Drama Queens - Senators Elissa Slotkin & Lisa Blunt Rochester

Episode Date: May 20, 2026

If you feel like dysfunction in Washington has become a threat to America itself, you're not alone. Freshmen Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) break down what's at stake and what they're fighting for despite the chaos created by the current Administration.Plus, hear how the events on 9/11 changed everything for Senator Slotkin and Senator Blunt Rochester opens up about a secret wish that may fire up the internet in the sweetest of ways.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's a summer kickoff thing. join today at simonplus dot com rewards program terms apply see simonflus dot com for details hi everyone it's sophia welcome to work in progress welcome back to work in progress this week friends have i got a whip smart treat for all of you i have not one but two absolutely brilliant guests on the show today two women that I look up to as leaders, as communicators, and frankly, as people I just want to hang out with, they are good eggs. We are joined today by Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester and Senator Alyssa Slotkin. I don't know about y'all, but I remember the good old days when we could talk about the fight to preserve American democracy in all sorts of terms. They could be abstract or theoretical or even

hyperbolic, but we could argue, debate, and even come up with solutions across the aisle. Sometimes it feels like those days are over, but there are leaders that are still doing the work. For the past 17 months, our first term senators, Lisa and Alyssa, have spent every single day in office on the front line of this battle. Global conflict is escalating, economic anxiety is persistent and faith in institutions is at an all-time low. But the decisions that are being made now in this environment are shaping the country's trajectories in ways that we know are immediate, that can feel dire and that I think we're all a little scared might be irreversible. These two women in their freshman Senate season come to this moment with such incredible understanding.

Alyssa Slotkin, with a true expertise in global risk, having served as a CIA analyst and completing three tours in Iraq before briefing presidents on matters of national security. She was one of the lawmakers who participated in that now very famous Trump-enraging video reminding troops they must follow the law and thus refuse unlawful orders. She is unafraid and it's part of the reason that I look up to her so much. And then we've got Senator Lisa Blunt, Rochester, whose path has been rooted in the equally urgent everyday realities facing American families. She has led on workforce development, public health, health care, cost of living issues, all of these things that directly impact how people live and provide for their loved ones. Both of these women entered the Senate after very hard-fought races. They carried with them not just policy and expertise, but a very clear sense of what's at stake beyond Washington around the country. for all of us. And now in their second year, they are navigating an environment that, to put it bluntly,

is defined by volatility, whether that's geopolitical threats or economic pressures or technological change. All these things are colliding at once. And these women have perspectives that offer a real inside view of how decisions are getting made and how we kind of have to write the playbook ourselves, guys. They are women, I encourage you to follow, whether you live in Michigan, Delaware, or anywhere else. And when you are looking for a little bit of hope on how we are going to write the ship, make the country better, and come out the other side more fortified, I'm telling you, these are two you want to follow. So let's dive in with Senators Slotkin and Blunt Rochester. Senators, I'm so honored to be with you both today, you know, first as a constituent, not of either of yours,

but just out in the American Wilds, who really is so grateful that we have you to, you know, fighting not only for your districts, but the country. And it means a lot that you took time to be here today. Thank you. Thank you, Sophie. I'm really curious, you know, you were talking about the fact you're in the heart building at the moment, you know, you're on a period of the week where you're in D.C. You all gather together, but you also represent your home districts.

You grew up in very different parts of the country, you know, Delaware for you and Michigan for you, Senator Slotkin. And I'm just curious, you know, before we get into the present day of how you stand up for those places, if you have any early memories to share from your childhood of your communities that really still inspire your service today. What a great question. Well, for me, I was actually born in Philadelphia, which, to... To me, just as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, I think it's such like a pivotal place. They call it the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection.

And so first of all, it's really good to be here with you speaking of sisterly affection and also here with my sister. We sit next to each other on the floor of the Senate. You do. Which is probably problematic for a lot of people. because we have our little signals and things that we do, our chats. And so it's really good to be here with Alyssa. And in terms of early, like, memories, in Philadelphia, this is where most of my family lives.

I grew up, you know, I started there. And I think even being there where community was so important, where church was so important, where democracy was so important, I think, is foundational to who I am and also growing up at the time that I did. Like, I grew up in the 60s. And so, you know, civil rights movement, black power movement, the women's movement. Ecology, give a hoot, don't pollute. It was like, you know, don't be a litter bug. See, I'm showing my age.

But those things, I think, are foundational to who I am today and the work that I get to work on now. And then my family moved to Delaware in 1969. which was after the longest occupation of police in a city because of the 1968 riots. And so there's also this foundation of, you know, loving my city and loving my state, which is a real microcosm of the country because Delaware, a lot of people don't know anything about Delaware, but we are urban, suburban, rural, and coastal. We have it all from farmers to, you know, to fishing, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, cities and it some might not think it's a big city life but we we like it we like it in

Delaware we're the first state and so I think that has sort of been the foundation for the work that I do here in the Senate whether it's housing or health care or the environment because we're the lowest mean elevation state in the entire country so when it rains it floods environmental justice communities as well as our farms and our coastal areas and so I think we bring all of those experiences with us to this work. And again, glad to be here and glad to represent the first state. Yeah. Well, it's just so cool. I mean, and it's interesting, you know, when I talk, especially to young people about political engagement, you know, I will bring up my experiences in many of the environments that you just spoke about in Delaware as a Californian, you know,

urban, rural, suburban, coastal, like all of these things. And it's a really nice thing to be able to point out as someone, you know, to show my own age who's like, we've done Heal the Bay. Like, we know these campaigns can do good things for our communities. As a person who's been engaged in democratic, you know, activism volunteering for over 20 years now, like, I get to speak to young people. I'm not one of them anymore. And very similarly to the ways I, I refer you know, importance that's both local and national, talking about California and Delaware, you know, California, Delaware, New York. We have so many of the same issues you talk about. You know, we have a connection, Alyssa, because I've called Detroit my home away from home for

20 years, thanks to my best friend, who's a third-generation Detroiter. And we do so much work in Michigan and the incredible ecosystems of Michigan, likewise. urban, suburban, rural, you know, even at our fund, we're investing in, you know, the future of farming and ag and also space technology. Like what's happening in these industries, the research industries in Michigan is so incredible, the environmental leadership because of all the water, you know, it's really cool to be able to tie both the really specific and kind of the universal of what's important for people across all of our states. It makes me feel really geeked. What are what are some of the things that inspired you, you know, from your

youth to do what you do today? Well, I mean, you know, Michigan is a place where, I mean, I grew up, my dad was a lifelong Republican. My mom was a lifelong Democrat. And that was completely normal and completely non-contentious when I was growing up in Michigan. I mean, all of us in Michigan have this experience of your neighbors have a different political view, even your families at Thanksgiving dinner, right? And it was never a big deal. We were much more likely to fight Michigan versus Michigan State than Democrat versus Republican growing up, like in a big way. And so it's that to me, you know, is, look, I don't know that we'll ever get back to that in our lifetime, that same level of kind of, you know, we just ribbing each other and respectful

back and forth. But I still think that we do our best work when we, we reach across difference and we work together on something. That's how some things are durable. And that's become really hard. And Michiganders cannot stand how politics has made Thanksgiving uncomfortable. I mean, it is a big stressor on people that they can't. At this point, people just feel like they can't talk around others about politics, period, which stresses me out as someone who believes in democracy, right?

But I think for me, you know, I also just had the experience of being what's called a 9-11 baby, where I happened to be in New York City on my second day of grad school. I just moved to New York when 9-11 happened. And that changed my life. I mean, what I decided to do for a living, going into national security. And so, you know, I think your upbringing for all of us you bring to the job, but also these, like, pivotal moments, you know, where you can remember where you were and what you were doing and who you were with, where your life just like takes a turn. I don't know. For most people we work with, I feel like they have like those seminal moments in

their life. And certainly for me, 9-11 was one of those. Yeah, absolutely. Well, part of what you speak about the hyper intensification of the debate, you know, it used to be more of a discourse. and then the intensity that's really gone up in terms of political differences becoming ideological almost, like the idea that a person who believes differently than you believes in something bad. I think about that, particularly with your background, as a threat to national security, do you think that I'm overstating the issue, or does that feel accurate to you? you. No, I think that's 100% accurate. When certainly in national security for years, for decades,

after World War II, you know, you could have a Democratic president or a Republican president, and your national security approach was generally the same. You know, I was a Cold War kid. Like, we all wanted to win the Cold War, like different presidents, fine, but we had kind of common assumptions. And I think that's gone. And we're living that in real time, right? With like, what should America's role be in the world? Some people are deep isolationists. Some people think we should have a strong leadership role. And that's when you don't have agreement on who we want to be, then so many decisions become haphazard and conflicted. And, you know, yesterday I was in a briefing. I'm on the Armed Services Committee, a classified briefing, but it was on the AI race with China,

right? Something, the classified AI race. And it is, it is as consequential and important as the nuclear race back in like the Oppenheimer time. Yes. But because we're so toxic politically right now, everyone's back and forth. We literally are not talking about it up on Capitol Hill in a real way, in a substantive way. So we owe to the American people, especially those of us in these positions, to be thinking around corners at like the next threat that can come to us. But we're so busy, like, fighting about like Greenland or some Twitter. that went out or whatever, that we're not, we're focusing only on the day to day, not on the long-term

issues. And that is absolutely a threat to national security because our job in the dark of night is to be thinking about, you know, what the bad guys want to be doing to us next. And it is a, it is a real problem, this fighting that we have going on because it prevents us from doing what we need to do to prevent new threats. Sophia, if I could just join in on that because I was really fortunate, you know, kind of going back to who you are as a kid. And for me, you know, there was this whole thing about world peace. So I went to school to study international relations undergrad. And I've been fortunate to live or work and travel to over 33 countries. I have an app on my phone. It's called Ben, B-E-E-N, like all the places I've been. I love that app. I love that app. So I, and so I love the work. So I, so I love the work. world. But the last place I lived before running for office was actually in China. I lived in Shanghai for five years. And I was hearing the conversation then about AI, you know, and them matching the United States, you know, by like 2025 and exceeding us by 2030. Like we are here now. And I just sat on a panel with one of my Republican colleagues, our Republicans, our Republicans. Republican colleagues yesterday on AI. And the fact that the technology is moving so quickly and we are moving so slowly is problematic. But to Alyssa's point, the underlying threat is our

division because then we can't solve these big problems. We can't work together. The weird thing, though, is that there are some strange bedfellows that are working on things in this space. But that bigger overarching division is truly a threat to us. And so, you know, I think you'll find in the two of us that we're both like pragmatic, you know, like I'm an optimist, but I'm a pragmatic optimist, you know. And so we fight the battles that we need to fight, but we also recognize that there are things we have to come together on. Like if we had not come together even on the chips and science bill,

Like that was major legislation that was important for the national security of this country, but also our economy. I work a lot on supply chains. Like nobody knew what the heck of supply chain was, you know, until COVID and you couldn't get toilet paper. You couldn't get baby formula. You couldn't. But those are the things that affect our health, our wealth, and our national security that we have to work on. And I'm glad there's a venue for you to even allow us to talk about stuff that. But people don't know we're working on.

Well, I think to your point, a lot of people who, you know, are either too busy or not interested in the way that a deep research nerd like I am is in terms of learning how all these things work together might not have had the time to start connecting some of these dots. You know, the fact that what's happening with the division is a national security issue, what's happening with, frankly, the absolute lack of professionalism and expertise of the people who now occupy some of the most important offices in the largest superpower in the world is alarming. And then you start to kind of go, oh, everything's interconnected. You know, Senator Slotkin, you brought up being a Cold War kid. there are people talking about how the destabilization of our allied powers right now is launching us into the next Cold War, which we understand is actually going to be a technology war with China. And that what's happening with the current administration destabilizing NATO, turning our back on our allies, is that the people who would help us fight that war aren't going to.

And not only is it on the forefront of technology and AI and many of the things, again, that in our own communities, you know, as investors and as advocates, we're excited about, both in terms of how to build the technology and how to establish guardrails for it. But then there's all of the layers on top of it, like you're saying in every single sector, in energy. They're beating us in energy. The Trump administration's canceling green energy projects, which means we're going to be global energy. losers instead of leaders. And not only is that a problem for our position in the world, but it's a problem for the fact that we're going to lose all these great jobs. And that's in states like all of ours. And so when you think about the roles you all serve in, pursuing positive outcomes for public health, you know, as labor leaders, you know, Lisa, you in all those sectors and even as a

nonprofit CEO, like, you guys see how all of these things are so interconnected. I, I believe part of my calling is to help translate these policy things into personal conversations for people. How are you all trying to do these moments and also lead? Because from the outside, it looks like you're now being asked to do six jobs, but I'm so grateful you're willing to take the time to try to do them all so that, you know, lay people like me can really feel as educated as possible. to the full picture of how everything you guys are doing in politics is actually so personal to the rest of us. Yeah.

I mean, I would say, look, there's no doubt that the role of the Senate of elected leaders is changing, like, daily under our feet. And the truth is, particularly with social media and then how toxic the politics are in general, there are plenty of people who would say, like, we just need you working on whatever's hot, whatever's popping, responding immediately. If we're talking about buying Greenland or taking Greenland by force, we want you talking about Greenland, like there's a demand signal to be very knee-jerk responsive to whatever is going on in Washington on a daily basis. But it actually isn't the role of a leader.

The role of a leader is not to jump at every, you know, pitch or hit at every pitch. The role of a leader is also to say it is my job to prevent bad things from happening and to help my constituents succeed by playing a long game and putting the pieces in place to help my constituents. And sometimes that's very unsexy. Sometimes that's very wonky. Sometimes that, you know, it is really hard to convey. And so I think all of us, I mean, Lisa and I are freshmen. So we're just starting. We've just finished our first year.

as senators. And I think to me, there's how do you make sure, as we say at the Pentagon, you always give the future a seat at the table. How do you make sure in your week, the amount of work that you're doing is not just being responsive to the last thing that Donald Trump tweeted about, but to actually pick and place bets on important long-term things that you're working on because you know they will help your constituents, even if they don't know it. And that's that you don't get a lot of clicks for that. You don't get a lot of likes for that. But it's still the responsibility of people who are, you know, have the kind of power that we have. So, um, uh, but you also got to figure out how to communicate, right? I mean, there was a time where, you know, maybe 10 years ago, if you said to a

senator, like, you really got to up your podcast game. Exactly. Right. And you got to get on with Sophia Bush and like get your podcast game. The senators here would be like, what are you, a what? Like, there was a time. There was this year. No, just kidding. That's right. For some people, it's still happening. But if you are like, you know, of this world, you understand that media is changing. And if you want to reach people, you can't just like sit in your office and do that long-term work and not communicate. So it's a constant balance as a leader between communicating to the public and working on those long lead items that can actually help them live good middle class and beyond lives. Yeah.

I mean, I have to say, Sophia, like, it cannot be understated how. important your role is in this moment, the ability to translate what we're doing here and make it real and tangible for people when the attention economy, like everything is coming at them from everywhere. And so to be able to do that is such a service not only to the individual, but to our democracy in this moment. I think that's one of the biggest challenges that we face. is breaking through in a time where, you know, you got like the president putting up pictures of himself as Jesus. Like, how, you know, so, so. Let me tell you what, as a kid with a Catholic mom, it has been a very intense week in the family group chat. Oh, my. I can imagine. I mean,

it's bad enough. It was blasphemous, but it was also messy looking. Like it was just a weird thing. But the fact that you create a space for people to kind of hear and understand what we're doing is really important. The other piece that you mentioned is the hats that we're wearing. I sit on four committees, four A-level committees. I'm on Environment and Public Works. So like I said, for Delaware, we care about what happens. Right now, we just, I just attended a session on the cost of climate change right now. People's energy costs are going up.

We got a war. It's making it more unaffordable for folks. I mean, your home, your flood insurance for many of these folks, they're getting priced out. They can't even live or buy a home. So I'm on Environment and Public Works. I'm on banking, housing, and urban affairs. The one committee everybody said was going to be, oh, that's a sleeper. You won't be doing a lot in banking.

Not in 2026. Not in 2026. It's the committee where we have a first of its kind in a long time a housing bill that is a comprehensive package, bipartisan, bycameral. They've got theirs in the House. We've got ours in the Senate. But it's the first time people are recognizing that we have a housing crisis in this country. And so for me, my first piece of legislation was on housing because that's what Delawareans told. me whether you're 50 and still living with your dad or whether you're a first time home buyer,

people are struggling. Banking. I'll tell you my last two committees because it's my hats. Commerce, science and transportation. Yes. So again, whether it's supply chains, whether it's dealing with AI, whether it's dealing with our economy, or even it's NASA. You know, all of this, Yay Artemis. Yay, Artemis. Makes me want to sob. Right? I mean, I actually was like watching this.

I needed some Artemis in my life. I did too. And the last one that I'm on is help, health, education, labor, and pensions, which again, we've seen throughout this year what has been one of the major issues for us as Democrats is fighting for health care. We have been fighting for health care and we continue to fight for health care for the American people. And so, again, these are the things that we're doing every day in addition to trying to communicate, in addition to fighting for democracy, this woman fighting for our national security,

you know, and so, and then trying to live a life outside of here. Yes. And now a word from our wonderful sponsors. Get rewarded just for shopping with Simon Plus. Don't miss Memorial Day sales at Simon Premium Outlets and Mills. You can get points at scores of stores, access to exclusive offers, and exciting surprises. You've got an extra day off, so make it pay off, with the best deals from brands you love all in one place. It's a summer kickoff thing. Join today at Simonplus.com. Rewards program terms apply.

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Hey, it's Bruno Mars. This is Kesha. Find 2010's The Decade on the free Iheart radio app. Preset the station so it's always one tap away. Something I want to make sure I say for our friends at home, because obviously I know this about you both. You are governmental, like, girl crushes for me. But when you talk about being freshmen in the Senate, your expertise comes from such long,

like incredible. I don't even want to call it a resume. You both have a laundry list of public service. And when I think about how those roles shape your pathway into these Senate seats, you know, Senator Stalking your career in national security, working at the CIA, three tours in Iraq, you know, you have. such expertise. And Lisa, you know, I think about you being Delaware's sole representative in the house, like literally having to carry the concerns of an entire state by yourself and you manage to be

such an optimist. I just am so amazed by all of the hats you've worn that enable you all to wear the ones you wear today. And you said something that I find really pressing in this moment, because in each of your states, you emphasize the importance of rebuilding manufacturing. You talk about economic opportunity. We know that jobs matter for people. We know that until we do pass better or universal health care, often people's health care is tied to their jobs. But housing, in particular everywhere is a problem and not only is private equity buying up most of the housing in the country a problem but you really talked about something i want to connect for our listeners which is that what's happening with climate is creating a vacuum of problems for people whether it's in a

coastal city and we're talking about flooding whether it's on the west coast and we're talking about wildfires, whether we're talking about, you know, particularly in the Midwest, northern Midwest, like these crazy super storms. How do you see climate as this kind of big umbrella that maybe everyone's not talking about? Maybe they don't know about all the little winds you're achieving for your states in terms of shoring up support. It feels like such a big issue to think about that I think a lot of people's reaction is to put their heads in the sand because it feels scary, but you both don't get to do that. You have to come up with solutions. So when you look at a big issue like that and how it affects housing jobs, et cetera, how do you begin to tackle that? And how do you do that in partnership

across your states? Well, I'll start and then kick it over Lisa. And, you know, I think, look, I feel like the lesson that we learned in the last presidential election is that people are sort of existentially focused on their pocketbooks, their kids, and whether the next generation is going to have the keys to the middle class and the American dream. Like, I think that's the issue. I actually think Trump is a symptom of the problem. The problem is we have a shrinking middle class in America, and that is a big old problem in a diverse country like ours. Yes. So, and so I, you know, in Michigan, we care deeply. Like you said, about our great lakes, our watersheds, our local environment. We've had a rise in extreme weather that costs people. And so my, my entry point

into climate is not like climate qua climate. Like, let's have a discussion of the Paris Climate Accord. People are not, they're not there. But if you want to talk about their energy prices, right? If you want to talk about how many times, right now I've got floods going on across Michigan. I've got dams bursting. People are texting me their pictures of their backyards. There's there's real financial costs to where we are with these extreme weather events. And I think people care about their pocketbooks right now. And so that is my entry point. So when I have like a Republican mayor call me and his town is flooded for the third time in a year,

right? These once in a generation floods are now like all the time. And he says, look, I know we're going to get more floods and they're going to be more severe. Can I talk to you about infrastructure planning? That's a Republican mayor talking to me about climate change. And I don't give a crap if he says the word climate change. I don't. I just need to have him at the table to have the conversation.

So for me, the way that you tackle an enormous issue and existential issue like climate is like you can't eat the elephant all at once. You know, you have to figure out your entry point. And for me, it's extreme weather and your pocketbook. Yes. I totally agree. I think the one area that we didn't mention that also is impacted is health care. I mean, to the extent that this extreme weather, even the wildfires and the toxicity, it doesn't stop at the Canadian border.

That affects our health status. Living in communities like we have in Delaware, there are. some places where the the whole issue of that flooding affects, again, people's health status, and that goes back to our health costs. I also think that, to Alyssa's point, you know, when I started in the house, I was able to, my freshman term, I wanted, I was like, you know, when you're, when you're running, people ask you, and I ran, when I ran for the first time, because I had never run for anything before I ran for Congress. And people kept saying, what committee do you want to be on? What committee? And I was like, committee. So I googled all the committees. That's how I figured out,

like, what committee do I want to be on? And so it was like, I want to be on. I found out energy and commerce was the committee where you are going to be dealing with climate, health, energy, all of these different things. So I was like, I'm going to get on energy and commerce. And then I said it out loud and people laughed at me. They were like, oh, they don't let freshmen on energy and commerce. Well, I was like, I'm going to get on it the next term, and I did. And part of that goal was that intersection between climate, jobs, health care, housing, food, instability, all of these things, you know, are tied to that, not to mention the quality of life. I mean, my, my team, we talk about this all the time. We have three peace. Purpose, peace, and planet. That's what we're

here for. Purpose. That's jobs. That's making sure you've got health care and a house to live in that you can afford back to that middle class, that aspiration of what we are here for. Purpose. The next one is peace. That's peace of mind and mental health because we've seen part of this just as since I talk about BC before COVID, we were one way. I don't think we've recovered mentally from COVID still. I don't either. Mental health, but also the peace in our communities, gun violence was rampant in our major city and when I decided to run.

And so to be able to be a part of the Safer Communities Act and bring dollars to communities, they have their own agency. They know what works in their community. community and then peace globally. That's why I was an IR major. And then the planet. Without a planet, what are we talking about? Like, it's a moot point. We're not even here. Now, I know I think there's some people that are planning to go up on their own planet and do some things or they've got like bonkers like in show Paradise. I don't know. But I'm a big on Paradise. I don't know if me too. I love it. Oh, me too. But that's it. Peace, planet and purpose. But you know what's

really interesting and I'm curious to know what you two think of this because I think for many of us who have spent lifetimes in service, who understand the importance of the planet, who know that there's plenty. We talked about this, Artemis. There are planets out there in galaxies where literally diamonds rain down on them. People think diamonds are rare. We're the only planet with trees. Like the only one. Trees are actually the miracle. We are so lucky to live on Earth. And when I see some of these people, you know, the guy who bought the rocket company whose name I don't like to say. And the rest talking about like, oh, let's go live on Mars or the moon or in a bunker.

I'm like, tell me you've never ever done any volunteering in a carceral system without telling me. Because what you're actually talking about is building yourself a bougie prison. And you've just never been in prison and you don't know how hard it is on people. Busy prison. I'm right now. I'm like every single thing you think you love about being alive won't be there. And no amount of frate sheets or whatever else you're going to put on your rocket are going to make you feel better, sir. You know, some of that is so crazy to me.

I think for me, the goal is always to bring it back, as you ladies are saying, to how these things are related. because helping a constituent community in your state, regardless of what team their mayor is, matters no matter what language you're using. If you want to call it a climate issue, if you want to call it a disaster issue, these are human issues. Affordability is a human issue. You know, even when we think about something as large as the space race, which AI is our new space race, right?

like we started talking about that. Something I want to thank you both for and let people listening know is that you are both very passionately working to keep AI misuse in check. And I know this matters to my audience because actually at the top of this year when I talked about the Defiance Act

passing its first round of votes unanimously and the advocacy that myself and other, you know, civilians who know about this work have been entrenched in for many years, I got a lot of feedback about that. You know, from young women, from moms who want to protect their kids, everyone really wants to know, you know, this thing that might identify breast cancer five years earlier sounds great, but we don't want it to be used to abuse women and children, which we also know it's doing. You know, do we want to

develop science and go to the moon? Yes. Do we want to burn Earth to do it? No. You know, should we be able to have nonpartisan conversations and prioritize national security instead of sub-tweeting each other. Yes. When you think about some of these things, especially something like AI that is a big concept, but that has very immediate opportunity to personally affect people and also is a big, you know, blaring question mark of the future of technology and security, how do you work on that as an elected official? Like, what are your priorities in terms of the law? And how do you help educate people about what it is in the first place? That's a big one. Just a casual question for you. Yeah, that's a big one. I mean, I'll just tell you very quickly that, you know, we, to me, again,

if we were healthy as a country, Democrats and Republicans would be hammering out the left and right limits of AI every day, all day, on our economic future, future of jobs, on our national security, on all the benefits, the health part of it, like all the research benefits. Like, we'd be talking about 24-7. I honestly feel like we're, it's like 1989 and someone takes like a transport back and tells everybody, there's this thing called the internet that's going to totally change everything. And you're just like, what? And I feel like we're, we've got that time traveler telling us, like, AI's about to really change so much about our world. And yet we're not doing anything

concrete, you know, about it as a nation. I think for me, I'm just being in the military world, you know, I think it is important that on matters of life and death, we have a human being that's in the loop. Thank you. Right. Like just, I think, and they're like, we should just, let's be in agreement that when it comes to deploying nuclear weapons, we should always have a human being in the loop. Like, we just don't know where this technology is going. And so I think that there, I've, you know, I just put up a bill a couple of weeks ago to put in those left and right limits at the Pentagon. Just, but I think also what you were getting at in terms of the abuse of AI, particularly targeted at women and girls, is like, we're going to all have to. understand like that and frankly I think demand more autonomy over our name image and likeness yes like our data like we always have you we always talk about like bodily autonomy right that you can't no one should be telling you how you use your body I think we're going to have to start having the same conversations about your data and when they're taking videos you know and certainly

you me Lisa we're all on video all over the internet right and so you know we know you shouldn't be able to take a bunch of videos and do something really lewd with that imagery. And then just like, that's no problem. No consequences. It's fine. And I think that we're going to have to, as the public is going to have to demand more action from Congress on this name image likeness on your data or else it's just going to become like, what can we believe, what can we not? What's actually true? What's not?

What are people saying? What are they not? And I think people feel that we're already on the edge of that. And there's just so many issues out there. They're not sending a clear demand signal. But give it another six months. And it is, I think, going to become a bigger and bigger issue in the next year. We'll be back in just a minute after a few words from our favorite sponsors. Get rewarded just for shopping with Simon Plus. Don't miss Memorial. day sales at Simon Premium Outlets and Mills. You can get points at scores of stores, access to exclusive offers, and exciting surprises. You've got an extra day off, so make it payoff with the best deals from brands you love all in one place. It's a summer kickoff thing. Join today at Simonplus.com. Rewards program Terms Supply. See Simonplus.com for details. The newest tracks. Let's go. We lose it. And the next big thing.

Always on the new music first. Your first place to hear it all. Because you don't like it, love, I want to play it twice. Playing now. I heart new music. Your digital station for brand new drops, fresh vines, and tomorrow's bangers.

Powered by North by Northeast Music Festival, taking place June 10th to 14th across Toronto. I heart new music. Stream now online on your smart speaker and preset on the free IH. So with that bill you put up, I'm curious, you know, I want to, watch our time, and I know you ladies both have to go and actually govern. I would love to leave

listeners with a few things that they should be calling their representatives about. I will go ahead and say, and you tell me if you think it's a top three issue this week this month, I want everyone to keep calling and absolutely demanding that we not pass the SAVE Act. It is voter suppression and it is particularly targeted at women. And I can say it so you don't have to. pardon my French, it's insanely fucked up that we're even having this conversation in America in 2026. I would love to know what is your bill, Senator? You know, what should people be saying, this is the bill we want you to pass on AI and then we want you to keep going? You know, is there likewise some sort of great environmental bill that we should be pressing for? Like,

we've got one up in California right now that I'm advocating for on social media. But I would just love to know, are there a handful of things that you would like everyone listening to this podcast to get on that congressional switchboard, to call their senators about, like, how do we help keep the pressure on from the constituents? Because as much as I think people feel a little helpless or hopeless right now, it does matter the more of us, you know, make noise, right? Yes, definitely. Well, first of all, I do want to say something about AI and also because AI is here. quantum is coming. And I think there's not a lot of conversation about that yet. You took a deep breath. I really did. It makes me so nervous. Yeah, I know. I know. And so I want to kind of put a plug there.

And one of the bills that I, you know, have focused on is, first of all, AI literacy in general. People across this country don't even know sometimes that it's being used on them, that they're using it. And so part of it is also to give people agency themselves, even our educators in making sure that they know so that we don't lose critical thinking skills, that we don't use, lose creativity. I mean, right now we've got a soul singer who's AI generated in one of the number one country singers with no soul. And so, you know, so part of it is to think about we're looking at those guardrails. We've got a slate of bills. me like the the the the the the the five alarm fire for me is the save act it is making sure right now we're seeing americans whether they go to no king's rallies whether they are writing postcards

those things still matter and i would encourage people you don't have to write to me i know where I am on this, but if you got family in states where those legislators, those Republican legislators aren't getting it, then have those folks spread the word, continue to do that kind of outreach. Amplify things like what you're doing, this show, these messages, because, again, the breakthrough is going to happen because of the power of the people. We're, you know, 47, how many of us? Yeah, yeah. And so, but when you amplify that and when you multiply that, that's the power of the people,

we got to be focused until we get to the midterms, until we get to 2028. Not to be clear. Yes, ma'am. I'm ready. Just a little. Oh, I'm so ready. Listen, I have a lot of cause to be in Michigan very regularly, but you need me for anything in Delaware. I'm there. You just let me know.

We will take you. Good. I'm ready to go. Well, thank you all so much. I really cherish the time with you. My favorite question to ask everyone who's kind enough to join me on this show is the following. And whether it's, you know, something in the political sphere, the personal sphere, something that gives you hope, I'm curious for each of you ladies, what feels like your work in progress right now? Well, I don't know if it's a work in progress. But I think what is giving me hope is watching people fight for what they love and it actually working.

You know, I mean, I think, you know, for us, we are our friends from the House of Representatives just became the governor of Virginia and the governor of New Jersey in 2025. Yes, I know. I'm so proud. We were just talking, you know, beforehand about them. And I think we had a goal in those states in the off-year elections. They worked hard on it, and they were successful. It gives me hope for 2026. I think we have, it's a work in progress because just doing well in a midterm,

which we are going to have to work for, does not mean you win in a general presidential election. Yeah. So we have work to do on playing offense. and having our agenda and our value proposition to the American people, not just pointing at Trump on how bad he is. We know that, but we got to have our own platform that people can find themselves in. But I think, you know, I was in Ohio.

You know, I've been traveling the last couple of weeks and people understand that they got to get engaged in order to have this go the right way. And watching that happen in places like Toledo is, to me, gives me hope. even if the project isn't finished. I'll say my work in progress is probably more personal work in progress. That's connected always to the work as well. And I think it is maintaining bright hope in the midst of what can feel dark sometimes. My theme of when I ran was Bright Hope because it was the name of the church,

my grandmother attended for 70 years in Philly. And so while I have my granddaughter on the back of my phone that I carry all the time, she gives me hope. But the work in progress is to make sure that while we're wearing all these different hats, I would love to find love again. My husband passed away in 2014, and he was kind of the inspiration. for running for Congress in the first place. And I feel like I've been so busy that I haven't thought about, you know, love. And it's funny because when Alyssa and I sat down here,

we looked at all these colors and we said, we looked like a Valentine's thing up here. But continuing to have bright hope and joy in this moment, I think is such a superpower that all of us need because that's what's going to sustain us. That's what's going to make sure we make it through. And I keep telling people that are coming up to me, hugging me, saying, I'm praying for you, stay strong. I say to people, it's biblical.

We're in the fire, but we don't smell like smoke. We are in the fire, but we do not. And we have all kinds of things that we do to maintain. But my work in progress is let's save this democracy. Let's save this planet. And then from there, maybe I'll find love. Let me tell you what. This is why I love this show and why I love this community, because we're going to have a gaggle of women listening to this. And shout out to the men who listen to. We love you for being here. And we are going to work on constituent education. We are going to work on civic engagement. And we are going to play cute.

And I just like I can't wait to see the DMs that come in from Delaware listeners that are like, oh my God, my dad, oh my God, my uncle. Like I actually. Let's find Lisa Love. Let's find people. Let's find Lisa Love. I wanted to be the golden bachelor. We love love. Yes.

Oh my God. I love this. Ladies, thank you so much. I just, I really, I really mean it when I say I look up to you both so much. and yeah, you're just, you're wonderful as leaders and people, and I feel really lucky that, you know, you're in the fight. You talk about hope being bright. I, um, sometimes I think about hope as like a boxer. And I'm like, yeah, we're bloody, we lost a tooth, but we're still getting up. Like, we're not going to give up. We follow in the tradition of so many amazing women who never gave up,

and we won't either. And that, um, I think reminding myself, that it's also really bright is a is a good work in progress assignment from the two of you for me. Thank you for that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Have a wonderful rest of your day.

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