El-Sayed Launches Habibi PAC and Taps Controversial Aide
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What happened
In early November 2026, days after winning the Michigan U.S. Senate race, Senator‑elect Abdul El‑Sayed (D‑Mich.) registered a new leadership political action committee called Habibi PAC, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The Hill reported that the PAC is separate from his campaign committee and is designed to raise money for his political allies. Around the same time, El‑Sayed selected Egyptian‑American attorney and former Biden administration official Brenda Abdelall to serve as director of his Senate transition team. According to the established provenance, Politico first reported Abdelall’s appointment on November 7, 2026, and the Daily Wire credited Politico’s report and a Harris campaign spokesperson as the initial on‑record sources. The Daily Wire notes that Abdelall previously told The New York Sun in 2002 that Zionists had a strong voice in American politics and were “controlling a lot of it,” remarks that resurfaced in 2024 when she joined then‑Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, whose spokesperson said those comments did not reflect her current views; the outlet also reports that Abdelall later served at the Department of Homeland Security, where she helped implement the Biden administration’s first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and organize the White House’s United We Stand summit.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 2 articles
1 of 2 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report. Most articles credit Politico rather than reporting it themselves.
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This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
The biggest gap is that each side tells only half the story of El‑Sayed’s early moves, so readers never see both the PAC and the aide choice together. Left‑leaning coverage focuses on his creation of Habibi PAC as a leadership committee to raise money for his political allies and omits any mention of Brenda Abdelall or her past statements. Right‑leaning coverage from the Daily Wire does the reverse, centering almost entirely on Abdelall’s appointment and her comments about Zionists while saying nothing about the new PAC or how it might fit into El‑Sayed’s broader political strategy. That split leaves one audience seeing a normal fundraising move and the other seeing a personnel controversy, without either side explaining how the two actions relate.
Word choice diverges sharply between the two sides. The Hill uses neutral terms such as leadership PAC and notes its purpose is to raise money for political allies. The Daily Wire headline instead calls Abdelall "as extreme as he is" and its story repeatedly describes both of them in ideological terms rather than procedural ones.
What neither side answers is how El‑Sayed himself explains Abdelall’s past remarks and how, if at all, they will shape the agenda and fundraising of Habibi PAC.
Bottom line
By spotlighting only Habibi PAC or only Brenda Abdelall’s "Zionists" comments, outlets like The Hill and the Daily Wire give readers incompatible snapshots of Abdul El‑Sayed’s first days as senator‑elect, without ever showing how his new PAC and his controversial transition chief fit into a single political project.
The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Abdul El‑Sayed appointed Brenda Abdelall, who previously made a public statement about Zionists controlling much of American politics, as director of his Senate transition.
- A spokesperson for Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign said that Abdelall’s 2002 comments did not reflect her views or the campaign’s.
- Brenda Abdelall served as Assistant Secretary for Partnership and Engagement at the Department of Homeland Security and helped implement the Biden administration’s first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and organize the United We Stand summit.
- El‑Sayed launched Habibi PAC as a leadership PAC, separate from his campaign committee, intended to raise money for his political allies, as shown in Federal Election Commission filings.
The Left View
Left‑leaning coverage, exemplified by The Hill, highlights El‑Sayed’s creation of Habibi PAC as a conventional step for a newly elected senator looking to build influence. It characterizes the committee in neutral, procedural terms as a leadership PAC, separate from his campaign, meant to raise funds for his political allies. The focus is on El‑Sayed’s emerging political operation and his intent to support like‑minded candidates, without discussion of Middle East policy, Israel, or his choice of Brenda Abdelall as transition director.
The Right View
Right‑leaning coverage, such as the Daily Wire, largely ignores the new PAC and instead concentrates on El‑Sayed’s appointment of Brenda Abdelall, framing her as "as extreme as he is." It emphasizes her 2002 quote about Zionists "controlling" American politics, presents her as controversial when she later joined Kamala Harris’s campaign, and notes that a Harris spokesperson said those remarks no longer reflect her views. The outlet also stresses Abdelall’s senior role at DHS, juxtaposing her work on an antisemitism strategy with her earlier comments, and ties her appointment to El‑Sayed’s own sharp criticisms of Israel’s war in Gaza. It further highlights his appearances with figures like Hasan Piker and Osama Siblani and references alleged ties to anti‑Israel activists, arguing that the hire signals a Senate office where Middle East and Israel‑related politics may be central and ideologically hard‑line.
Our Take (balanced)
From the left’s vantage point, the strongest argument is that the main concrete action here is the launch of a standard leadership PAC, documented in FEC filings and reported matter‑of‑factly, which many senators use to support allies and advance a legislative agenda; viewed this way, El‑Sayed’s early moves look like routine power‑building inside normal political channels. From the right’s vantage point, the strongest argument is that Abdelall’s on‑the‑record 2002 statement about Zionists, combined with her prominent roles in Democratic politics and El‑Sayed’s own forceful criticism of Israel, is legitimately relevant to assessing how he might approach Israel policy and questions of antisemitism once in office. The unresolved tension is whether El‑Sayed’s early post‑election decisions add up primarily to ordinary institutional positioning with a diverse staff, or to a pattern in which old statements and associations point to a more radical posture on Israel and U.S. Middle East policy than standard partisan labels convey.
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