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Progressive Support for McKinney Grows as Top House Dems Back Rep. Thanedar in Michigan
"In Congress, Donavan will fight for strong union jobs, environmental justice, and for universal childcare."
Jul 20, 2026
As Democratic Michigan Congressman Shri Thanedar on Monday announced endorsements from party leaders in the US House of Representatives, his primary challenger, Donavan McKinney, secured more support from key progressives.
Already, McKinney counted among his backers various Michiganders, US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and progressive congressional candidates who have recently won their primaries: Dr. Adam Hamawy in New Jersey, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania.
On Monday, just over two weeks away from the August 4 primary, Congresswoman Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) also backed the lifelong Detroiter's bid to oust Thanedar in Michigan's 13th Congressional District.
"Donavan McKinney is the fighter his community needs: principled, hardworking, and unafraid to speak truth to power," Lee said in a statement. "I'm proud to support his people-powered campaign, and proud to endorse him for Congress in MI-13. Detroit deserves real representation, and I know Donavan McKinney will deliver it."
McKinney welcomed her support on social media, writing that "I am honored to receive the endorsement of my sister in service, Rep. Summer Lee. Our shared commitment to standing up for our communities unites us deeply, and I am thrilled to have a fighter like Summer join our people-powered coalition."
In a Monday social media post promoted by Kiros and Rabb, DSA said that "Donavan knows what it takes to fight, and win. Now he's ready to take that fight to DC. In Congress, Donavan will fight for strong union jobs, environmental justice, and for universal childcare."
"The Motor City is ready to put working people in the driver’s seat. Let’s get Donavan across the finish line and grow our socialist bloc in Congress," the organization added.
The fresh endorsements followed a weekend rally in Detroit, where McKinney appeared with Sanders, Tlaib, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain, and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed—a progressive US Senate candidate who notably secured support from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday.
While El-Sayed and Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) battle over the seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, McKinney is aiming to oust Thanedar, "a pharmaceutical entrepreneur who has spent millions of dollars from his personal fortune on several campaigns," as the Detroit Metro Times reported Monday. He "was first elected to Congress in 2022 after winning a nine-candidate primary with 28% of the vote. His victory left Detroit without a Black member of Congress for the first time in nearly seven decades."
After journalists noted in recent days that Thanedar "lost more than $630,000 in investment income last quarter after he put $3.7 million in campaign funds into the cryptocurrency industry," and just loaned his campaign another $650,000, Ravi Mangla, national press secretary for the Working Families Party, declared Monday that the incumbent "is panicked."
"He's emptying out his bank account and begging his AIPAC and crypto buddies to bail him out," Mangla said, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—which is also backing Stevens in the state's Senate fight. "Detroiters deserve better than an out-of-touch politician who's willing to sell them out to the highest bidder."
In a clear signal of where Democratic Party leadership stands as they try to reclaim both chambers of Congress from Republicans in the November midterms, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY), Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) on Monday issued a joint statement supporting Thanedar. They said that he "has always shown up for his constituents and is fighting every day to lower the cost of housing and groceries, and to make life more affordable for everyday Michiganders."
Responding on social media, Drop Site News co-founder Ryan Grim said: "I understand that Dem leaders always endorse incumbents, but this one is particularly absurd. Shri is basically a con man who spent his way into Congress. But his opponent Donovan McKinney has Bernie's backing, so the con man will have to do."
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'This Is Murder': Trump Bombs Another Boat in Caribbean
"The US government must be held accountable," said Amnesty International USA.
Oct 03, 2025
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on social media Friday that they bombed another boat in the Caribbean—at least the fourth alleged drug-smuggling vessel attacked by the US military since early September.
Critics, including congressional Democrats, legal scholars, and human rights groups, have stressed that even if any of the boats recently bombed by the Trump administration were trafficking drugs, the strikes still violate international and federal law. Such criticism has not deterred the administration.
Hegseth, who leads what Trump renamed the Department of War, said Friday that "earlier this morning, on President Trump's orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with designated terrorist organizations. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no US forces were harmed in the operation."
"The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics—headed to America to poison our people," wrote the Pentagon chief, including a video of the bombing, but no evidence that the boat was involved in running drugs.
Hegseth claimed that "our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route. These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!"
Trump similarly said, without offering any proof, that "a boat loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE was stopped, early this morning off the Coast of Venezuela, from entering American Territory."
Responding to the latest lethal bombing, Amnesty International USA declared: "This is murder. The US government must be held accountable."
Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor who served as chief White House ethics counsel under former President George W. Bush, said, "Again, this is a violation of international law, and without the consent of Congress a violation of federal law."
The strikes come amid Trump's "aggressive pursuit" of a Nobel Peace Prize. Nodding to this, Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) wrote on social media Friday, "To President Trump: They don't give Nobel Peace Prizes to people who murder civilians without a trial."
The first confirmed bombing, on September 2, killed 11 people. The second and third, on September 15 and 19, each killed three. In at least one case, a woman who identified herself as the wife of one of the men killed said her husband was a fisher.
Friday's bombing followed the leak of a confidential notice that the administration sent to multiple congressional committees this week, attempting to legally justify the bombings. It says in part, "The president determined these cartels are nonstate armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States."
Multiple legal experts and members of Congress publicly weighed in on the memo, including Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), who said that "every American should be alarmed that President Trump has decided he can wage secret wars against anyone he labels an enemy."
After the Friday attack, Tess Bridgeman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security and a nonresident senior fellow at New York University School of Law, emphasized that "if it can happen at sea, it can happen anywhere."
"Trump has offered no definition or limiting principle for who can be labeled a 'terrorist' and summarily killed," she added. "And no plausible legal theory for why an armed conflict exists."
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Sanders Backs Progressive Michigander Donavan McKinney for Congress
"He understands the struggles working-class communities are facing in Detroit and across the country because he's lived those struggles himself," Sanders said.
Jun 17, 2025
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday endorsed Donavan McKinney, a progressive primary challenger to a Democratic congressman who represents one of Michigan’s poorest districts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sanders (I-Vt.) released a statement announcing his support for McKinney, a state representative who seeks to oust incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar in next year’s Democratic primary for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
"He understands the struggles working-class communities are facing in Detroit and across the country because he's lived those struggles himself," Sanders said.
McKinney is the political director for Michigan's Service Employees International Union, the largest healthcare union in the state. In 2022, he was elected to the state Legislature, where he has represented a district with a median income of less than $20,000.
As a state legislator, McKinney has led efforts to address the high cost of living and poor living conditions of those in his district. In 2024, he supported Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's expansion of free pre-K for Michigan children and helped to secure funding to replace the state's lead pipe infrastructure. He has also called out utility companies, like DTE Energy, that have continuously hiked costs and reaped massive profits.
McKinney has honed his message against corporate control of politics, closely aligning himself with Sanders' message about "Fighting Oligarchy." McKinney has also received endorsements from the progressive group Justice Democrats and from Sanders' close progressive ally and fellow Michigander Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
"I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better," Tlaib said.
McKinney has contrasted his working-class upbringing with that of Thanedar, a former pharmaceutical executive who is estimated to be worth $41 million, making him the 28th richest member of Congress.
While running for Congress, Thanedar pledged to "never take a dime" of corporate money. But according to The Detroit News, he received at least $36,000 from political action committees (PACs) backed by some of America's largest auto manufacturers, tech firms, and energy companies, including DTE.
According to his website, McKinney "is committed to getting big money out of politics, and elevating the voices of voters over the influence of super PACs and corporations."
After the 2024 election saw unprecedented influence from billionaires like Elon Musk to help elect Donald Trump and other Republicans, McKinney co-introduced a bill to ban utility monopolies and government contractors from making political donations in Michigan.
Citing reports that Thanedar spent over $5 million of his own money to fund his campaign in 2022, McKinney has described him as "a multimillionaire who spent millions to buy his seat in Congress," one who has "more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk" than with residents of his district.
"We deserve a Democratic Party that leads the fight against the billionaires robbing us blind, that stands up to corporate PACs," McKinney said in the video announcing his campaign.
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After Thanedar Backs Off, Green Files New Article of Impeachment Against Trump
Rep. Al Green of Texas accused Trump of "flouting of federal court orders, flouting the separation of powers, undermining the independence of the federal judiciary, and flouting the constitutional mandate of due process."
May 16, 2025
After Democratic Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar earlier this week opted not to move forward with an effort to force the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump, another lawmaker on Thursday filed a single article of impeachment against Trump, calling him a threat to democracy.
In a Thursday statement, Rep. Al Green of Texas, a Democrat, said that he "announced on the floor of the House of Representatives that I have filed H.Res.415 to impeach President Donald John Trump for condoning the flouting of federal court orders, flouting the separation of powers, undermining the independence of the federal judiciary, and flouting the constitutional mandate of due process."
In a letter, Green elaborated that he felt compelled to move forward with the impeachment push because he cannot "in good conscience... wait until the next election to deal with authoritarian President Donald John Trump's pre-election threat to American democracy that has become a post-election assault on our government."
Green's article of impeachment alleges that Trump is "devolving democracy within the United States into authoritarianism with himself (Donald John Trump) as an authoritarian president."
His resolution states that through Trump's conduct and his "violation" of the presidential oath of office, in which the president swears to "faithfully execute the office of president of the United States" and to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States" in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, he has "engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors."
In his letter, Green said that he would "call for a vote to impeach authoritarian President Donald John Trump at a time to be determined."
This year, Green has repeatedly expressed his intention to file articles of impeachment against Trump.
Green was censured earlier this year after disrupting Trump's joint address to Congress, heckling the president and telling him he had "no mandate to cut Medicaid."
Thanedar, who last month filed seven articles of impeachment against Trump, backed off from forcing a vote after Democrats privately worried that it would distract from efforts to highlight potential cuts to Medicaid and other programs as part of the Republican megabill currently making it ways through Congress, according to Politico. Publicly, Thenader said he was holding off after speaking with colleagues and that he intends to add to the impeachment articles.
The group Free Speech for People, which is mounting a campaign to drum up support for impeaching Trump again, boosted both Thanedar and Green's impeachment pushes on social media.
Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives during his first term, but in both cases he was acquitted by the Senate. Both chambers of Congress are now controlled by Trump's Republican Party.
In response to Green's resolution, the White House assistant press secretary told the Houston Chronicle, in part, on Friday: "Every action taken by President Trump and his administration is fully lawful and firmly rooted in the will of the American people. President Trump is doing exactly what he promised: securing our border, bringing in trillions of dollars in investment to America, and restoring common sense leadership."
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Tlaib Backs Primary Challenger McKinney Over Democratic Incumbent Thanedar
"I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better," said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in support of state Rep. Donavan McKinney.
May 12, 2025
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib drew praise from progressives Monday after endorsing a state lawmaker's Democratic primary challenge against an incumbent from a neighboring Michigan district.
Tlaib (D-Mich.) endorsed 32-year-old state Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-11), who last month announced he is seeking to oust pharmaceutical magnate-turned Congressman Shri Thanedar, who has represented Michigan's 13th Congressional District since 2023.
"Centering community not only means standing up to corporate donors and lobbyists but also means fighting to address community needs through robust community services and responsive representation," said Tlaib in a statement. "This type of leadership is missing for residents in the 13th and I know Donavan will bring it... I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better."
Big news! Rep. Rashida Tlaib is endorsing @donavanmckinney.bsky.social’s campaign for Congress—the first Congressional endorsement of this race. Rashida knows that voters in her neighboring district need a leader who will fight back against billionaire corruption—not a Congressman in name only.
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— Justice Democrats (@justicedemocrats.com) May 12, 2025 at 7:08 AM
McKinney, who is also endorsed by the progressive group Justice Democrats and more than a dozen current and former Michigan state lawmakers and other officials, said Monday on social media that he is "honored to have" Tlaib's support and "can't wait to serve by her side" in Congress.
According to Justice Democrats, McKinney's "priorities are protecting our economic security, ensuring families have access to clean air and water, ensuring every child can receive a quality public education, bringing justice to the criminal legal system, pushing for a robust, quality public transit system, and expanding the rights of unions and workers."
"He has worked to lower costs and increase affordability for the people of his district, taken on corporate monopolies, and fought to get big money out of politics on the state-level and he's running for Congress to bring that fight to Washington," the group added.
Thanedar responded to Tlaib's endorsement in an interview with the Detroit Free Press in which he said that "my focus is, and will continue to be, fighting [President Donald] Trump, bringing federal dollars back to the district, and serving my constituents."
"I'm confident voters in the 13th will choose me again in 2026," he added.
One issue of contention between Tlaib and Thanedar is Israel's U.S.-backed assault on Gaza, which is the subject of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case and the impetus for International Criminal Court arrest warrants targeting fugitive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Tlaib—the only Palestinian American member of Congress—is a staunch advocate of a Gaza cease-fire and cutting off U.S. military aid to Israel.
Thanedar previously co-sponsored a resolution in Michigan's House of Representatives advocating an end to U.S. aid for Israel, which he described an an "apartheid state"—a position aligned with the ICJ and numerous international and Israeli human rights groups.
However, Thanedar subsequently quit the Democratic Socialists of America over what he said was DSA's failure to condemn the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Blue Wave—a super political action committee linked to American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent $2.3 million on ads attacking Thanedar's 2024 primary opponent, Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters, who drew praise from the area's sizable Palestinian and Arab American community for her opposition to Israel's Gaza onslaught.
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Thanedar Introduces 7 Articles of Impeachment Against Trump to Halt 'Authoritarian Power Grab'
"Always interesting to see how primary challenges affect members' behavior, though usually it's a bit more subtle than this," one journalist said of the Michigan Democrat.
Apr 28, 2025
Faced with two primary challengers and growing public support for impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump a historic third time, Congressman Shri Thanedar on Monday filed seven articles of impeachment against the second-term Republican.
"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," Thanedar (D-Mich.) said in a statement. "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."
Thanedar explained the seven articles of impeachment included in his resolution in a brief video, which he shared on social media.
As a statement from the congressman's office details, Trump's alleged constitutional violations are:
- Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Executive Power: Including denial of due process, unlawful deportations, defiance of court orders, and misuse of the Department of Justice.
- Usurpation of Appropriations Power: For dismantling congressionally established agencies and impounding federal funds.
- Abuse of Trade Powers and International Aggression: Including imposing economically damaging tariffs and threatening military invasion against sovereign nations.
- Violation of First Amendment Rights: Through retaliatory actions against critics, media, and attorneys exercising constitutionally protected speech.
- Creation of an Unlawful Office: By establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and unlawfully empowering Elon Musk to unilaterally violate the Constitution.
- Bribery and Corruption: Involving dismissing criminal cases, soliciting foreign emoluments, and extortionate settlements for personal and political gain.
- Tyrannical Overreach: Seeking to consolidate unchecked power, erode civil liberties, and defy constitutional limits on presidential authority.
Earlier this month, Thanedar called for Trump's impeachment over his administration's failure to comply with a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling about facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from a prison in El Salvador to the United States.
"We must take action now," he said at the time. "Donald Trump and members of his administration are deporting people with limited evidence and no due process to horrific megaprisons in a foreign nation. As a member of Congress, I have a responsibility to uphold the checks and balances that safeguard the integrity of our democracy and prevent a slide into authoritarianism. This must be a red line. Otherwise, we risk Donald Trump continuing to defy the Constitution in his own interest, rather than the interest of the nation."
"Enough is enough," Thanedar declared. "We can not allow this obvious authoritarian power grab to continue. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand up for the Constitution and the American people and join the call for impeachment."
While Thanedar had expressed support for impeachment prior to Monday, his resolution came as a second primary challenger announced his candidacy for Michigan's 13th Congressional District. State Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-11) joined former state Sen. Adam Hollier (D-2), who has twice tried to oust the congressman and is trying to do so again next year.
McKinney is backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats, whose executive director Alexandra Rojas said in a statement earlier Monday that "Democratic voters in the face of unprecedented attacks on our livelihoods and liberties are fed up with a Democratic Party overrun by do-nothing career politicians who are totally unequipped to lead in this moment. Donavan represents the future the Democratic Party should be fighting: working-class people taking our power back from multimillionaires to deliver for everyday people."
After Thanedar announced the impeachment resolution, Business Insider senior politics reporter Bryan Metzger said on social media Monday that it is "always interesting to see how primary challenges affect members' behavior, though usually it's a bit more subtle than this."
Recent polling has found that a majority of voters disapprove of how Trump is handling his job and would support a historic third impeachment. In response to one survey, Free Speech for People's Alexandra Flores-Quilty—whose group is leading a nonpartisan Impeach Trump Again campaign—declared Friday that "it's up to Congress to do their job, defend the Constitution, and impeach and remove Donald Trump from office for his grave abuses of power."
Trump is the only president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives—though in both cases during his first term, he was acquitted by the Senate. Republicans now narrowly control both chambers of Congress.
While Republicans haven't yet signaled a willingness to stand against the president, U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) told attendees of an early April anti-Trump rally that "within the next 30 days, I'm bringing articles of impeachment."
Axios noted Monday that "Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) also privately floated impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard over Signalgate."
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UAW Chief Slams 'Job-Killer-in-Chief' Trump Ahead of Michigan Visit
"Kamala Harris has stood with labor," said Shawn Fain. "She's walked the walk. Donald Trump serves himself. He's always served himself."
Oct 10, 2024
The head of the largest U.S. autoworkers union on Thursday highlighted the yawning chasm between former President Donald Trump's campaign promises to protect the country's auto industry and the 2024 Republican nominee's White House record—which includes hundreds of thousands of lost manufacturing jobs.
Speaking on a call hosted by the campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fainargued that "there is a stark contrast between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris."
"Kamala Harris has stood with labor," Fain said of the UAW-endorsed candidate. "She's walked the walk. Donald Trump serves himself. He's always served himself."
Taking aim at Trump's claims that he's the best choice for U.S. autoworkers and that he's "always had their back," Fain said:
Look at the Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant. [Trump] told workers there, "Don't sell your houses." The plant closed. He came to Warren, Michigan, a week ago or two. Again, wants to talk about how he cares about autoworkers. But we had [General Motors'] powertrain plant in Warren closed under his watch. He did nothing. Trump stood there in 2016 and promised that he wouldn't allow a single plant to close.
However, plant closures and offshoring increased during the Trump administration, during which domestic auto production plummeted from nearly 12.2 million units in 2016, the last full year of the Obama administration, to under 8.2 million units in 2020, Trump's last full year in office, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. While Covid-19 affected that year's production, fewer than 10.9 million vehicles were manufactured domestically in pre-pandemic 2019.
Fain, who noted this trend, called Trump the "job-killer-in-chief."
The UAW chief also mocked reports that numerous attendees wearing "autoworkers for Trump" T-shirts at a Tuesday rally for the Republican in Detroit weren't actually autoworkers.
"It's pathetic. Everything he does is a con," Fain said of Trump.
Referring to the multibillionaire CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla, Fain added that Trump "sits there and applauds Elon Musk for trying to fire striking workers, and they laugh about that."
"And that's why I said Donald Trump is a scab," the union leader added, using the term for nonunion workers who cross picket lines during strikes.
During last year's UAW strike for a fair contract, President Joe Bidenmade history by becoming the first-ever sitting U.S. president to join striking workers on a picket line. Four years earlier, Harris, then a U.S. senator from California running for president, walked a picket line with striking UAW workers in Reno, Nevada.
The Biden-Harris administration has often been called the most pro-labor presidency in modern history.
Fain's remarks came hours before Trump infuriated many Michiganders by telling local business owners at a Detroit rally that if Harris wins, the entire country will "end up being like Detroit"—which is in the midst of an economic revival.
Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), who represents the city,
admonished Trump to "keep Detroit and our people out of your mouth."
"Detroit is a city with a booming economy, diverse culture, and some of the best people in America," he said, adding that the heavily Democratic city "will elect Kamala Harris."
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said Thursday: "Plain and simple, a second Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster for Michigan workers. His agenda will raise costs and kill jobs."
"When he was president," she added, "Trump gave tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of Michigan's working families, tanked our economy during the pandemic, and only helped the rich get richer."
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