Slotkin commits to legislative priorities while GOP impeachment criticism surges

LANSING, MI -- U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, is turning her attention to legislative priorities while her support for an impeachment inquiry inspires GOP challengers and increasing attacks from Republicans bent on winning back her House district in 2020.

Slotkin’s decision to support an investigation into President Donald Trump garnered praise and condemnation from constituents last week during a series of meetings held in three counties comprising Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. Republicans already targeted Slotkin, whose district supported Trump two years before she beat a Republican incumbent in 2018, and the impeachment battle is rallying new attacks on the freshman congresswoman.

Though Slotkin had opposed an impeachment inquiry based on Trump’s alleged effort to obstruct an investigation into 2016 Russian election interference, she changed her mind after new information surfaced about the president’s dealings with Ukraine. Slotkin said Trump’s decision to ask the Ukrainian president to investigate Democratic primary front-runner Joe Biden could be an impeachable offense.

“I made a very controversial decision,” Slotkin told reporters Monday. “I made it because I felt like our national security and my oath of office was at stake ... So I’m going to let the committees of jurisdiction do their inquiry, come up with a report and I will read every word of it with an open mind, objectively when it’s done. In the meantime, I have a mandate to be responsive to my constituents on the issues of health care and prescription drugs and clean water.”

The Michigan Republican Party and RNC organized press conferences Tuesday outside the offices of Slotkin and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, another freshman House Democrat who backed an impeachment inquiry. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox said Slotkin is playing “political games” instead of working on behalf of her constituents.

“She promised us she was going to be a moderate, someone to work with the other side to bring the two sides together,” Norm Shinkle, the 8th District Republican chairman and a member of the Board of State Canvassers said. “Well, that is the opposite of what she is doing. She’s not being courageous, shes being cowardly. The people of the 8th District are going to remember this when it comes to Election Day in 2020.”

Vice President Mike Pence is planning to visit Slotkin’s district on a tour of congressional districts represented by House Democrats who supported the impeachment inquiry, according to a Politico report. The Office of the Vice President could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

RNC spokesperson Michael Joyce said the impeachment fight is a boon for GOP fundraising efforts. Joyce said the message to voters is centered on Democrats trying to “steal” an election instead of allowing voters to decide for themselves next year whether Trump should remain in the White House.

“I think it’s similar to the Justice Kavanaugh fight we had during the 2018 cycle,” Joyce said. “We saw a lot of folks come on our side, come out and have a lot more energy during the push to confirm Justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. I think you’re seeing the exact same thing with impeachment.”

Focus on results

Political advertisements purchased by the RNC and National Republican Congressional Committee make a straightforward case against Slotkin. The ads claim Slotkin abandoned campaign promises like lowering the cost of prescription drugs to pursue “endless investigations” against the president.

“Tell Elissa Slotkin: Focus on Michigan, not impeachment,” states an NRCC advertisement running on Facebook.

Slotkin’s focus never left Michigan, she told MLive.com in an interview at her Rochester office Monday. The Holly Democrat -- who described herself as “a pragmatist to my core” -- said reducing the cost of health care, protecting the Great Lakes and improving civility in politics remain her top priorities.

Slotkin hosted a roundtable in Rochester highlighting bipartisan legislation she sponsored to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Slotkin does not serve on any of the House committees charged with investigating the president and said she hopes to find consensus with Republicans on important issues while the inquiry moves ahead.

“The thing I get pulled over for in Kroger is the cost of health care and the cost of prescription drugs,” Slotkin said. “A big reason I ultimately decided to run was because of my family’s experience when my mom was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer and did not have health insurance at the time.”

The congresswoman, a member of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, is hopeful her Real-Time Beneficiary Drug Cost Bill will pass the House in the next four weeks. It would require Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors to provide patients with information about the cost of drugs before leaving their doctor’s office.

“The person at the front desk can tell you, are there any cheaper alternative alternatives covered by your plan, and then which pharmacy you should go to,” Slotkin said. “The consumer is empowered with information when they leave the doctor’s office and don’t have to wait until they’re at the pharmacy to get that sticker shock.”

Slotkin also touted another bill recently unveiled by House Speaker Nacy Pelosi, D-Calif. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act would allow the government to negotiate the Medicare price of up to 250 medications each year, including insulin tripled in cost during the last decade.

Slotkin said both bills align with Trump’s goals of reducing drug prices, but noted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is blocking legislation passed by the Democrat-controlled House. Trump has criticized “do-nothing Democrats” for failing to pass legislation, but Slotkin said Senate Republicans are sitting on numerous bills passed by the House -- 252, according to Congressional voting records kept by GovTrack.

“(McConnell) has said openly, you know he’s referred to himself as the grim reaper, that (the Senate) is where House legislation is going to die,” Slotkin said. “He has made no mystery of the fact that blocking the House’s agenda is his agenda.”

Cox criticized Slotkin for not supporting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The new trade deal, which was adopted by Mexico and Canada but has yet to receive congressional approval, is expected to have a positive impact on Michigan’s manufacturing industry.

In a September interview with Fox News, Slotkin said the USMCA needs stronger enforcement provisions to protect American jobs. Slotkin said she would support the bill if the enforcement provisions are added.

Roughly 30 protesters verbally sparred with a dozen Slotkin supporters outside the congresswoman’s Lansing office Tuesday. Chants of “four more years” and “we love Elissa” clashed while motorists honked their support for demonstrators.

Haslett resident Mary Ellen Detwiler said Slotkin has the country’s best interests in mind. Detwiler said Republicans have no legitimate reasons to attack the congresswoman.

“(Republicans) have to have something to grab on to, because honestly, they don’t have anything,” she said.

Shinkle said Slotkin has been “totally ineffective” since being elected. Shinkle said Republicans in the district see through Slotkin’s effort to distance herself from the impeachment inquiry.

“She’s in the middle of it, she can’t deny that,” Shinkle said. “She can say she wants to work on other things all she wants. I think she’s a one-term congressman.”

Implications for 2020

Senate Republicans remain unified in their opposition to impeachment. Even if the House votes to adopt articles of impeachment, there aren’t enough senators to achieve a 2/3rds majority needed to remove Trump from office.

Though impeachment appears unlikely to pass in the Senate and an election only 13 months away, Slotkin said the inquiry is a necessary use of Congressional oversight on the president.

“I was for many, many months also in the camp of ‘listen, let’s let an election determine who our next president is,’” Slotkin said. “But I think, at a certain point when we’re talking about the preservation of a future election of our institutions, it was important for me to send a signal that that is just not OK. Regardless of what the Senate decides to do, I think it’s important for the future presidents to send a signal that reaching out to foreigners, and getting them involved in an America can election is not acceptable.”

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said she is proud of Slotkin for standing up for what she believes is right. Stabenow said Slotkin and other Democrats can expect “extremely bitter, dirty" attacks from Republicans.

“When we look at someone like Elissa Slotkin, who served in the role of CIA advisor and in national security, (she) understands this goes way beyond party,” Stabenow said. “This is about us standing up for our Constitution, for our country, for national security, keeping us safe and I’m very proud they have the courage to do that.”

Republican organizers who attended Slotkin’s constituent meetings last week said her history with the CIA casts doubt on her motivations. The word “coup” was used several times by constituents in Hartland to describe the impeachment inquiry.

Shinkle suspects Slotkin is part of an effort coordinated between Democrats and the intelligence community to “overthrow the president.”

Republican Women’s Federation of Michigan President Linda Lee Tarver, an African American woman, compared the impeachment inquiry to a “lynching.”

Slotkin’s potential 2020 challengers didn’t make much mention about the Democratic congresswoman while declaring their candidacy.

Republican State Board of Education Nikki Snyder and Howell resident Mike Detmer officially launched their campaigns for the 8th District last week. Both said they disagree with Slotkin’s stance on impeachment, and Detmer attended Tuesday’s rally in Lansing.

Lansing lawyer Kristina Lyke plans to run for the seat as well, Shinkle said. A message left with her office was not returned on Tuesday.

Shinkle said prospective candidates were waiting to hear whether former U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop would step forward to retake his seat. In his absence, Shinkle expects more candidates to come forward.

“October was the magic month,” he said. “I think there will be more than three, especially with Slotkin just not doing a good job. We’re just getting warmed up.”

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