U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin held her second town hall in Lansing Thursday where she addressed growing will in the House of Representatives to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
A crowd of more than 200 people gathered to submit questions to the Congresswoman and State Representative Sarah Anthony in the Sexton High School auditorium.
Slotkin faced questions from the audience about the Mueller report, the special counsel report that investigated the Trump campaign’s involvement with Russia, and impeachment.
Slotkin said to move forward with impeachment, there needs to be buy-in from the whole country and that’s something she’s not sure is there.
“I think that if we’re going to take the country through impeachment, if we’re going to do that, then we better have a strong case that’s not only going to make it through the House but will also make it through the Senate," said Slotkin. "And, to do that you got to bring people along.”
Slotkin then referenced Watergate, the investigation that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon.
“Watergate when it started wasn’t a groundswell of passion about this issue," said Slotkin. "There was a case that was built methodically that in the end turned the tide. I just don’t think we’re there yet for the majority of people. And I think it’s important that we do this in a judicious way. If we just jump in because people feel angry, we’re risking—basically the next 18 months—of not getting anything done.”
She cautioned the crowd that, while there may be political will to impeach the president from constituents in Lansing— for others in Michigan’s eighth district, which includes Livingston, Oakland and Ingham counties, the same may not be true.
However, Slotkin did say she believes the Trump administration response to congressional subpoenas has been wrong. She told the crowd she’s excited for the upcoming vote on a bill that will hold Attorney General William Barr and White House lawyer Don McGahn in contempt of Congress.
She said she thinks it’s inappropriate for an administration to ignore or refuse subpoenas from Congress and the House is ready to do something about it.
“I think it will send a really strong statement at the highest levels that its just unacceptable to not at least answer the question," said Slotking. "That doesn’t mean that we end up at impeachment, it just means there’s a very basic delineated responsibility between the legislative and executive branches and those should be respected because they’re in our constitution.”
The bill will be up for a full vote before the U.S. House on Tuesday.
Slotkin also received questions about what parts of the climate change legislation the Green New Deal she supports, escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, PFAS contamination and blockades for House legislation on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
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