Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, on Sunday acknowledged that there is a “challenge” in explaining the impeachment process to an American public that might be more concerned about other things.

“I think we need to explain to the American people why this is so serious,” Mr. Murphy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Mr. Murphy had been asked about reports that Democrats have started shifting their rhetoric to emphasize alleged “bribery” on the part of President Trump because it tested better with voters than saying “quid pro quo.”

“I don’t read House campaign memos. What I know is that my job is to try to explain to [the] American people why this is so serious,” he said.

“And listen, I’ll admit I think we have a challenge, right? I think a lot of Americans are paying attention to their pocketbooks, are more concerned with the president’s sabotage campaign against the Affordable Care Act than they are with this impeachment inquiry,” he said. “So we have a job to do, to explain why this matters.”

The House is probing whether Mr. Trump improperly withheld military aid to Ukraine to try to get leaders in the country to publicly announce investigations, including into former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, a top contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Mr. Murphy said it as an “extraordinary measure” to try to impeach a president, but that Mr. Trump’s actions amounted to using taxpayer dollars as leverage to try to get a foreign country to interfere in an election.

“And if there were no consequences, then the message would be clear, that this president, and any other president, can use the power of the Oval Office in order [to] try to advance themselves politically or financially,” he said. “If you don’t use impeachment for this type of offense, then I am not sure what you use it for.”

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