Congressman Shri Thanedar announced Monday that he has drafted articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, accusing him of violating the U.S. Constitution.

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The Detroit Democrat cited Trump’s defiance of a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of a man who was mistakenly sent to a prison in El Salvador and trying to abolish government agencies without Congressional approval.

“Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unfit to serve as President and represents a clear and present danger to our nation’s constitution and our democracy,” said Rep. Thanedar in a news release. “His unlawful actions have subverted the justice system, violated the separation of powers, and placed personal power and self-interest above public service. We cannot wait for more damage to be done. Congress must act.”

The resolution is not expected to go anywhere in the Republican-led House.

Other headlines for Wednesday, April 29, 2025:

• Michigan State Rep. Donavan McKinney is challenging incumbent Shri Thanedar for the 13th Congressional seat.
• The Arab American nonprofit organization ACCESS and the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) are teaming up with several community groups to host the 19th Annual National Arab American Service Day at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, mobilizing over 400 volunteers for hands-on environmental projects across metro Detroit.
• The Detroit Pistons will take on the New York Knicks in Game 5 of Round 1 of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday. If the Knicks win, they’ll face the winner of No. 2 seed Boston or No. 7 Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals. If the Pistons win, they will stay alive and force a Game 6 at Little Caesars Arena.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Former State lawmaker Adam Hollier is running for Congress again, challenging incumbent Shri Thanedar in next year’s Democratic primary election.

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This is the third time the Detroit Democrat has run against Thanedar for the 13th Congressional District seat, which includes portions of Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park and Grosse Pointe.

“I’m going to earn your support because people making decisions for our community should be a part of our community. I have a lot to say about where our representatives should be doing to actually improve our lives, building more homes, getting a break on childcare, and finally, a tax cut for real people, not the millionaires and certainly not the billionaires,” he said in his announcement Monday on social media.

Hollier filed to run against Thanedar last year and had many big-name supporters. But he failed to file enough valid petition signatures to get on the ballot.

“We screwed up — [I] trusted someone I shouldn’t have to help get our campaign on the ballot. The end result was, I let people down,” Hollier said in his announcement. “…and I’m pissed about it.”

Hollier also ran in 2022 but finished behind Thanedar in that crowded primary race. 

Other headlines for Tuesday, April 15, 2025:

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared April 11-17 as Black Maternal Health Week. She says the declaration is just one part of an effort to address the systemic disparities in health care that lead to higher risks of death for Black women during pregnancy and childbirth.
• Detroit’s young entrepreneurs are invited to a kickoff party on Wednesday at the Love Building for NextUp313. The program is run through City Council Member Mary Waters’ office and is focused on making residents between the ages of 18-30 aware of entrepreneurial opportunities, including small business development.
• The Detroit Historical Society is hosting the Honorable Robert L Wilkins for a talk about his 2016 book, “Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture.”  The free event will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. this Saturday, April 19.
• Detroit’s District 3 residents are invited to a block club workshop focused on sharing skills to organize and run a block club at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, at the SAY Detroit Play Center, 19320 Van Dyke Ave. This week’s focus will be on preparing to participate in the Motor City Makeover. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) has introduced a bill that aims to keep Chinese-made vehicles out of the country by empowering the Commerce Secretary to ban imports.

The bill, referred to as the Connected Vehicle National Security Review Act, would establish a national security review process for connected vehicles and connected vehicle components manufactured by companies from China or other countries of concern. 

Aside from worries over cheap vehicles flooding the market, Slotkin says there are concerns over data collection and them posing a threat to national security.

“So a Chinese vehicle made by a Chinese automaker, or the key connected parts that could go in a car that could send that important data back to Beijing,” Slotkin said.

It’s the first piece of legislation for the Holly Democrat since entering the Senate in January.

American-made cars also collect a lot of data by pairing with our smart phones. The same is true for other tech giants like Facebook and Google. Slotkin says that’s different because those companies are subject to laws here in the U.S.

“If some character in the company uses that [information] for nefarious purposes, they could be prosecuted. They could be gone after here in the United States, by American courts,” She said. “That is not the case if a Chinese company was collecting all kinds of data on you and sending it back to Beijing.”

The bill has already found bipartisan support in the Senate and Slotkin is optimistic it will pass.

Hoekstra confirmed as US ambassador to Canada

There’s been a call for Democrats to push back harder against the plans of the Trump administration.

However, that did not extend to the confirmation of Pete Hoekstra to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Canada. The former Congressman and chair of the Michigan Republican Party received the backing of both of Michigan’s Democratic Senators — Slotkin and Gary Peters.

Slotkin felt it was an easy choice, even though Hoekstra had been working to elect her opponent.

“Our relationship with Canada right now is as fraught and messy and upsetting as I’ve ever seen it in my entire lifetime,” Slotkin said. “So who do I want in Ottawa pushing back on President Trump’s kind of blanket approach to Canada? I want a Michigander who understands Michigan’s economy, Michigan’s agriculture, Michigan’s manufacturing.”

Slotkin has voted to confirm members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, including Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. She was hardly alone. Rubio was confirmed unanimously. However, since taking the job, Rubio has led the charge to remove people from this country whose views do not align with the Trump administration.

Rubio also oversaw the extraordinary rendition of men sent to an El Salvador prison without due process.

“Marco Rubio was someone who was a senator and served on these national security committees for a long time, and I think what you’re seeing is just the pure dominance of the Trump White House and making policy over the heads of these cabinet level officials,” Slotkin said.

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration should “facilitate” the return of one man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Slotkin says this sets up a Constitutional crisis.

“The president has not been obeying a number of court orders, right, not just on this, on a bunch of other things,” she said. “The constitution has three co-equal branches of government. It means that we’re going to have to have a showdown about whether he obeys this court order, and a few others.”

How far will that showdown go?

“Obviously, we never want to get to the point of conflict and violence,” Slotkin said. “But the average citizen can’t ignore a court order. The average business can’t do it. So this administration is going to have their moment here, and the courts are going to have their moment as well.”

Michigan Republican U.S. Rep. John James says he’s running for governor.

That leaves an open seat among the GOP’s very narrow majority in the U.S. House.

Several Democrats are already vying to fill that void in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District.

They include Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel, a past Democratic leader in the Michigan state House who officially declared his candidacy for Congress on Thursday.

The long-time lawmaker told WDET he has spent his entire adult life working to help the “middle class.”

Listen: Tim Greimel on his Congressional campaign, being a ‘problem solver’

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel: I’ve done it as a union-side labor lawyer and a civil rights attorney. I’ve done it as a school board member, county commissioner and as the State House Minority Leader. Working people have been hurting for years. They’ve been especially hurting from high inflation and now facing the economic chaos and uncertainty coming out of Washington. So now more than ever, we need fighters like me in Washington, D.C., and I’m prepared to stand up for everyday people and stand up against unelected billionaires like Elon Musk.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: You served before in the state Legislature, so you know how that kind of a body works. But you’re leaving as mayor of Pontiac. Is there anything that you can take from being mayor that you think would inform what you would do if, in fact, you were elected to Congress?

TG: Being a mayor is all about being a problem solver. And I’ve always been solution oriented in my approach to public policy issues. We’ve successfully reduced crime in Pontiac and improved public safety. We’ve created more housing opportunities and we’ve broken ground on hundreds of housing units. Those are the kinds of common sense approaches to policy that people all across this country want. When I was in the state legislature as the House Minority Leader, I successfully fought to expand Medicaid coverage to provide health insurance to over 600,000 Michiganders who otherwise would not have been able to access health care. We successfully fought and raised the minimum wage as well as indexing it to inflation here in the state. Again, those are the kinds of policies that truly make a positive difference in people’s day-to-day lives. That’s what residents want. They want solutions to the problems they face day-in and day-out. And those are the solutions that I’m going to bring to Washington, D.C.

QK: There’s always some political division, it seems. But nowadays it’s a divide that’s more like a chasm. If, in fact, you were in Congress, what are the major issues that you see facing people, specifically in the 10th Congressional district?

“This reckless approach to imposing tariffs on Canada has already idled auto plants, it’s already put people out of work. People want sensible economic policies that increase good paying jobs.”

–Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel

TG: Most importantly, people want good paying jobs. They don’t want unelected billionaires like Elon Musk creating economic chaos. They also want sensible trade policies where we have targeted strategic tariffs against bad actors like China but where we don’t go after countries like Canada with which we have shared economic interests. This reckless approach to imposing tariffs on Canada has already idled auto plants, it’s already put people out of work. People want sensible economic policies that increase good paying jobs. Part of that is investing in education, because people won’t have the skills to get good paying jobs unless people have access to the education and training needed to fill those positions. So we’ve got to make sure that rather than cutting or eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, we’re actually investing more in education. People want to make sure that if they’re willing to work hard and play by the rules that they can have and keep a good paying job that supports their family. That’s why we need to increase the federal minimum wage and index it to inflation. And people want to make sure that they can still live the American dream of purchasing and owning their own house. That’s why bringing down the cost of housing and making sure that it is attainable, that people can have an affordable mortgage at a lower interest rate, is essential. I’m going to fight on all of those issues, as well as making sure that we’re protecting clean water. The 10th Congressional District has a long shoreline on Lake St Clair. It has a lot of great rivers and streams inland and people really enjoy boating and fishing. We’ve got to make sure that those resources and that opportunity to enjoy recreation on our waterways remains available to people in Macomb County.

QK: The current representative of the district, John James, is making a bid as a Republican for governor. But during the last couple of election cycles Democrats lost running against James, although it was in fairly close contests. Apart from the fact that James won’t be there now, why do you think your campaign would be different than the previous Democratic candidate?

TG: I’ve always run high energy campaigns where the focus is on talking to voters and meeting voters where they are. That’s going to be the kind of campaign that I’m running this time as well. We’ve always been focused on the issues that matter most to residents and voters. Those issues are economic issues, improving people’s economic well-being, expanding opportunity, making sure that everybody who’s willing to work hard and play by the rules can achieve the American dream. And that’s going to be the focus of our campaign and my work in Congress.

QK: It is a rough political climate where a lot of people are not getting along one way or the other. You see that almost every time someone looks or hears the news from Congress, in particular. Why would you want to get in the middle of all that? In some ways it sounds almost like a thankless task.

TG: Well, public service sometimes is thankless. But I didn’t get into public service to get thanked. I got into it to improve the quality of life and economic opportunity for the American people and especially people here in southeast Michigan. Now more than ever, especially because things are so polarized and so divisive, we need solution-oriented, proven leadership that has a track record of delivering positive results for everyday people.

The 2026 general election is shaping up to be a big one.

The federal election could flip the balance of power in Congress.

In Michigan, everything is set to change. Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General are all open.

Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters announced he would not seek reelection.

We’re still 16 months out from the primary, yet candidates are already seeing if they’re viable.

So far, one Democrat thinks they are.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s profile has been on the rise over the past few years. Two years ago, a Republican colleague called her a “groomer” and McMorrow’s speech rebuking the comment went viral.

Last August, using a gigantic copy of the Project 2025 manifesto as a prop, McMorrow spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

In maybe the biggest tell of her national aspirations, she has a book out.

Over the weekend, McMorrow sat down with WDET to discuss her candidacy.

Listen: McMorrow talks US Senate bid, political priorities

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Russ McNamara, WDET News: So when I talked to you at the Democratic National Convention, you were unsure of what your next steps were going to be. When did you reach that clarity?

Sen. Mallory McMorrow: I think Senator Peters surprised a lot of people when he made his decision not to seek reelection. And as I thought about my next step, I was sure almost immediately, this was something I wanted to explore, but it’s a big decision to run statewide, so required a lot of conversations, a lot of reaching out to people all across the state, talking with my family, to make sure this was something we could do, and that we felt like we could be successful.

RM: Yeah, you’ve got a young kid at home. Are you sure you want to go through a full Senate campaign?

MM: She is four. She’s such a trooper. I’ve never seen a kid who loves a parade more than my daughter, and she’s excited. I got a great support system with my husband, who is the world’s best dad, and we’re ready for this.

RM: How comfortable are you in the spotlight?

MM: For me, a spotlight is only as good as what you choose to do with it, and I think it’s a strength of mine to be able to communicate to people’s rightful anger and fear and frustrations and also give voice to how we’re going to fight back and what we’re going to do with it. And that’s why I’m entering this race, to give people an avenue and a new path forward for Michiganders to get us out of all this chaos and out of the wilderness.

RM: What should Democrats be doing to push back against the Trump administration? You told Melissa Burke of the Detroit News that you are kind of unhappy with the leadership of Chuck Schumer. You think that some of the old guard Democrats need to make way for a younger generation.

“This is no longer my father’s Republican Party. This is the MAGA party. This is Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his own image as one that quite literally wants to tear the government down piece by piece, and in my mind, that requires leadership who came up in this time, who understands what we’re up against and knows how to fight back…”

–State Sen. Mallory McMorrow

MM: So first of all, this is not a knock on any one person, but it’s a real acknowledgement of the time. This is no longer my father’s Republican Party. This is the MAGA party. This is Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his own image as one that quite literally wants to tear the government down piece by piece, and in my mind, that requires leadership who came up in this time, who understands what we’re up against and knows how to fight back and accepts that it’s not enough to just stand behind a podium in front of the Capitol in Washington D.C. and say we’re fighting and we’re winning, and then turning around and asking for contributions or going in interviews and saying that, well, their polling is starting to come down, and they’ll just be more unpopular, and we’ll keep going and we’ll get them in the midterms. People are showing up in my town halls and coffee hours right now, raising their hands saying, ‘Put me in coach. I want to be a part of something. I want to fight back. And we need leaders who understand how to engage with people, not as just a number, not as a voter or a donor, but as part of the team.’

RM: So if part of that change in philosophy is getting younger. Why am I getting text messages from (80-year-old Clinton ally and Democratic strategist) James Carville?

MM: So James Carville and I have become pretty good friends over the last few years, and why I’m really proud of that friendship is there can be old guard leaders who recognize and see talent in new guard leaders and understand that we have to bring up new leadership.

RM: So what specifically separates you policy wise? Would you nuke the filibuster? Would you avoid the Senate parliamentarian like Republicans say they’re going to do — something the Biden administration refused to do — is that an area that you’re willing to explore?

MM: So right now, I think you have to look no further than what Cory Booker did this past week, standing on the (Senate) floor for 25 hours, acknowledging up front that Democrats in Washington may not have the power to move legislation or block bills right now, but that he acknowledged that his constituents wanted him to do more. So he stood there for longer than anybody in United States history, uplifting the voices of his constituents, their fears, their angers, letters from people who had lost their Medicaid and Medicare, and it felt like hope, in a weird way, to give voice to the voiceless and show people that even when Donald Trump wants us to believe we don’t have power, we actually do, and we’re going to do everything we can to use it.

RM: How would you characterize your version of politics. Would you consider yourself a centrist? Would you consider yourself more progressive on certain issues, maybe not so much on others? How would you describe yourself?

MM: I describe myself as pragmatic.

RM: (interrupting) If I hear a Democrat saying they’re being pragmatic, that immediately says they’re centrist, right? When I hear Republicans say they’re being pragmatic, there’s gonna be big cuts to some services. So, I really need you to spell that out for me.

MM: When you look at my policy priorities and how I approach things on certain issues where fundamental rights are at risk, I will be progressive and aggressive about fighting back. I introduced the first version of the Reproductive Health Act in 2019 as a primary bill sponsor, even though I was in a marginal district because protecting our fundamental reproductive rights was important to me. This was the legislation that would have codified Roe v. Wade on the state level, before we had Prop 3, and Republicans refused to take it up.

I’ve been aggressive on legislation for gun violence prevention. I’m somebody who lost the older brother of one of my best friends in the Virginia Tech shooting — it is deeply personal to me, and I will fight hard to make sure that nobody else has to go through what I went through, or what anybody who’s lost a family member to gun violence has to go through. But I’m also the chair of the Senate Economic and Community Development Committee.

I have been active on reforming our state’s approach to economic development, working across the aisle with my Republican colleagues on investing more in small businesses and entrepreneurs and downtowns and in a way that relies less on heavy corporate tax incentives to try to bring back minimum wage jobs, and more on building our economy from the ground up. So that’s what I mean when I say pragmatic is I look at the needs of my constituents, I look at what is going to be possible to push Michigan forward. And to me, that’s more important than where I fall in the political spectrum.

RM: One thing that’s on the mind to a lot of voters and a lot of people I talk to. I personally have trans friends and family. It seemed like the issue of protections for trans people — Democrats didn’t necessarily run away from it, but they did not necessarily address it in the last voting cycle. You’re protesting today (April 5) in Ferndale, the traditional heart of the LGBTQ community in Michigan, lay out your plan and your vision for LGBTQ people in the state of Michigan from here on out.

MM: So I wholly reject the idea and will never be the type of person who throws somebody under the bus because of polling. I think it’s callous, and I think it’s hurtful. What I know about my LGBTQ friends and neighbors is that just like the rest of us, they want to be left alone. They want to be left alone to live their lives as they wish. And that is why my speech in 2022 I think, resonated the way that it did was because, unlike a lot of other Democrats, I did not accept the fight that Republicans wanted me to have when I was smeared as a groomer, which, let’s be clear, is an attack usually levied on the LGBTQ community, I stood up and spoke about my own life; that I was raised Catholic, what Christian values mean to me, and said very clearly that people who are different are not the reason why your health care costs are too high or why the roads are in disrepair. And that’s what I hope to show through this campaign, is that we can protect our LGBTQ friends and neighbors by talking to the issues that 99% of Michiganders want to hear, which is their housing costs, their health care, their lifestyle, the quality of their schools and not letting anybody be a scapegoat.

RM: Are Democrats making a mistake by running away from some social issues?

MM: What I think Democrats are missing is letting Republicans paint Democrats as who Republicans want Democrats to be. The idea that Democrats spent too much time focused on social issues and culture war issues is not because that’s the Democratic policy platform. That’s because Republicans, namely Donald Trump and Elon Musk, spent millions upon millions of dollars on TV ads to try to define Democrats, and Democrats fell into the trap. So by going on offense instead of constantly being on defense, we can appeal to a majority of people to convince them, yeah, you may not be doing as well as you wanted. You may not be able to afford to buy a house, and it’s not somebody else’s fault. It’s because the system is broken, and we have to fix that system.