Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., on Monday dismissed Republican criticism of her suggestion that the threat of prosecution could deter young people from working for the Trump administration, calling the backlash «manufactured outrage» during a televised interview.
The controversy stems from an Oct. 13 event at the University of Chicago, where a clip of Slotkin went viral. In the clip, she said she wants to pursue «signature cases» against people who «enabled» President Donald Trump and to send a «deterrence message» to young people considering government service.
«I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration? Like, that sounds fun, I might get an opportunity.’ I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, and so let me avoid participating in that,’» Slotkin said at the event. «I want that deterrence message.»
Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, Slotkin responded to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who wrote that it was «absolutely disgraceful» to «threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country» with legal retribution.
«Yeah, well, look, that’s manufactured outrage,» Slotkin said. «That’s his specialty.» She added that she has heard similar concerns from Republican colleagues, interns and others who work around Capitol Hill, saying they tell her they worry about getting involved because politics «has become messy.»
Slotkin argued that her remarks were about rejecting illegal activity, not about targeting people for their political affiliation. She pointed to a 2025 video in which she and five other Democratic lawmakers urged military members to «refuse illegal orders,» saying both instances carried the same message.
«My point is, do not get yourself involved in illegal activity,» she said. «Whether you’re the uniformed military or a civilian in government, if you’re being asked to do something by the president or his team, that’s illegal, you have a responsibility to reject that.»
She also referenced a requirement that government employees sign a contract given to a company with Donald Trump Jr. on its board, describing it as an example of a problematic situation workers could face.
The White House referred questions to Trump’s previous comments on Slotkin. «That’s a hell of a statement. Slotkin said that there should be prosecutions in order to scare people from going into politics,» Trump said. «That’s a Democrat and that’s what they do. That’s all they’re good at — and you know what? That’s why they’re getting their a—es kicked.»
Slotkin reiterated that she has no intention of targeting people solely because of their political affiliation and that she cares only about people «breaking the law.»
«If you are violating the law, then you should be held accountable, and that includes people who are supporting that activity,» she told CNN. «You’re not breaking the law? No problem. We can have disagreements all day long, and certainly Democrats and Republicans do. I don’t care if it’s just freedom of speech. I care if you’re breaking the law.»
In a separate interview on MS NOW, Slotkin suggested some of the backlash from Republican critics could be attributed to her gender. «I do think there’s something about being a woman and criticizing them and calling them out on that corruption that really gets under their skin, obviously, or they wouldn’t respond,» she said.
Slotkin’s office directed further questions to her comments in that interview. Lee’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.