“Spare Me the Pearl-Clutching”: Slotkin Fires Back at Sen. Mike Lee Over Her “Deterrence Message” to Young People Weighing Trump Administration Jobs

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Sunday to “spare me the pearl-clutching,” after Lee condemned her call for young people to think twice before taking jobs in the Trump administration.

The fight started with a 26-second clip of Slotkin speaking at the University of Chicago, posted on X on Saturday by The Chicago Thinker, which describes itself as a student-run conservative and libertarian publication at the university. Fox News reported that the remarks were made at an Oct. 13 event focused on Slotkin’s political path and the future of the Democratic Party.

What Slotkin Said About Trump Administration Jobs

“I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him,” Slotkin says in the clip.

“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,” she says. “I want that deterrence message.”

The Washington Examiner noted that the remarks were about a week old when the clip went viral over the weekend.

Lee and OPM Respond

Lee shared the clip Saturday evening. “It is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country,” he wrote on X.

Scott Kupor, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which manages the federal civilian workforce, also responded on X on Saturday night.

“This is incredibly disappointing and unprofessional coming from a US Senator - endorsing political prosecutions to dissuade patriotic Americans from serving their country,” Kupor wrote. “In contrast, we at @USOPM believe in recruiting the best and brightest early career prospects.” He linked to the government’s early-careers hiring site, earlycareers.gov.

Slotkin’s Reply

Slotkin answered Lee directly on Sunday night, quoting his post.

“Spare me the pearl-clutching — especially from Republican Members of Congress and online MAGA grifters who have cheered President Trump's weaponization of the government against those he doesn’t like, as recently as last week,” she wrote.

Slotkin said that less than a year ago, “Trump directed the DOJ and FBI to investigate me, and then tried to criminally indict me for a 90 second video, exercising basic free speech.” She accused critics of “lying about what I said in this clip” and wrote: “So spare us the manufactured outrage.”

She went on: “If you have aided in the corrupt use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to benefit the President or his family, or you have violated the law in order to carry out guidance from the President, you should be held accountable.”

“And given how rampant that corruption appears to the average American, people looking to work for his Administration should realize that while the Supreme Court has granted the President immunity, it has not done the same for those who do illegal things at his behest,” Slotkin wrote.

Lee kept up his criticism early Monday. Sharing a New York Post story on Slotkin’s remarks from his personal X account, @BasedMikeLee, he wrote: “This Is A Fascist Move.”

Sources: The Chicago Thinker on X (clip, Oct. 17): https://x.com/ThinkerChicago/status/2111560599167795418 ; Sen. Mike Lee on X (Oct. 17): https://x.com/SenMikeLee/status/2111596101966905499 ; OPM Director Scott Kupor on X (Oct. 17): https://x.com/skupor/status/2111635759279063439 ; Sen. Elissa Slotkin on X (Oct. 18): https://x.com/ElissaSlotkin/status/2111984197380542859 ; Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) on X (Oct. 19): https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2112085065157275992 ; Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/slotkin-wants-gop-prosecutions-deter-young-people-trump-administration-jobs ; Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/4770389/elissa-slotkin-mike-lee-students-work-trump-administration/