‘Moderate’ Democrat Wants To Prosecute Trump Officials To Scare Young Republicans Out Of Government

Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin said during a Tuesday event at the University of Chicago that she wants to weaponize prosecution against those who “enable” President Donald Trump in order to scare young Republicans away from working with the administration.

During the event hosted by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, Vox reporter Astead Herndon asked Slotkin if Democrats are considering impeaching Trump for January 6, among other things, if the midterms go their way in November. (RELATED: It’s Not Just Congress That’s At Stake: Here Are Major Ballot Initiatives Voters Will Decide On In Midterms)

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, said that Herndon was thinking too small and that she also wants to look at “signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enable him.”

She continued, telling the many potential members of this and future administrations in the audience that her goal was to get young people coming out of school to second-guess an opportunity to work in the administration in order to avoid the risk of prosecution.

ON UCHICAGO CAMPUS: U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin hopes planned political prosecutions of republican leaders will scare young conservatives from getting involved in politics. @ElissaSlotkin https://t.co/p7NBJpDcQW

“I want [young people coming out of school] to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, so let me avoid participating in that.’” Slotkin said. “I want that deterrence message sent.”

Before moving the conversation to immigration, Herndon said that while impeachment may be a high bar, Slotkin may be able to turn Trump and the administration into a political, social, and legal “pariah” that everyone will avoid associating with.

Legal analyst and George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley said that Slotkin’s admitted plan to “deter young people from even considering supporting the Administration” was simply her saying the “quiet part out loud.”

Michael Bicksel, a University of Chicago student and senior editor of the school’s conservative student-run paper, The Chicago Thinker, said that Slotkin told him and other conservative students that they should “live in fear of political persecution if we dare serve our country in the Trump administration.”

“Sadly for her,” Bicksel added, “we will never be intimidated by her Bolshevik-style tactics.”

Again, Democrats have been very open about what they want to do with power, should they attain it. All the way back in April 2025, Jamie Raskin issued a warning that his political opposition will face repercussions for unleashing “fascist chaos” should Dems regain power: “When we come back to power — and we will — are not going to look kindly upon people who facilitated authoritarianism in our country." Democrats will be on a mission for reprisals against their political rivals, both international and domestic. Same party that has spent the last two years decrying government weaponization. https://t.co/tvKt3n6r1i

Although Slotkin describes herself as falling more on the “pragmatic and moderate side of the House,” her warnings echo those of many other Democrats who have stated that the party would punish its political opponents as soon as it returns to power.

“If and when we come back to power, and we will, we are not going to look kindly on people who facilitated… authoritarianism in our country,” Democrat Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin has said.

Susan Rice, President Barack Obama’s former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, echoed the sentiment, saying that “It’s not going to end well” for the corporations, law firms, universities, and the media that had”taken a knee to Trump.”

“If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to play by the old rules…they’ve got another thing coming,” Rice said, adding that “There will be an accountability agenda.”

“They better preserve their documents. They better be ready for subpoenas.” Rice concluded. “This is not going to be an instance of forgive and forget.”