Democratic Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow on Wednesday criticized Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) for her impeachment inquiry of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
McMorrow said her U.S. Senate primary opponent indulged in “political theater” with the move, which is unlikely to gain traction. Stevens, McMorrow, and progressive physician Abdul El-Sayed are in a three-way race to capture the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.
“Stevens, describing herself as a ‘serious lawmaker’ and ‘not one for political theater,’ filed impeachment articles that, according to the New York Times, ‘do not have the support of her party’s leaders and are all but certain to fail,’” McMorrow’s campaign said.
“Even Stevens’ Democratic colleagues view the impeachment push as ‘the politically motivated move of a candidate who has struggled to gain traction in a heated primary,’ the Times reported,” they added.
McMorrow’s jab at Stevens is a rare shot in what has been a cold Democratic primary in Michigan. The candidates haven’t shied away from slamming Republican front-runner former Rep. Mike Rogers, but have largely kept to themselves within the primary.
El-Sayed acknowledged Stevens’s move without a direct slam on the fellow candidate.
“Thanks, Congresswoman. And as our next US Senator, I’ll be the first public health official to serve in the Senate. And we’ll build the kind of Department of Health & Human Services we deserve!” he wrote on X.
McMorrow touted her legislative moves, which she suggests are aimed at the economy, as a contrast to Stevens.
“Real economic growth requires vision and measurable metrics,” McMorrow said in a statement. “My legislation gets at the heart of what actually makes communities thrive – it sets out a clear, long-term roadmap to make sure every corner of our state has the tools and resources to succeed, not just today, but for generations to come.”
McMorrow’s campaign agreed that Kennedy should not be HHS leader, saying he has “no business being in power, but the way to stop his dangerous overreach is communicating everywhere and winning at the ballot box, not doomed resolutions and political stunts.”
Stevens’s campaign defended her move to introduce articles of impeachment against Kennedy, whom the candidate said “turned his back on science, on public health, and on the American people.”
“Haley’s job is to fight for Michigan and protect Michiganders’ health and safety,” Stevens’s campaign manager Sam Barrett said in a statement to Michigan Advance. “After months of working with doctors, scientists, and her colleagues in the House to fight back against Secretary Kennedy’s chaotic and reckless policies that put Michiganders’ lives at risk, Haley took the serious step of introducing articles of impeachment.”
“Anyone who thinks we should let RFK continue to wreak havoc on health care instead of using every tool available to hold him accountable is wrong,” Barrett added.
Stevens didn’t have the support of some top Democrats in her party with the impeachment effort. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he hasn’t looked at the measure and is focused elsewhere.
“You know what I’m focused on? Making sure that the American people don’t have their healthcare ripped away from them,” he told reporters.
Stevens said she worked “closely” with the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which conducts oversight of HHS, but the top Democrat on the committee declined to work with her. She “approached us about joining her, and then in the end we declined,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said.
El-Sayed is the one Democrat who has made sure to try to separate himself from McMorrow and Stevens on the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying he’s believed Israel’s efforts in the region to be a genocide since his campaign started. Stevens has not made a similar claim.
The candidates have some time to calm down, or heat things up in the coming months. But Stevens is likely to face more heat, as she is rated as the best opponent to Rogers, according to recent polling. She trailed 40% to Rogers’s 42%, better than McMorrow and El-Sayed’s poll numbers.
Rogers is likely to be the Republican nominee for the Michigan U.S. Senate race and has President Donald Trump’s endorsement. He lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2024, underperforming against the president’s win in Michigan.
HALEY STEVENS INTRODUCES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST RFK JR.: ‘SELF-CREATED THREAT’
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is keen to watch the Michigan Democrats’ infighting.
“It doesn’t matter how ugly the Democrat primary gets, the numbers do not lie: Mallory McMorrow, Haley Stevens, and Abdul El-Sayed will all lose to Mike Rogers in November,” NRSC Regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell told the Washington Examiner.
