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

The progressive congressman says he'd rather litigate the Trump administration than work in Congress

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 interviewpublished 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.

"In order for me to do anything about it as member of Congress, anything real, I gotta have enough people in Congress to vote for it," he said.

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