By Nick Smith
Gongwer News Service
MACKINAC ISLAND – Attorney General Dana Nessel did not dismiss the possibility of her running for office next year but insisted her continued focus is on her current job and her efforts to fight the actions of the administration of President Donald Trump.
Nessel was asked Wednesday in an interview with Gongwer News Service during the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference whether she was considering running for U.S. Senate or any other office in 2026. She has previously not ruled out a possible run for office next year (See Gongwer Michigan Report, February 14, 2025).
She said that her belief is that one does not need to announce a campaign nearly 18 months out from election day. Nessel said running for office in 2026 is something she has not taken off the table and will consider.
“It’s a calculation that I’ll make as time goes on,” Nessel said. “I’m not convinced at this point that we’re going to have free and fair elections in 2026 unless we are very aggressive right now.”
Four Democrats already have announced for U.S. Senate: former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and state Rep. Joe Tate of Detroit.
Nessel has also been busy since Trump took office for his second term, joining with most other Democratic attorneys general in a flurry of lawsuits against the administration. The Democratic attorneys general have been fighting to block everything from funding cuts to federal agencies, massive cuts to the federal workforce, attempts to essentially dissolve the U.S. Department of Education and the contents of numerous executive orders.
Nessel also questioned Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s more conciliatory approach to Trump during his second term, contrasted with her sharp opposition and lawsuits.
“I don’t believe that the president is a good-faith actor, and that is my concern, is that you can negotiate with him, but ultimately, will he fulfill any promises that he makes to the governor or to the state of Michigan? I’ve not seen that of him,” Nessel said. “He’s a person that seemingly is willing to change his mind on a dime. He’s not thoughtful about his decision making, and if at any point the governor should displease him, will he violate any of the promises that he’s made to her or to our state?”
She also questioned working in good faith with someone whose administration is now considering pardons for individuals convicted in the plot to kidnap Whitmer, a plot in which the men discussed killing the governor.
“That’s not a person that I’m willing to do business with, but I just think … it speaks to how rogue this president is,” Nessel said.
Nessel said the funding cuts her office has filed suit to block would be devastating to Michigan families and residents, whether it is access to Medicaid, Head Start, Meals on Wheels and numerous other critical programs.
Nessel said out of 17 lawsuits filed so far, eight have already resulted in at least preliminary injunctions. The fact that federal judges have seen strong cases made by her and other attorneys general is a good sign, she said.
“The thing that is so concerning about it, of the many things, is the willingness of the federal government to violate … contracts with the state. These are federal appropriations. This is our money coming back to us,” Nessel said.
Nessel also has sparred with House Republicans’ request for documents related to the state’s handling of the Flint water crisis and related legal cases brought by the Department of Attorney General.
In March, Nessel told Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Alto) it would take eight weeks to provide information, saying it would take more time to compile the information (See Gongwer Michigan Report, March 25, 2025).
She pushed back on the complaints from House Republicans alleging that her office is not providing documentation from her office, pointing to the May 21 issuance of documents from the period involving former Attorney General Bill Schuette and attorney Todd Flood, which predated her time in office.
Nessel said her office has been releasing documents related to the Flint water investigations in chronological order.
“I’m concerned that … they seem really unconcerned of anything that happened under my predecessor,” Nessel said. “We both had investigations and prosecutions, which might suggest this is political in nature, if they’re only interested in what happened under my tenure but not interested in what happened under AG Schuette’s tenure, but we intend to provide all of those documents. We have a date of June 17. We will make that date.”
Gongwer News Service
MACKINAC ISLAND – Attorney General Dana Nessel did not dismiss the possibility of her running for office next year but insisted her continued focus is on her current job and her efforts to fight the actions of the administration of President Donald Trump.
Nessel was asked Wednesday in an interview with Gongwer News Service during the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference whether she was considering running for U.S. Senate or any other office in 2026. She has previously not ruled out a possible run for office next year (See Gongwer Michigan Report, February 14, 2025).
She said that her belief is that one does not need to announce a campaign nearly 18 months out from election day. Nessel said running for office in 2026 is something she has not taken off the table and will consider.
“It’s a calculation that I’ll make as time goes on,” Nessel said. “I’m not convinced at this point that we’re going to have free and fair elections in 2026 unless we are very aggressive right now.”
Four Democrats already have announced for U.S. Senate: former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and state Rep. Joe Tate of Detroit.
Nessel has also been busy since Trump took office for his second term, joining with most other Democratic attorneys general in a flurry of lawsuits against the administration. The Democratic attorneys general have been fighting to block everything from funding cuts to federal agencies, massive cuts to the federal workforce, attempts to essentially dissolve the U.S. Department of Education and the contents of numerous executive orders.
Nessel also questioned Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s more conciliatory approach to Trump during his second term, contrasted with her sharp opposition and lawsuits.
“I don’t believe that the president is a good-faith actor, and that is my concern, is that you can negotiate with him, but ultimately, will he fulfill any promises that he makes to the governor or to the state of Michigan? I’ve not seen that of him,” Nessel said. “He’s a person that seemingly is willing to change his mind on a dime. He’s not thoughtful about his decision making, and if at any point the governor should displease him, will he violate any of the promises that he’s made to her or to our state?”
She also questioned working in good faith with someone whose administration is now considering pardons for individuals convicted in the plot to kidnap Whitmer, a plot in which the men discussed killing the governor.
“That’s not a person that I’m willing to do business with, but I just think … it speaks to how rogue this president is,” Nessel said.
Nessel said the funding cuts her office has filed suit to block would be devastating to Michigan families and residents, whether it is access to Medicaid, Head Start, Meals on Wheels and numerous other critical programs.
Nessel said out of 17 lawsuits filed so far, eight have already resulted in at least preliminary injunctions. The fact that federal judges have seen strong cases made by her and other attorneys general is a good sign, she said.
“The thing that is so concerning about it, of the many things, is the willingness of the federal government to violate … contracts with the state. These are federal appropriations. This is our money coming back to us,” Nessel said.
Nessel also has sparred with House Republicans’ request for documents related to the state’s handling of the Flint water crisis and related legal cases brought by the Department of Attorney General.
In March, Nessel told Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Alto) it would take eight weeks to provide information, saying it would take more time to compile the information (See Gongwer Michigan Report, March 25, 2025).
She pushed back on the complaints from House Republicans alleging that her office is not providing documentation from her office, pointing to the May 21 issuance of documents from the period involving former Attorney General Bill Schuette and attorney Todd Flood, which predated her time in office.
Nessel said her office has been releasing documents related to the Flint water investigations in chronological order.
“I’m concerned that … they seem really unconcerned of anything that happened under my predecessor,” Nessel said. “We both had investigations and prosecutions, which might suggest this is political in nature, if they’re only interested in what happened under my tenure but not interested in what happened under AG Schuette’s tenure, but we intend to provide all of those documents. We have a date of June 17. We will make that date.”
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