Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, is facing a Senate ethics complaint after comments about discouraging young people from working for the Trump administration sparked backlash. Critics characterized her remarks as a threat aimed at conservatives considering public service, as reported by Fox News.

Slotkin made the comments during an Oct. 13 event at the University of Chicago. A viral clip showed her discussing “signature cases” against people who “enabled” President Donald Trump and describing the deterrent effect she wanted those cases to have.

“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,’” Slotkin said.

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“I want that deterrence message sent,” the senator added.

The controversy has now moved from viral clips and television commentary to a formal complaint before the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. Michael Bicksel, a University of Chicago student who first reported Slotkin’s remarks, filed the complaint Thursday.

Bicksel’s filing argues that Slotkin proposed using congressional investigations and possible prosecutions to frighten young people away from serving in a Republican administration. He asked the committee to examine whether her remarks constituted improper conduct reflecting upon the Senate.

The complaint points to a standard described in the Senate Ethics Manual. That standard can apply to conduct considered unethical even when it does not violate a specific law or Senate rule.

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“As a college student and a conservative, this was a shocking thing to hear,” Bicksel wrote. “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,” the complaint continued.

Bicksel disputed the idea that Slotkin was speaking only about officials who commit crimes or engage in unethical conduct. He argued that her words were directed more broadly at students deciding whether to enter government service under Trump.

“The substance of the ‘deterrence message’ is clear as day,” Bicksel wrote. “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,” he continued. “Those who commit crimes should be punished for doing so. No one disagrees with that.”

“All we are debating is public service, pure and simple, and Senator Slotkin says we should think twice about doing so because it might provoke the full power of the United States Senate,” Bicksel added.

When CNN pressed Slotkin about the reaction to her comments, she called the controversy “manufactured outrage.” She also said Republican colleagues, interns, and others around Capitol Hill have expressed worries about becoming involved in politics because it has become messy.

“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,’” Slotkin said.

“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 is also facing calls to investigate Slotkin over the remarks, according to a Wednesday report from the Washington Examiner. Her communications director directed Fox News Digital to a statement the senator made Tuesday.

“Now, if you take a breath, this is all pretty crazy. A president from the Oval Office is weaponizing our justice system against an American who clearly gets under his skin,” Slotkin said.

“And if he can do it to me, he can do it to anyone,” she continued. Slotkin also accused Trump supporters of using a coordinated effort to threaten, intimidate and silence critics, while saying she intended to push back.

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