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Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, has launched his own political action committee, called “Habibi PAC,” just days after winning his race, The Post Millennial reports. The PAC is meant to raise money for his political allies and help elect candidates who share his views, a move that comes after he campaigned on getting money out of politics.
The PAC is not affiliated with El-Sayed’s Senate campaign, but it will let him financially support like-minded candidates running for federal office. Habibi is an Arabic term meaning “my beloved,” often used as a casual term of endearment. According to the report, El-Sayed did not call for banning PACs, but his campaign website backed ending “outside spending through corporate 501(c)4s, SuperPACs, and 527 groups.”
El-Sayed used the term in his victory speech, addressing Vice President JD Vance as “JD, Habibi.” He added, “There is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.”
The son of Egyptian immigrants, El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers and is poised to become the first Muslim senator in American history. His campaign drew controversy, including reports about alleged ties between members of his family and the Muslim Brotherhood, which several governments have designated a terrorist group. President Donald Trump also called El-Sayed a “jihadist” during the race.
In his victory speech, El-Sayed spoke about his Muslim background and criticized efforts to portray him as a threat because of his religion. A statement quoted in the report, which refers to him in the third person, said, “Anti-Muslim hate was on the ballot, and it failed.”
El-Sayed is not the only newly elected Democrat to register a leadership PAC after the midterms. According to FEC filings cited in the report, Arizona Congressman-elect Amish Shah, Iowa Senator-elect Josh Turek and North Carolina Senator-elect Roy Cooper have also registered PACs. Leadership PACs gave $79.3 million to federal candidates during the 2024 cycle, according to OpenSecrets data.
