The US Senate got its first Muslim member after the left-wing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won a key Senate seat in Michigan in the 2026 midterm elections. El-Sayed, a former public health official, defeated Republican candidate Mike Rogers in a closely contested election that witnessed a highly charged election campaign. He bagged over 22 lakh votes compared to Rogers, who secured 20 lakh votes.
Notably, Michigan state has one of the most concentrated, politically influential Muslim and Arab American populations in the United States. The demographic dynamic clearly worked in favour of El-Sayed, who was born in Michigan to Egyptian immigrant parents. His election campaign, including his statement describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and calling for an end to US aid to Israel, seemed to have resonated with the people in his constituency.
Distasteful remarks about the Second Lady Usha Vance
Ahead of the election, El-Sayed made highly distasteful remarks regarding US Vice President JD Vance, his wife and the Second Lady Usha Vance, and their children on two occasions, one in April and another in August 2026. During an appearance on The Allen Analysis Show, El-Sayed launched a personal attack on JD Vance for his stance against immigration and made sexually inappropriate comments about his wife.
“What do you think is going through Usha’s head when he talks? She’s like, ‘Damn, I have to sleep with him’, ” El-Sayed said. He further dragged Vance’s children into the political fray and said that Vance would have a tough time explaining his political position to his children, who are of mixed Indian and European ancestry.
El-Sayed made another personal attack on Vance, involving Usha Vance, after the US Vice President criticised him for supporting Sharia Law. Vance had criticised the physician, saying that he wished he could travel back in time and tell his late grandfather, whom he calls Papaw, about a politician who claimed to represent working people while supporting Sharia law and describing criticism of it as white supremacy.
Responding to Vance’s criticism, El-Sayed used Usha’s Indian heritage and her racial identity to attack Vance. “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” he said. El-Sayed’s comment involving Usha Vance attracted a strong reaction from Vance, who warned him, saying, “Keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league.”
Links with controversial left-wing political streamer Hasan Piker
Left-wing political streamer Hasan Piker supported El-Sayed during the Democratic primary campaign, appeared at his campaign events and took part in his election-night celebrations. However, El-Sayed’s association with Piker became a major issue during his election campaign.
Piker made deeply antisemitic remarks about Israel and the Jewish population living in the US during a livestream and American Jews. Piker argued that opposing Israel is not antisemitic. He claimed that American Jews are not uniformly supportive of Israel and portraying them as uniformly supporting Israel could create hostility towards Jewish Americans. Piker insinuated that if American Jews are portrayed as supporting Israel, it may lead to some untoward incidents targeting them.
Piker’s remarks drew a huge backlash, including from some Democrats, after which El-Sayed tried to distance himself from Piker’s comments but did not condemn them.
Empathising with Michigan synagogue attacker
El-Sayed found himself in the middle of major political controversy after he made remarks empathising with the attacker of the Michigan synagogue earlier this year. In March 2026, a Lebanese-born American man, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, rammed a truck filled with gas and fireworks into a synagogue with families inside in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
El-Sayed reacted to the incident with the comment, “hurt people hurt people,” and went on to justify the attack, saying that the attacker had lost family members in an airstrike in Lebanon. He linked the synagogue attack to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, in a way justifying or excusing violence against Jewish worshippers. He later backtracked, saying that he “made a mistake” and that his words were misunderstood.
Responding to his remarks, JD Vance said, “There’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil. And on the rise in the United States of America today”. He added, “When you have people who start to say my ethnic group deserves something and yours doesn’t, or that ethnic group is good and this other ethnic group is bad, that is how you erode the very foundations of commonality and common citizenship that we need to continue to have the United States be the most powerful and prosperous nation anywhere in the world.”
Stance of Israel, Gaza and calling for cutting US aid to Israel
In line with his anti-Israel views, Abdul El-Sayed voiced his support for the idea of cutting US aid to Israel. The Democrat described Israel’s military actions in Gaza as genocide and had strongly criticised the Israeli government’s conduct of the Gaza war. He also advocated for a change in American foreign policy and said that the US government should not provide unconditional support to Israel
While his position on Israel received the support of his leftist voter base and some Arab-American and Muslim communities, it caused a feud with Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who unexpectedly endorsed Republican candidate Mike Rogers just two days before voters head to the polls. Stevens, a strong supporter of Israel, lost to El-Sayed by a narrow margin in the August Democratic primary. Despite the bitter contest, Stevens initially supported El-Sayed, but his anti-Israel rhetoric led to hostility between the two Democrats.
The hostility further deepened and became public after Stevens attacked him over a controversial ad promoting anti-Israel rhetoric. Before the election, an independent group backing El-Sayed, Rebellion PAC, released an advertisement linking US military aid to Israel to the struggles of Americans with the cost of living.
The ad showed a couple shopping in the grocery store expressing concern about prices. The woman tells the man not to buy eggs, saying, “We have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians”.
New @RebellionPac ad dropping in Michigan. We have to suffer here at home, so Israel can get all its wars. That’s why they buy politicians like Mike Rogers. He promised to serve Israel “unconditionally,” but never made that promise to you. https://t.co/mtgVOyNczg
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 24, 2026
The end of the ad states that former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee, “is for they/them” and displays a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies. The ad says, “Abdul El-Sayed is for you.” Stevens said that the ad promoted the line of argument taken by El-Sayed against Israel and urged him to condemn it.
Links to the Muslim Brotherhood
During the election campaign, El-sayed’s Republican rival Mike Rogers accused him of having links with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement founded in Egypt in 1928. Rogers, a former congressman and FBI agent, described him as being sympathetic to Islamic extremism.
El-sayed’s mother, Fatten Elkomy, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) as a nurse in Missouri from 1999 to 2004. The agency was raided by the FBI in 2004 and was designated as an organisation that supported terrorism by the US Treasury Department. The same year, the IARA was shut down by the Treasury Department and Justice Department for violating sanctions and providing aid to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
Besides, in 2012, El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, a University of Chicago professor, wrote on social media that her family had long been associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and described her mother’s involvement in the organisation in the early 1970s.
When questioned about his links with the Muslim Brotherhood, El-Sayed said that he was not raised by his mother. Rogers attacked El-Sayed for not clearly condemning the Muslim Brotherhood. Notably, US President Donald Trump designated some branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organisations last year.
Rana Ayyub thrilled over El-Sayed’s win
Controversial journalist Rana Ayyub is particularly thrilled by Abdul El-Sayed’s electoral win and entry to the US Senate. “Abdul el Sayed has won. Despite the Islamophobia, despite being let down by his own, despite the staggering AIPAC funding, despite the media hit jobs. And that is something that gives me hope this morning. Thank you, Michigan! Thank you, Abdul, for your perseverance,” an exhilarated Ayyub posted on X, celebrating El-Sayed’s win.
Abdul el Sayed has won. Despite the Islamophobia, despite being let down by his own, despite the staggering AIPAC funding, despite the media hit-jobs. And that is something that gives me hope this morning. Thank you, Michigan ! Thank you Abdul for your perseverance
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) November 4, 2026
Ayyub was equally thrilled on Sadiq Khan’s election to the position of Mayor of London. She penned a piece titled ‘The City Has Chosen Hope Over Fear: Sadiq Khan, London’s New Mayor’ celebrating Khan’s win.
Sadiq Khan’s Journey: From A Bus Driver’s Son To London’s First Muslim Mayor #SadiqKhan https://t.co/O3n71EmAhH
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) May 7, 2016
Interestingly, when Indian-origin Kash Patel was appointed as the Director of the FBI, the so-called journalist advised Indians to “calm down” and “get more real”. “The Indians simping for Kash Patel because of his Gujarati surname need to calm down and get more real. Stop embarrassing yourself, and just do some reading before jumping in excitement,” Ayyuh wrote in a killjoy manner on X.
The Indians simping for Kash Patel because of his Gujarati surname need to calm down and get more real. Stop embarrassing yourself, and just do some reading before jumping in excitement
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 20, 2025
Ayyub’s celebration of co-religionist politicians such as Abdul El-Sayed and Sadiq Khan, coupled with her disapproval of Kash Patel’s appointment as FBI Chief, may appear hypocritical at first glance. However, her position is consistent with her ideological commitment to the Islamist agenda and allegiance to the Muslim Ummah, reflecting precisely the kind of thinking that underpins the Two-Nation Theory.
