Businesses
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Delta pauses flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv through March 3, extends flexibility for customers
ATLANTA, Georgia, March 1 [Category: BizTravel] -- Delta Air Lines posted the following news:* * *
Delta pauses flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv through March 3, extends flexibility for customers
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Delta has canceled flights from New York-JFK to Tel Aviv (TLV) through March 2 and from TLV to JFK through March 3 in response to the ongoing conflict in the region. Customers impacted by flight cancellations will receive notifications via the Delta app and the contact information listed in their reservation as these cancellations are processed in Delta's system.
A travel waiver has been ... Show Full Article ATLANTA, Georgia, March 1 [Category: BizTravel] -- Delta Air Lines posted the following news: * * * Delta pauses flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv through March 3, extends flexibility for customers * Delta has canceled flights from New York-JFK to Tel Aviv (TLV) through March 2 and from TLV to JFK through March 3 in response to the ongoing conflict in the region. Customers impacted by flight cancellations will receive notifications via the Delta app and the contact information listed in their reservation as these cancellations are processed in Delta's system. A travel waiver has beenissued to provide flexible options for all customers with impacted travel to/from TLV through March 19.
Customers are encouraged to visit the Delta app or delta.com to check their flight status or explore rebooking options.
The safety of our customers and employees remains our top priority. Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports. Updates will be communicated as they are available.
Saturday, Feb. 28:
2:15 p.m. Update: Delta has canceled flights from New York-JFK to Tel Aviv (TLV) through March 2 and from TLV to JFK through March 3 in response to the ongoing conflict in the region.
10:15 a.m. Update:
Delta has paused flights to Tel Aviv (TLV) from New York-JFK through March 1 in response to the ongoing conflict in the region. Customers impacted by flight cancellations will receive notifications via the Delta app and the contact information listed in their reservation as these cancellations are processed in Delta's system.
A travel waiver has been issued to provide flexible options for all customers with impacted travel to/from TLV February 28 through March 5. Customers are encouraged to visit the Delta app or delta.com to check their flight status or explore rebooking options.
The safety of our customers and employees remains our top priority. Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports. Updates will be communicated as they are available.
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Original text here: https://news.delta.com/delta-pauses-flights-between-new-york-jfk-and-tel-aviv
Skanska Celebrates Completion of Historic Riverside Hospital Renovation
NEW YORK, Feb. 28 -- Skanska, a construction and development company, issued the following news release on Feb. 27, 2026:* * *
Skanska Celebrates Completion of Historic Riverside Hospital Renovation
Project Revitalizes a Century Old Landmark Central to Houston's Black Medical and Civil Rights History
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Skanska USA Building today announced the successful completion of the historic renovation of Riverside General Hospital in Houston's Third Ward, now home to the Harris County Public Health Department. The project revitalizes the hospital, a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places, ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, Feb. 28 -- Skanska, a construction and development company, issued the following news release on Feb. 27, 2026: * * * Skanska Celebrates Completion of Historic Riverside Hospital Renovation Project Revitalizes a Century Old Landmark Central to Houston's Black Medical and Civil Rights History * Skanska USA Building today announced the successful completion of the historic renovation of Riverside General Hospital in Houston's Third Ward, now home to the Harris County Public Health Department. The project revitalizes the hospital, a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places,preserving its legacy while transforming it into a modern civic asset.
Originally opened in 1926 and dedicated on Juneteenth as the first nonprofit hospital in Houston dedicated to Black patients and the site of the city's first school for Black nurses, the Houston Negro Hospital, later renamed Riverside General Hospital, holds a profound place in the region's social and medical history.
The scope of work encompassed a 20,772-square-foot adaptive reuse renovation of the main hospital building, the former nursing school and an adjacent utility structure.
Skanska's team delivered the project with meticulous attention to historic preservation, retaining original architectural elements such as exposed brick and plaster while integrating new mechanical, electrical and life-safety systems to support contemporary public-health functions.
"Projects like Riverside Hospital remind us that buildings are more than structures; they carry the memories and meaning of the communities they serve," said Dennis Yung, executive vice president and general manager of Skanska Texas. "We were honored to partner with Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Harris County Public Health to restore and renew this historic facility so it can continue serving the community for many years to come."
Commissioner Ellis said, "Like many people in this community, I have a personal tie to Riverside General Hospital. I was born there. My sister was born there. I am grateful to know that its legacy will live on as we continue to expand access to healthcare for underserved communities."
In addition to honoring Riverside's legacy, the revitalized facility features modern office space, research and development areas, and public-serving amenities designed to support Harris County Public Health's mission of expanding access to essential health services across the region. The renovation was delivered in alignment with sustainable building practices and is targeting LEED certification.
Click here to watch a video that gives you an inside look at the renovation process and more information about this building's important history.
Skanska Celebrates Completion of Historic Riverside Hospital Renovation (https://services.files.skanska.com/file/download/05ee487b-bb3e-45da-b94c-22060b45d65a.1)
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Original text here: https://www.usa.skanska.com/who-we-are/media/press-releases/305205/Skanska-Celebrates-Completion-of-Historic-Riverside-Hospital-Renovation-/
[Category: BizConstruction]
Policy Week in Review - February 27, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Feb. 28 -- Littler, a law firm, issued the following news:* * *
Policy Week in Review - February 27, 2026
At a Glance
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler's Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI's updates on federal legislation, regulations, and congressional activity affecting the workplace.
By Shannon Meade, Jim Paretti, Alex MacDonald, and Maury Baskin
NLRB Formally Reinstates First Trump Joint Employer Rule
The National Labor Relations Board on Thursday issued a rulemaking formally restoring a 2020 standard for judging whether two separate ... Show Full Article SAN FRANCISCO, California, Feb. 28 -- Littler, a law firm, issued the following news: * * * Policy Week in Review - February 27, 2026 At a Glance The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler's Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI's updates on federal legislation, regulations, and congressional activity affecting the workplace. By Shannon Meade, Jim Paretti, Alex MacDonald, and Maury Baskin NLRB Formally Reinstates First Trump Joint Employer Rule The National Labor Relations Board on Thursday issued a rulemaking formally restoring a 2020 standard for judging whether two separatebusinesses are a "joint employer." The rule follows a ruling by the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas that vacated a contrary rule issued in 2024. The Board is, therefore, returning to the traditional standard imposed during the first Trump administration, which establishes that an employer may be considered a joint employer of a separate employer's employees only if the entity possesses and exercises substantial direct and immediate control over one or more essential terms or conditions of employment. Given that this is the standard the Board has been enforcing for some time, it does not impose any immediate change. Litigation is likely to continue in the courts over the viability of the Board's standard. For further Littler analysis, read here.
DOL Proposes New Independent Contractor Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday proposed a new rule, entitled the "Employee or Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act." The proposed rule is designed to differentiate between employees and independent contractors. If adopted, the rule would establish a standard similar to one the DOL issued under the first Trump administration. Like that first standard, the new rule aims to simplify worker classification by focusing on two main factors--control over the work, and entrepreneurial opportunity. While other factors like amount of skill and degree of permanence of the relationship would still be relevant, they would usually be unnecessary when the two main factors point in the same direction. For further Littler analysis, read here.
Chair MacKenzie Holds Hearing on Paid Leave
The House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chair Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) held a hearing on February 24, titled "Balancing Careers and Care: Examining Innovative Approaches to Paid Leave," to examine the issues and challenges of the paid family leave landscape. Chair Ryan highlighted the work of the House Bipartisan Paid Leave Working Group, co-chaired by Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), which led to the introduction of bipartisan legislation H.R. 3089, More Paid Leave for Americans Act. The bill would establish a state paid family leave public-private partnership grant program and the Interstate Paid Leave Action Network (I-PLAN), which would coordinate and harmonize paid leave benefits across the states. A recap of the hearing and witness testimony can be found here.
House Committee on Education and Workforce Hearings in AI Series Continue
As part of the House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing series on Artificial Intelligence (AI), its Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing on February 24, titled "Building an AI-Ready America: Teaching in the AI Age," to examine how teachers are utilizing AI in the classroom to enhance learning opportunities for students. A recap of the hearing and witness testimony can be found here.
The series continues next week when the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development will hold a hearing on March 4 at 10:15 AM, titled "Building an AI-Ready America: Strengthening Employer-Led Training." You can watch on the Committee's YouTube site.
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Authors
Shannon Meade
Executive Director, Workplace Policy Institute
Washington, D.C.
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James A. Paretti
Shareholder
Washington, D.C.
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Alexander T. MacDonald
Shareholder
Washington, D.C.
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Maury Baskin
Shareholder
Washington, D.C.
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Original text here: https://www.littler.com/news-analysis/asap/policy-week-review-february-27-2026
[Category: BizLaw/Legal]
Lockheed Martin Team's Next Generation Command and Control Prototype Enables Live Fires Execution for Mission Success at Lightning Surge 2
BETHESDA, Maryland, Feb. 28 [Category: BizAerospace] -- Lockheed Martin posted the following news release:* * *
Lockheed Martin Team's Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) Prototype Enables Live Fires Execution for Mission Success at Lightning Surge 2
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - During a live fires exercise at Lightning Surge 2, working in close collaboration with the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division (25ID) and Capability Program Executive Command and Control Information Network (CPE C2IN), the Lockheed Martin Team successfully demonstrated how their Next Generation Command and Control ... Show Full Article BETHESDA, Maryland, Feb. 28 [Category: BizAerospace] -- Lockheed Martin posted the following news release: * * * Lockheed Martin Team's Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) Prototype Enables Live Fires Execution for Mission Success at Lightning Surge 2 SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - During a live fires exercise at Lightning Surge 2, working in close collaboration with the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division (25ID) and Capability Program Executive Command and Control Information Network (CPE C2IN), the Lockheed Martin Team successfully demonstrated how their Next Generation Command and Control(NGC2) prototype enables soldiers to sense, see and strike at distance across echelons.
Why It Matters
Lockheed Martin is teaming with Raft, Accelint and Rune to demonstrate AI-powered data and mission application layer capabilities, integrated with the Army's C2 Fix transport and compute layers, to provide a full stack NGC2 prototype.
Delivering Seamless Sensor to Shooter Capability
During Lightning Surge 2, 25ID Soldiers used the Lockheed Martin team's NGC2 prototype capabilities to assess sensor-to-shooter connections and fire HIMARS rockets and M777 howitzers in real time.
Utilizing Raft's Data Platform as the foundational data layer, the Lockheed Martin team and 25ID combined electronic warfare targeting information, drone video feeds and battle damage assessment reports into digital fires systems, showing that sensors, shooters and damage assessments can communicate under live-fire conditions.
The 25ID warfighters were able to provide voice commands through Raft's AI Mission System automating tasks, while combining high definition video with live drone locations. This decreased the time between spotting a target and clearing the airspace for fire.
Concurrently, Accelint's Neo mission command interface showed 25ID commanders a unified, real time, operational picture - rendering live track data, UAS positions and multi-source feeds in a single, high-performance interface that helped the division maintain clarity in contested environments.
As systems fired, automatically recorded ammunition levels were linked to Rune's TyrOS Platform, demonstrating improved logistics and sustainment forecasting. This capability addresses one of the fundamental challenges in modern military operations, ensuring commanders have accurate, predictive logistics information.
Expert Perspectives
"Our team's participation in the U.S. Army's NGC2 initiative and Lightning Surge events shows what we can achieve when the Army, 25th Infantry Division, Lockheed Martin, and best-of-breed industry partners work together," said Chandra Marshall, vice president of multi-domain combat systems at Lockheed Martin. "We have a dynamic team based on the demands and priorities of the unit to stay agile, iterate rapidly, and bring warfighter centric capabilities to the battlefield faster than ever before."
What's Next
Constant soldier feedback is incorporated into each Lightning Surge exercise. New functionality will be added onto the NGC2 prototype architecture, which is designed to scale and adapt within Raft's data layer and surface new capabilities to soldiers through the Neo mission command interface as the mission changes.
Lightning Surge 3 is scheduled for April 2026 and will focus on an airspace mission thread in support of the 25ID.
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About Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is a global defense technology company driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery. Our all-domain mission solutions and 21st Century Security(R) vision accelerate the delivery of transformative technologies to ensure those we serve always stay ahead of ready. More information at Lockheedmartin.com.
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Original text here: https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2026-02-27-Lockheed-Martin-Teams-Next-Generation-Command-and-Control-NGC2-Prototype-Enables-Live-Fires-Execution-for-Mission-Success-at-Lightning-Surge-2
Kidney Cancer Study Finds Belzutifan Plus Pembrolizumab Post-Surgery Helps Patients at High Risk for Relapse Stay Cancer-Free Longer
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 28 [Category: BizHospital] -- The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute issued the following news release:* * *
Kidney Cancer Study Finds Belzutifan Plus Pembrolizumab Post-Surgery Helps Patients at High Risk for Relapse Stay Cancer-Free Longer
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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presents phase 3 LITESPARK-022 data at the 2026 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium
Patients with a common form of kidney cancer called clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who have a high risk of recurrence after surgery showed significantly improved disease-free survival when treated with an ... Show Full Article BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 28 [Category: BizHospital] -- The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute issued the following news release: * * * Kidney Cancer Study Finds Belzutifan Plus Pembrolizumab Post-Surgery Helps Patients at High Risk for Relapse Stay Cancer-Free Longer * Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presents phase 3 LITESPARK-022 data at the 2026 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Patients with a common form of kidney cancer called clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who have a high risk of recurrence after surgery showed significantly improved disease-free survival when treated with anoral combination regimen that includes belzutifan, a HIF-2a inhibitor, given with standard immune therapy pembrolizumab. These findings, from the phase 3 LITESPARK-022 study, are presented today by Dr. Toni Choueiri of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) in San Francisco, California, from Feb. 26-28.
Previous Dana-Farber research led by Dr. Choueiri showed that pembrolizumab alone reduced the risk of death and disease progression for advanced kidney cancer patients after surgery. Pembrolizumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that helps the immune system find and fight cancer cells. While effective, about 1 in 5 people who take it will relapse.
This study was designed to combine the immunotherapy with belzutifan to improve the current overall survival of patients considered high-risk for kidney cancer relapse.
"A significant percentage of patients with high risk kidney cancer will recur within five years after surgery because microscopic cancer cells can remain undetected," says Dr. Choueiri, director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Cancer at Dana-Farber. "We need new therapies that can work together to better prevent the cancer from coming back."
The HIF-2a inhibitor belzutifan helps to reduce risk of progression by blocking HIF-2a, which is overabundant in ccRCC cells and drives cancer growth. Dana-Farber's Dr. William G. Kaelin, Jr., was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2019 for the science behind the development of belzutifan.
LITESPARK-022 is a global, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, phase 3 study that included 1,841 participants with ccRCC. Participating patients underwent surgery to remove the tumor and had no signs of cancer but had an elevated risk of recurrence. Patients were randomized to receive either pembrolizumab and belzutifan after surgery or pembrolizumab and a placebo after surgery.
With a median follow-up of 28.4 months, the combination of pembrolizumab plus belzutifan resulted in a 28% decrease in recurrence. About 81% of participants who took the two-drug regimen were cancer-free, compared to 74% of those who received standard of care. Side effects were consistent with data from previously reported studies. The study has not collected enough information yet to determine if adding belzutifan helps people live longer overall.
"People at high risk of ccRCC coming back after surgery may have a new option to reduce that risk," says Dr. Choueiri. "In this study, belzutifan, in combination with pembrolizumab, reduces the chance of recurrence compared with the current standard treatment of pembrolizumab alone," says Dr. Choueiri.
The trial is sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of Merck & Co.
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Original text here: https://www.dana-farber.org/newsroom/news-releases/2026/kidney-cancer-study-finds-belzutifan-plus-pembrolizumab-post-surgery-helps-patients-at-high-risk-for-relapse-stay-cancer-free-longer
HLB Lawyers Author AHLA's The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide, Eighth Edition
LOS ANGELES, California, Feb. 28 -- Hooper, Lundy and Bookman, a law firm, issued the following news:* * *
HLB Lawyers Author AHLA's The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide, Eighth Edition
Charles Oppenheim, Alicia Macklin, and Stephanie Gross authored the American Health Law Association (AHLA)'s The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide, Eighth Edition. Available now for order to AHLA members and non-members.
The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide is not just a summary of the law. It remains an in-depth critical analysis of Stark Law authority, ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, Feb. 28 -- Hooper, Lundy and Bookman, a law firm, issued the following news: * * * HLB Lawyers Author AHLA's The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide, Eighth Edition Charles Oppenheim, Alicia Macklin, and Stephanie Gross authored the American Health Law Association (AHLA)'s The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide, Eighth Edition. Available now for order to AHLA members and non-members. The Stark Law: Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide is not just a summary of the law. It remains an in-depth critical analysis of Stark Law authority,interpretation, and enforcement. Sharing a wealth of insight, the authors provide an analytic overview to assessing Stark Law compliance questions, before addressing the legal effect of the regulations and the regulatory process and analyzing the implications of various federal cases and enforcement activity. Throughout the book, they include practical guidance for advising clients on complying with the current state of the law and regulations, as well as a look at what future direction the law might take. The authors highlight themes that emerge in the regulations, identify key definitions and interpretive changes, illuminate problem areas, and suggest guidance for navigating each of them.
The Stark Law: A Comprehensive Analysis and Practical Guide has been updated, revised, and expanded to reflect the remarkable changes that have occurred since the previous edition and its supplement were published, including the impact of Loper Bright on CMS interpretations of the Stark Law; changes to the voluntary self-referral disclosure protocol; recent advisory opinions, such as on advanced practice practitioners; limits on the usefulness of survey data for determining fair market value of physician compensation; potential Stark Law issues with MSO/ "Friendly" Physician Models; applications of Stark Law to rural emergency hospitals and physician-owned hospitals; what changes future courts may have in store; and more.
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Original text here: https://hooperlundy.com/hlb-lawyers-author-ahlas-the-stark-law-comprehensive-analysis-and-practical-guide-eighth-edition/
[Category: BizLaw/Legal]
Full Transcript: Sen. Elissa Slotkin on "The Conversation With Dasha Burns"
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Feb. 28 -- Politico issued the following news release:* * *
Full Transcript: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) on "The Conversation with Dasha Burns"
This is a full unedited transcript of POLITICO's interview with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) on "The Conversation with Dasha Burns"
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: The divide in the party now is who believes that we have to go on offense so that Trump in his second term is an existential threat to our democracy and who believes we should just wait like in the first Trump Administration for things to get bad and he'll lose under his own ... Show Full Article ARLINGTON, Virginia, Feb. 28 -- Politico issued the following news release: * * * Full Transcript: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) on "The Conversation with Dasha Burns" This is a full unedited transcript of POLITICO's interview with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) on "The Conversation with Dasha Burns" Sen. Elissa Slotkin: The divide in the party now is who believes that we have to go on offense so that Trump in his second term is an existential threat to our democracy and who believes we should just wait like in the first Trump Administration for things to get bad and he'll lose under his ownweight.
Dasha Burns: Hello, hello, and welcome to The Conversation. I'm Dasha Burns, Politico's White House Bureau Chief, and every week on this show, I invite one of the most compelling and sometimes unexpected power players in Washington and beyond in for a chat to find out how they're navigating and shaping this incredible era of American politics.
And this week, I got the chance to speak with Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin from the great swing state of Michigan. Slotkin and I spoke the morning after President Trump's State of the Union address, which means we got to debrief on a range of topics that the president focused on. We talked about affordability, the cost of living, healthcare, immigration, national security, and so much more.
But one thing we really dug in on is where her party stands in this political moment, not just in response to Trump's marathon speech or even his presidency in general, but looking ahead to the midterms and beyond, what is the path forward for Democrats. Now she's called for her party to find their "alpha energy," and she has some ideas for how she would address the party's biggest brand problems. Senator Elissa Slotkin joins The Conversation.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, thank you so much for joining The Conversation.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Thanks for having me.
Dasha Burns: State of the Union, longest one ever, hour forty-seven minutes, beyond the...the length um, what is your reaction to the content of the speech?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: You know, yeah, it was definitely long. I think my reaction was that the president tried to describe a reality that he would like rather than the reality that we live in. And he somehow thought, particularly when it comes to costs and like what the average American is experiencing on cost, like he's...expects that people are dumb and they don't know their own pocketbooks, right? He spoke a lot about, you know, inflation is down and electricity prices are down and housing is down and...and healthcare is down, and those four corners of the kitchen table, as we would say, I don't know a single person who feels like those prices have gone down. In fact, I think a number of them have gone up. That was my first reaction was like does he think that the average Michigander, for instance, doesn't know their own pocketbook? They definitely know their own pocketbook.
He always does kind of a campaign speech instead of what I think of as a truly like presidential presentation. I think about like the great men who have been up on that podium, and he turns it into a campaign speech. The other two that stuck in my craw were, you know, he spent a lot of time talking about ethics in...you know, for members of Congress, which I'm a cosponsor of, you know, no stock trading, all those things.
Dasha Burns: Yeah, Democrats stood up for that one.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Including me. To hear that from a guy whose family has made over a billion dollars since he's become president, it's a little much for me to hear him preaching on corruption when he is literally milking the cow that is America.
Dasha Burns: That's quite a metaphor. [Laugh]
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah, sorry. It...he is.
Dasha Burns: Ver...very Michigan. I'm from Michigan. Like he is milking it.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: And then lastly, you know, him talking about and condemning political violence when he literally called for me to be hanged in November and kicked off two months of my life where I had to go on 24/7 security. He said repeatedly um, that myself and others should be killed for sedition. So again, him talking about political violence, he's been a victim of it himself, but he's also perpetuated it.
Dasha Burns: Yeah, and very recently. I mean, you just had that gunman breach Mar-a-Lago. I mean, the political violence issue, it's frightening how across the board people in public office have faced this, how common it's become. You know, there was a decision by some Democrats for the State of the Union to just boycott the speech altogether, just not show up. Was that the right choice, and why did you decide to show up?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: You know, I think everyone has to make their own calls, but I'm from Michigan. Michigan just elected me in 2024 on the same ballot that they elected Donald Trump. There's an expectation in Michigan that even if someone didn't vote for me, I still represent them. And then I think the State of the Union is an American tradition, and I'm an American Senator. It went on long before Donald Trump. It'll go on long after him. So to me, it's part of American traditions and therefore, it was my responsibility to be there even though at moments it was painful.
Dasha Burns: One of the moments that was perhaps most talked about from the speech was when he asked lawmakers to stand if they agreed that "the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." No Democrats stood up. Why is that?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Well, I think that was a part of showmanship, right? He was doing this so that you would ask this question the next day. You know, people like me didn't stand for most of the things that he was talking about unless it was a Medal of Honor winner, you know, the...the visitors, the people who came. And it was a stunt, right? It's a political stunt. The president um, again, uses these things as sort of a political campaign or a political stump speech rather than an actual statement on where the...the country is. And I just was not gonna participate in that kind of stunt. And they're...clearly, they did it for this reason, and now they're posting about it.
The average American does not track who stands. They want to know what the plan is to put more money in their pocket. They tune in for maybe the first, I don't know, eight minutes, probably, on average. So uh, that to me was just a political stunt.
Dasha Burns: Eight minutes out of a hundred and seven minutes. [Laugh]
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah. And most of that was on hockey, right? I mean, like I think the country was happy to...to see those uh, you know, toothless hockey players. Most of them, or many of them, are Michiganders. He spent a lot of time in those first minutes kind of talking about kinda mom and apple pie things because he knows people then kind of tune out, and then he turns to the other phases of his speech.
Dasha Burns: On the immigration piece, obviously the polling has shown that some Americans have soured on the president's immigration policies, but this was such a huge gap for Democrats in 2024. Is it still a vulnerability for...for Democrats, and how should Democrats handle the...the...the president sort of trying to bait you guys into taking a...a wrong or...or an unpopular position on...on this?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I mean, I can't speak for everybody. I'll just speak for myself. I mean, as a CIA officer, I spent my entire career trying to protect the homeland from threats, and the immigration policy from the last administration, from Joe Biden, just did not make sense. It just didn't. And we have a broken immigration system. Like, we can have that conversation. Neither Biden nor Trump have put forward an actual plan so that we can have normal, legal, vetted immigration that allows people to come here who want to be here and we need in our economy. But the idea of letting in everybody who walked over the border also made zero sense.
Dasha Burns: Do you think Democrats have sort of come to terms with that? Has the party at large acknowledged enough to the American people that they maybe weren't listening to voters when it came to immigration?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I think some certainly have, but I think what is a struggle is like, it's hard for some people to say what...what I feel very strongly, which is I deeply believe people should be here if they have gone through a legal vetting process and they're part of a formal program to bring people into this country. But I also on the other side don't believe we should treat people like crap by beating them or shooting them or profiling them in the way we're picking them up, right? And that's hard for people. I think some people say well, because of the treatment in a place like Minneapolis, because of what the president said just about like entire immigrant groups yesterday in his speech, right, he really went after the Somali Americans, like because of his egregious treatment of immigrants, people have a hard time talking about the fact that we do need a formal rigorous immigration system. And to me, those two ideas are not hard to hold in my head at the same time, but for some people, they are. They just won't give an inch that we need to...like borders where we know exactly who's coming in our borders. At the same time, we need to say that we need to treat people decently even when we're picking them up and arresting them.
Dasha Burns: When you talk about the some, do you think that part of the party is a liability for...for midterms and beyond?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: You know, I think midterms are often a reaction to the party in power, right? Midterms are a certain type of election. I think the fundamental question is a general election, right? And I think I feel very strongly that if Democrats do not put forward a positive, affirmative message and vision of what we want to do, what we will do when we're in power, what our value proposition is to the American people, it's hard to win elections. And I think that was part of why we lost in this last presidential, right, even though I think President Trump has shown he...not doing anything on the economy. He's, frankly, a foreign policy president, not a domestic policy president so far. Democrats couldn't explain to people what we were gonna do rather than just point out why we didn't like Donald Trump. And that's not good enough, at least to win in a state like Michigan.
Dasha Burns: Speaking about winning and Democrats, the response to the State of the Union came from your friend uh, newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger. You talked about eight minutes for people tuning in to the president. You know, the response, viewership tends to fall off even more, but to the showmanship point of the president, he knows it flips and the general takeaways...
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yes.
Dasha Burns: ...from that speech matter. So I wonder what you make of what Spanberger did last night. You did it last year.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah.
Dasha Burns: It's a challenge. It can be a thankless job. How did she do?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I always tell people when I found out last year that I was gonna do the response, I'm like my big goal is just to not become a Saturday Night Live skit. That was like the bar I was trying to sneak over. It is kind of a weird, slightly cursed speech in many ways, but I thought she was great. And she did a great job. We needed someone serious. We needed someone who had won just recently by double-digit numbers. Like, it...it's not just some theoretical like rah-rah I'm on the internet and I'm a Democrat who fights back. Like no, this is someone whose been through the trenches, just recently won in a tough swingy state, and I think the scenery was, you know, historic and important and doing it in a historical place. So I was proud of her. We were texting last night afterwards, and I was happy for her.
Dasha Burns: How...how did she feel? You don't have to reveal the...the...the text chat, but uh, what was...
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Look...
Dasha Burns: ...the vibe?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin:...I...I know from experience, you feel very relieved when it's over. It's a lot of eyeballs watching, again, even if it's in clips or just, you know, coverage on the news. So I think she was very relieved and you know, her...she had her family with her so that's always a great thing.
Dasha Burns: Let's talk about Michigan for a second. Because it is so representative, I spent a ton of time there, talked to voters across the political spectrum there, and it became very clear to me pretty quickly that Democrats did lose working class voters in...in a lot of parts of that state and places like Pennsylvania. We're in the midterm year. Like it...elections are happening. Do you see a path forward in the midterms, and then of course, again, setting up the, you know...the stakes for 2028, do you see a path for Democrats winning those voters back?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Like I said, a midterm is largely a referendum on the party in power, and the voters who are the most motivated to go out and actually vote in a midterm are the ones who are like typically pretty like frustrated and want a change. My first year that I was elected was in a longshot election in 2018, in a red sea, you know, in Michigan that people told me I couldn't win. And it was a wave year because people...it was the first midterm after Trump came to power, and Michigan had voted for Trump. So it...it feels similarly energized in that way, but again, that is a separate question from winning in a general election.
And that's where the voters you're talking about, the ones who sometimes only come out for presidential elections that maybe don't do municipal elections, they don't do every single election, and that's where Trump has been very powerful. He's got voters who like only come out when he's on the ballot. You know, they are like Trump voters. And that to me is part of, you know, why Democrats need, frankly, like our own project 2029. We need to show the value proposition, and not just like in 13-paragraph policy proposals that no one really reads but in clear, understandable ways where people like, you know, my family members understand what we're gonna do and how it's going to work. Because certainly what Trump figured out was that people felt separated and disassociated from the federal government, that the federal government wasn't doing enough to help them with the major things that were a part of American living. And I think until Democrats figure that out, we're gonna have a hard time making that case to people 'cause...'cause being mad at Donald Trump is not an aggressive forward-looking case to make.
Dasha Burns: It is amazing to hear you say like Dems need a project 2029 after, I mean, so much of 2024 was...was, frankly, shitting on Project 2025.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Oh, I didn't love the ideas in it, but the concept was smart.
Dasha Burns: Right. And...and I...I'm starting to see, you know, Democrats starting to pull from some of the tactics of Republicans. One of the things that you...you said is that Democrats need to reclaim their alpha energy.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah.
Dasha Burns: Do you think the party's any closer to doing that?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I'll see sparks of it. I don't know what the analogy is. I see glimpses of...
Dasha Burns: Embers of a flame.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin:...alpha energy. Yeah. Right, I see like a little bit of it here and there. And I think, frankly, there are a lot of people that I serve with and that are, you know, senior Democrats who literally went into the second Trump Administration saying you know what, Elissa, we're...we're not in power so we should just hang back, wait, do nothing, sit on our hands, and wait for Trump to kind of shoot himself in the foot, boomerang, you know, and...on the American people and like, then the American people will come around to us.
Dasha Burns: I heard a lot of that from Democrats.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Right?
Dasha Burns: Uh-huh.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Okay. Okay. Well, let me tell you, that is the most ridiculous strategy I've ever...I mean, maybe it's 'cause I'm from the Pentagon where literally doing a defense only wait and see approach in war literally is guarantee that you will lose that war, the idea of not going on offense, of not thinking creatively about how to use our convening power as elected officials to not be doing more teamwork and in a united front, to me, frankly, sometimes still bewilders me. I think a lot of people think the divide among Democrats is like progressive versus moderate, and that debate rages online. Every time we have elections, like is it Mamdani or Abigail Spanberger...
Dasha Burns: Right, right.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin:...whatever, I...I think that it's...that's a very like 2019 fight. I think the fight and the divide in the party now is who believes that we have to go on offense so that Trump in his second term is an existential threat to our democracy and who believes we should just wait like in the first Trump Administration for things to get bad and he'll lose under his own weight. And that divide is not progressive versus moderate. Oftentimes, it's generational, right? There's a lot of like younger people, moderate or progressive, are like fight, and the older generation's like I've seen lots of this stuff, Elissa. Like let me tell you about 1997 and what we did up here. I get a lot of that.
Dasha Burns: [Laugh] History lessons.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Oh, boy. The lessons of 30 years ago are not particularly applicable, and you're either gonna go on offense and realize you have to do that or you're just gonna get burned and beaten by this guy.
Dasha Burns: On the Michigan piece, I do wonder about the...the tariffs piece because I think it's a really interesting story for your state. I know you've been critical of his approach to tariffs, but you've also called tariffs an important tool in the toolkit. The Supreme Court ruling poses a whole lot of questions about what's next, right, but where are you on this? And now that we've had this ruling, like would you be willing to work with the administration on more targeted tariffs? Are there certain tariffs that you would want to keep in place?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I am not against tariffs writ large. Um, for instance, like Michigan, we make a lot of beet sugar so there's been a sugar tariff on foreign sugar like on...for, I don't know, 120 years. I like that tariff. That is good. That helps my beet farmers. Like you know...you know what I mean? Like I'm not against them as a concept. I'm against sloppiness. I'm against like unnecessary confusion for my private sector, for my manufacturing sector, for my farmers who are already struggling to maintain their small and medium-size farms.
Companies, private sector, they need predictability. They need to know that a widget that gets on a ship, you know, two weeks ago is gonna have the same or a different tariff than when it arrives in port. And literally they don't know at this point what is happening with some of their own, you know, pieces of their supply chain. So I don't like the sloppiness of it, the sort of feeling like everything is up for grabs and if you know someone at the White House, you can go negotiate a little exception for yourself. Well, my small farmers, my small manufacturers, they can't go and go talk to Susie Wiles and like get a deal for themselves. So I don't like how the tariffs have become subject to like a marketplace at the White House, and I don't like that we have more tariffs right now on Canada than we do on China. Get a plan. Get a...a clean approach and I would be invested in working on that if I thought it made sense. But it's just too sloppy for my taste right now.
Dasha Burns: On the farmer piece of it, I'm curious where you stand on...on the glyphosate thing because the president just issued this executive order basically protecting glyphosate. It's got the MAHA world up in arms.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah.
Dasha Burns: They're...they're furious over it, but then, you know, the Ag sector thinks it's...it is like existential for them. Where are you at?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah. Well, it's interesting 'cause I'm on the Ag committee. I, you know, live on my family farm. And I would say it...I don't think it's a fake or fabricated thing that farmers see it as existential. I mean, I...I don't know a significant farmer who doesn't use it in their agricultural work. And like, my brother happens to be a plant geneticist so I'm like look, tell me...I...I'm in the middle of this debate. Tell me where we really stand. And he's like we do not have an alternative. Every single alternative that we have is just a version, again, of a Chinese version of this. Um, but I can see why it's rammed right up against the MAHA movement because there's been such a push against all these pesticides. But what do you do? Like we need agricultural production. We need to be able to feed ourselves by ourselves. I believe food security is national security.
Dasha Burns: But there's so much concern about the health aspect.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I know.
Dasha Burns: Like, and that's a bipartisan thing, too, right?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I...I understand. And like, literally I'm...to me like we gotta be able to follow the science even if it's unpopular, right, and even if the...even if that means hey, farmers, we got a problem here. But I think we also have to have a plan, right? It can't just be like whoever gets to the president to make an executive order gets to win the situation. If something is bad for our health, we need a bridge to get out of using that product, but if we want food on our tables, we can't just cut that off cold turkey. And I think that's hard in a world of black and white, in a Twitter world where people want to be for or against something. Like, I actually in this case believe we need a thoughtful plan.
Dasha Burns: Let's travel out of Michigan for a second to the rest of the world. Um, the administration has started briefing lawmakers on the situation in Iran. The president touched on it briefly in the State of the Union. Are...are you any clearer at this point on what the administration's goals are in the region?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: No. Not right now. And I...particularly I notice in the president's speech, you know, he talked about the strike we did last year on Iran on their nuclear facilities and then spent a lot of time last night talking about how we need to rid Iran of their nuclear capabilities. Well, he had been high-fiving himself and saying we completely destroyed their nuclear capability the last round of attacks. The intelligence community, I think, nuanced that and said we set their program back. So again, if you already said that you disabled their nuclear program but now you're back talking about it, it is clear that the goalposts are moving on our goals in this country.
I am no fan of Iran. I did three tours in Iraq, and Iranian terrorism inside Iraq killed a lot of people I know. And they have been a thorn in our side my entire adult life. But if you're gonna get into a protracted military conversation and you have people like the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs raising flags, explain to the American people what your goals are and how you're gonna achieve that without getting us embroiled in another long war. That's like the bare minimum a president should do if they're gonna send men and women into war.
Dasha Burns: Before I let you go, I...I want to ask about the...the reports that US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is backing down on efforts to indict you and your colleagues over that illegal orders video. Do you think that this means the matter is settled? Like what are you expecting here?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Well, look um, we've seen those media reports, too. We've had no formal communication from Jeanine Pirro or any other, you know...Pam Bondi or any other folks saying that it's over. All I will tell you is we made a 90-sec...second video. The president said we should be investigated, arrested, and hanged. They began investigating us. They tried to get us criminally indicted, which would mean the arrest part. They had a unanimous jury...grand jury come back and say no, this is...this is ridiculous. I think they got embarrassed. I think that that looked stupid because from what I hear from my lawyer friends, like there's no such thing as a unanimous grand jury ending something that quickly. Like, this was clear. So they're putting that into the press?
I don't trust these people farther than I can throw them. They tried to go after people like Letitia James, three separate juries in three separate jurisdictions. So I'd love to see it in writing if they're actually done. And I'm gonna hold all my options open, right? I've asked them to keep and retain all their records. Like if....if you're gonna weaponize the federal government against the president's political, you know, adversaries and do that in a frivolous way, there should be some accountability for that. So we'll see. I've seen the media reports, but I do not take a media report as the end of anything.
Dasha Burns: Yeah, lawyer friends are probably good friends to have these days. [Laugh]
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: These days. Never thought I'd be so happy to have so many lawyer friends, but they're around and they're useful in this particular context for sure.
Dasha Burns: Finally, you know, we've been talking a lot about '28. You know this, your name has obviously been...been floated out there for a potential presidential run. Not gonna ask you to answer that question here and now, but for you, what does go into a decision like that do you think?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I don't know. I mean, look, there's like...we have a spreadsheet. I think it's like 29 different people who have said they're looking at considering either running or doing whatever. For me, I think the most important thing is...goes back to what we were talking about earlier, that if Democrats can't win in swing areas and with voters who we've lost over time, particularly in the middle of the country, then everything we're doing is just commentary. And I am not here for just commentary.
So I've been spending my time not going to like the coast or to uh, like a New Hampshire. I mean, New Hampshire, those places are nice. But the middle of the country where I'm from, right, Wisconsin, I went to Pittsburgh, I went to Kansas, places where Democrats don't have a great track record or have only exceptions and just trying to sit down with people who don't agree with me, who didn't vote for Democrats and say what is it that you're looking for and what and how can we do it differently. That to me is really valuable. Anyone who thinks that they know how to win in 2028 who's just kinda using the old playbook of, I don't know, like writing a book and visiting South Carolina and New Hampshire and like doing all that stuff...
Dasha Burns: A 1997 strategy. [Laugh]
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I mean, I'm sorry. Like maybe it's just 'cause I had a very tough...you know, I had the closest Senate race in the country in 2024. Like I...we grinded it out. Politics is changing. And you can either see that and adapt or play and try to fight the last war. So I'm just spending a lot of time in the middle of the country talking to people who do not agree with Democrats.
Dasha Burns: Senator Slotkin, so much to talk about. I wish we could do this for another hour, but thank you so, so much for taking the time and joining us today.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Of course. Thanks so much.
Dasha Burns: This has been The Conversation with Dasha Burns. We'll be back next week. If you want to catch future episode of The Conversation, be sure to click that subscribe button below. Thanks for watching.
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Original text here: https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-press/2026/02/27/full-transcript-sen-elissa-slotkin-d-mich-on-the-conversation-with-dasha-burns-00804062
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