconsider taking jobs with the Trump administration because of the legal risk it could carry. She cast the push for accountability as one of three main priorities if Democrats win control of the House or Senate in November, alongside efforts to “Trump-proof” the government and push major legislation on housing and healthcare.
Slotkin's remarks came during a live recording of Vox's America, Actually podcast, where she spoke with Vox editorial director Astead Herndon at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics on October 13, according to the Chicago Maroon. She also noted her own record on the subject, saying, “As someone who voted to impeach him twice,” a reference to the two impeachment votes she cast against Trump.
Campus Reaction and a Self-Described Fascist Label
The remarks did not sit well with everyone in the room. Michael Bicksel, a University of Chicago student, said Slotkin's comments amounted to telling conservative students they should fear political persecution for serving in the Trump administration, though he insisted conservative students would not be intimidated by the approach. Her comments also drew backlash on social media from conservatives after word of the remarks spread.
Conservative influencer Greg Price argued that Slotkin wants young conservatives to be afraid of working in a Republican administration, while GOP operative Nathan Brand said she had effectively threatened young conservatives who want to work in government and participate civically. A piece from Lifezette went further, framing her position as authoritarian and designed to make young people terrified of prosecution for working with Trump, according to Lifezette.
The Pardon Question Looming Over the Debate
Slotkin's push for prosecutions lands amid separate reporting that Trump has mused about a mass pardon spree, including a possible self-pardon, near the end of his time in the White House, according to MSNBC. Trump has also told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty that he did not want his staff to face years of legal trouble and lawyer costs, a remark that speaks directly to the kind of deterrence Slotkin says she wants to create. Trump himself faced four criminal cases before returning to office, a detail that has shadowed the broader fight over accountability for his administration.
Any prosecutions Slotkin envisions would also run into the legal boundaries the Supreme Court has already drawn around presidential power. In Trump v. United States, the court found that a former president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority, and at least presumptive immunity for official acts, according to the Supreme Court's opinion. Slotkin's argument rests on the idea that the aides and allies who carry out those actions do not enjoy that same shield.
Slotkin also used the Chicago appearance to address her own political future, telling the audience she is considering a possible run for president in 2028, though she said she does not see herself as the only person capable of leading the Democratic Party, per the Daily Mail. She predicted the 2028 Democratic primary would be a contested field featuring, in her words, “new faces and big and bold ideas.” Whether any of the prosecutions she described will ever be brought remains an open question, as does the shape of the Democratic field she may soon be joining.
