Student Files Ethics Complaint Against Sen. Slotkin Over Remarks on Trump Administration Service

Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is facing an ethics complaint filed with the United States Senate, stemming from remarks made at a University of Chicago event where she discussed creating a "deterrence message" for young people considering work in a future Trump administration. The complaint was lodged by Michael Bicksel, a University of Chicago student who first reported on Slotkin's comments.

During an October 13 event, Slotkin stated, "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.’ I want that deterrence message sent."

Bicksel's complaint, submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, alleges that Slotkin proposed using congressional investigations and potential prosecutions to discourage young individuals from serving in a Republican administration. He argued that Slotkin's comments were aimed at students contemplating government service, rather than exclusively targeting those who might commit crimes or engage in unethical conduct.

"The substance of the ‘deterrence message’ is clear as day," Bicksel wrote in his complaint. "Her target was ‘young people coming out of school’ (like me and my classmates) who are debating whether they should ‘go work for the Trump administration.’ We are obviously not debating—as she subsequently tried to clarify—whether to go commit crimes or behave unethically."

The complaint requests the committee to determine if Slotkin's remarks constituted "improper conduct which may reflect upon the Senate," a standard outlined in the Senate Ethics Manual for behavior that may be unethical without necessarily violating a specific law or Senate rule.

"As a college student and a conservative, this was a shocking thing to hear," Bicksel's complaint reads. "A prominent U.S. Senator came to my college and laid out a goal that I and my peers should be afraid to serve our country in the executive branch. This is well below the standard of conduct expected of a U.S. Senator and deserves investigation by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and appropriate subsequent disciplinary action."

Slotkin, when asked about the reaction to her comments, characterized the controversy as "manufactured outrage." She further stated, "I think the thing that I’ve heard from my own Republican colleagues and peers, including interns and folks who work around the Hill who come to our events, they’ll tell you, 'I was worried,' My parents were worried, you know. It’s really messy. I’m not sure what to get involved in. Politics, in general, has become messy."

The Justice Department has also reportedly received calls to investigate Slotkin's remarks.