After defeating Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s 2026 Senate election, Abdul El-Sayed welcomed Donald Trump’s proposal to reduce military assistance to Israel and said he supported the policy.

El-Sayed will succeed Gary Peters and, according to the article, become the first Muslim American elected to the Senate.

He is calling on Washington to end unconditional foreign military aid and reconsider assistance to countries accused of violating international law, including Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.

In interviews with PBS NewsHour and ABC News, El-Sayed said US taxpayers’ money should not fund military actions that violate international law, and argued that the United States should apply accountability consistently rather than focus only on Israel.

He also said public money should prioritize domestic needs such as schools and healthcare.

On Israel specifically, El-Sayed called for restrictions on US weapons sales, alleging that some supplied weapons had been used in actions he described as genocide and apartheid.

Trump announced plans to end nearly $4 billion in annual US military grants to Israel from 2027, while arms sales would continue; a separate agreement provides Israel $3.8 billion annually through 2028.

The debate comes amid a major increase in US support: Brown University’s Costs of War project estimates the United States provided at least $16.3 billion in additional direct military assistance to Israel in the first year after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

A 2019–2028 US-Israel memorandum commits Washington to $38 billion in military assistance, including $3.3 billion a year in Foreign Military Financing and $500 million annually for joint missile-defense programs.

El-Sayed’s campaign also emphasized universal healthcare, reducing corporate influence in politics and greater scrutiny of US support for Israel; he defeated Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary.