Key takeaways:
- El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan and became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.
- Trump plans to end roughly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by year-end; El-Sayed supports the move and wants U.S. weapons sales to Israel stopped.
- Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the Democratic primary, endorsed Rogers days before the general election.
Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, becoming the first Muslim elected to the chamber after a campaign fought over living costs, his faith and U.S. support for Israel. Days after defeating Republican Mike Rogers, the Democrat welcomed President Donald Trump’s plan to end military aid to Israel — and called for the United States to stop selling it weapons.
“I think the president is actually right on this policy,” El-Sayed told NPR’s Morning Edition. “I’d also like to see us stop selling weaponry that gets used to do the worst things, including genocide and apartheid, to Israel.”
Trump said he plans to end roughly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of the year, but gave no details on how the cuts would work. The United States provides Israel with $3.8 billion a year under an agreement running through 2028. El-Sayed said American tax dollars should be spent at home and also questioned U.S. military support for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan.
The 42-year-old physician and former public health official ran on lowering costs, Medicare for All and reducing corporate influence in politics. Rogers, who had Trump’s backing, attacked El-Sayed over his Muslim faith and his opposition to U.S. military aid to Israel. According to Al Jazeera, Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and mocked his name, while Vice President JD Vance called him a “psychopath.”
El-Sayed answered those attacks in his victory speech. “Donald, I know you struggle with my name, so when JD swears me in, you can call me ‘senator’,” he told supporters. He also spoke to families troubled by the attacks: “To all the parents who struggled to explain why the president openly mocks someone for their name or how they pray, let them know tomorrow that the bad guys lost.”
With more than 95% of votes counted, El-Sayed was set to receive more than 52% of the vote, Al Jazeera reported. He will replace retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. His victory came as Democrats reclaimed control of Congress.
The race exposed divisions among Democrats over Israel and the war in Gaza. El-Sayed defeated Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the August Democratic primary, but she endorsed Rogers days before the general election. Al Jazeera reported that more than $50 million was spent in the primary, including at least $30 million by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in support of Stevens.
Asked by NPR about concerns some Jewish and Black voters had expressed about him, El-Sayed said the election results challenged that account, while acknowledging more outreach was needed. “There’s always more work to do. There’s always more to build. There’s always more conversations to have,” he said.
El-Sayed grew up in the Detroit area and previously led Detroit’s Health Department and the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veteran Services, according to Al Jazeera. He lost a 2018 Democratic primary for governor to Gretchen Whitmer. In this campaign, he tied his foreign-policy position to the pressure families face at home: “It shouldn’t be this hard to buy a second bag of groceries or to fill your tank,” he told supporters.
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