USAupdated 22m ago2 min read
Abdul El-Sayed Says Democrats Will Work With Trump If He Acts Serious
“Democrats will work with President Donald Trump”
“In the cold, twilight days of 2008, inside the University of Michigan’s fortress-like Fleming administration building”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
El-Sayed is Michigan senator-elect and would work with Trump if serious. He launched Habibi PAC to influence Democrats.
Save coverage image
Work with Trump, if serious
Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said Democrats will work with President Donald Trump if Trump “wants to act serious,” but El-Sayed said he will not find a willing partner in Congress if Trump chooses “foolishness.” El-Sayed told ABC “This Week” that he wanted to discuss “this war in Iran” and “the foolishness of a tariff war with Canada,” and he also criticized “guttng Medicaid to pass tax cuts for the richest people in America.”
El-Sayed said Trump “is the president of the United States,” and he added that Democrats would work alongside him “to actually address these issues” if Trump chose seriousness. El-Sayed said Trump would “hire people like Stephen Miller to run the White House,” and he said Trump “gets to choose where he goes next.”
First Muslim senator, new PAC
El-Sayed’s win in Michigan made him the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, and The Hill said he launched Habibi PAC just days after Tuesday’s win. The Hill reported that El-Sayed’s Habibi PAC is a leadership PAC “meant to raise money for his political allies,” and it said the committee is “not connected to his campaign.”
El-Sayed used the Arabic term Habibi in his victory speech, and The Hill quoted him saying, “JD, habibi,” addressing Vice President Vance. El-Sayed told supporters he was “constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” and The Hill said Arabic terminology and culture were present throughout the campaign as he pushed to become the first Muslim U.S. senator.
Leadership questions and stakes
El-Sayed said the question for Senate leadership was “who wants to be the leader who's going to make sure that we deliver on the mandate that we just got,” and he said he wanted to see “who else is in the running.”
El-Sayed said he voiced support for Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and he stressed that he was looking for a leader “who is ready to take action on day one.”
El-Sayed said he has “not been impressed by what we've been able to do,” and he said he wanted leadership “to deliver on the goal of getting money out of politics, put money in pockets, passed Medicare for all.”
El-Sayed said his commitment was to “making sure that we can deliver on the goals that we need, and we need action now,” while he also said a vote is “a choice between two or more options.”