Ellison on Running for Minnesota AG: ‘Not Looking to Climb Some Career Ladder’

Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) made a surprise announcement last month to run for Minnesota’s attorney general, and in a new interview he said he doesn't care about the "career ladder."

"I am not looking to climb some career ladder," Ellison told the Guardian in an interview published Sunday. "I don’t give a damn about that. What I care about is how can I help the most people. How can I be maximally effective in defense of people’s economic and social rights, that’s what I care about."

Ellison, who is also the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is running on the promise to oppose President Donald Trump’s policies from the office of attorney general of Minnesota. He said the challenge in Congress is having enough votes to pass progressive legislation, but as attorney general he would have his desired latitude to engage in litigation.

He said he wanted to intervene in matters such as the gender pay gap and Trump ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era executive action protecting illegal immigrants brought to America when they were young. Ellison made it clear that he would target Trump and his policies when he announced his candidacy in June.

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