Rep. Debbie Dingell says Democrats 'made a mistake' by ignoring Maine scandal
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., responds to Democratic Senate hopefuls Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens in a heated debate, revealing deep divisions over support for Israel and AIPAC. Dingell emphasizes the importance of Israel-related issues to Michigan's diverse Jewish and Arab American communities.
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Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Michigan, called the statements of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) “bribery.”
“Next week, AIPAC will spend at least $3,847,990 against me. Why? Why? [Haley Stevens] you are more committed to the future of a foreign country than keeping your tax dollars here to provide schools and health care for you and your children,” El-Sayed said in a post on X.
“Legal bribery at the worst possible time.”
This position, which comes less than a month before the primary against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who represents Israel and the establishment candidate, raises questions about the foreign interests represented in American elections and whether El-Sayed's criticism can be applied to other groups.
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Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan spent his campaign denying that he wanted to defund the police, but in an undisclosed clip he asked, “Do the police really need to use guns?” (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
“Does that apply to PAL PAC and Arab American PAC?” Chuck Ross, an investigative reporter, wrote in a post to X, referring to two pro-Palestine groups.
El-Sayed's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital on those lines.
Israel and its influence on American politics were important topics of the first Michigan Senate. Stevens, a member of the House of Representatives, endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., sharply criticized El-Sayed for questioning the US-Israeli alliance amid the conflict with Hamas.
“I would say that Israel has a right to live in peace with the people of Palestine and Gaza,” Stevens said in an interview Tuesday evening.
THE DEMOCRATS' STATE BATTLE GOES TO MICHIGAN WHERE THE CONTESTANTS FACE THE BIGGEST TEST BUT IN THE BIG SENATE SHOW.
Rep. Michigan's Haley Stevens, right, and former Wayne County Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed face the August 4, 2026, Democratic Senate race in the Great Lakes battleground. ()
El-Sayed, for his part, has maintained that the Israeli delegation has amassed too much power in the US elections, preventing candidates from questioning the relationship or under what circumstances the US should withhold its aid.
“For too long our foreign policy has been handed over to people like the State of Israel and AIPAC, who have made sure that Democrats and Republicans do that,” El-Sayed said on Tuesday.
Notably, El-Sayed has modest foreign assets.
Responding to criticism that he had not released his tax documents, El-Sayed admitted that his family had been holding these assessments abroad, delaying the process.
“Taxes are getting harder,” El-Sayed answered when asked about the topic in a recent appearance on the show. “My wife and her family have property abroad and getting all those tax forms is a no-brainer.”
DEM CIVIL WAR HITS CONTROVERSIAL SCENE IN THE FIRE OF WAR FIRE: 'WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?'
Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks before U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt., on stage at Mumford High School on May 3, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
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As part of the disclosure of his report written in June 2025, El-Sayed reported a number of seizures. Among them: a salary from Wayne County worth $278,900 and a variety of other assets totaling somewhere between $580,000 and $1.7 million.
As part of that report, his wife reported holding up to $15,000 in real estate in India.
