Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said Tuesday that she wants planned prosecutions of Trump administration officials to discourage young Americans from pursuing jobs in President Donald Trump’s administration, outlining a strategy that could place future government service under the threat of criminal investigations.

Slotkin made the remarks during a live recording of Vox’s America, Actually! podcast at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, where she spoke with editorial director Astead Herndon. Video of the exchange circulated on social media.

“I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him,” Slotkin said.

She explained that she wants young people considering government positions to fear joining the administration because of the possibility of future legal consequences.

“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. I want that deterrence message,” Slotkin said.

The comments build on a proposal Slotkin outlined in a September 30 speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. During that address, she argued that Democrats should pursue prosecutions of Trump administration officials if they regain control of Congress, comparing the effort to post-authoritarian efforts to remove officials from government in Europe.

Slotkin referred to the proposed initiative as a plan to identify “signature cases” involving what she considers abuses of government authority and taxpayer money. She cited Poland’s so-called “Iron Broom” as an example of an effort to clean up government following an authoritarian period.

“The goal here is to have a list of signature cases that go after some of the most obvious and harmful abuses of taxpayer dollars,” Slotkin said in September.

The Michigan senator identified Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro as officials she believes should face accountability. She also warned that misuse of taxpayer money could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Slotkin’s remarks come after she was herself the subject of a Justice Department investigation under the Trump administration. Pirro’s office sought to indict Slotkin and five other Democratic lawmakers over a video urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders. Trump condemned the video as “seditious” and said the conduct was punishable by death.

A federal grand jury declined to return an indictment in February, halting that effort.

Slotkin’s latest comments signal that she wants potential legal action against Trump administration officials to serve a purpose beyond individual prosecutions: discouraging people from accepting positions in the administration in the first place. The proposal raises questions about how a future Democratic-led Congress might approach investigations of political opponents and whether the prospect of prosecution could become a deterrent to public service.