Vice President J.D. Vance recently escalated a public dispute with Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, focusing on El-Sayed's past statements regarding his citizenship and alleged family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The controversy, highlighted by Vance's remarks on a podcast hosted by Mark Halperin, circulated on social media Monday, drawing attention to a record spanning over a decade.
El-Sayed, born in a Detroit suburb in 1984 to Egyptian parents, is currently seeking a U.S. Senate seat. His background and past comments have become central to the critique leveled by Vice President Vance, sparking a renewed examination of his public record.
In 2011, El-Sayed authored a piece for The Huffington Post where he argued that Americans had "nothing to fear from the Muslim Brotherhood." He specifically stated, "Even if the Muslim Brotherhood were to take power [in Egypt], there are several reasons why the ensuing state would look nothing like Iran," adding that the group "definitely would not resemble Hamas." This organization is designated as a terrorist entity by the U.S. State Department. A year later, El-Sayed was among 47 Egyptian leaders in the United States who signed a letter supporting then-Egyptian President Mohamad Morsi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure. The letter urged Morsi to "purge the media and police." Morsi granted himself broad powers shortly after taking office in 2012, before being removed by Egypt’s military in 2013, ending a presidency that lasted just over a year.
Days after Morsi assumed office, El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, posted on social media, "My family has long been MB." The Washington Free Beacon later reported on her account, noting Abdelhadi's statement that "Their mother, Fatten Elkomy, was active in the Brotherhood in college in Egypt in the 1970s." On July 3, 2013, Abdelhadi published another post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "I have had family jailed for being a part of it," and adding, "Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in Egypt. Lie low, stay safe."
El-Sayed's citizenship status has also come under scrutiny. His 2014 academic résumé reportedly listed him as holding both American and Egyptian citizenship. In 2016, while serving as Detroit’s city health director, El-Sayed told an audience that he had "dual citizenship" in Egypt and the United States. His campaign has since offered an explanation, stating that El-Sayed spoke in "error" after an unnamed relative incorrectly informed him he was a citizen of both countries. The campaign maintains that he has "never" held dual citizenship and has declined to specify when El
