Abdul El-Sayed: Democrats need to ‘earn’ their mandate | Newsmakers
12. november 2026 · 43m
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed says Americans “temporarily” put their trust and hope in Democrats.
But he adds that if his party doesn’t act boldly when it takes control of Congress, it may lose that trust.
El-Sayed is the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Senate. The 42-year-old progressive from Michigan is now calling for new Senate leadership and urging President Trump to meet and discuss how they can “figure out what we can work on and get done.”
El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health official, even floated the idea of naming major healthcare legislation after Trump.
“Put his name on it,” El-Sayed said. “He'll probably pass it. I'm not above doing that. I don't care what it's called.”
In this episode from NPR’s Newsmakers, El-Sayed sat down with NPR host Leila Fadel to talk about a divisive campaign season, the future of the Democratic Party and how Congress should legislate during the final two years of Trump’s term in the White House. Find more episodes of Newsmakers on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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But he adds that if his party doesn’t act boldly when it takes control of Congress, it may lose that trust.
El-Sayed is the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Senate. The 42-year-old progressive from Michigan is now calling for new Senate leadership and urging President Trump to meet and discuss how they can “figure out what we can work on and get done.”
El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health official, even floated the idea of naming major healthcare legislation after Trump.
“Put his name on it,” El-Sayed said. “He'll probably pass it. I'm not above doing that. I don't care what it's called.”
In this episode from NPR’s Newsmakers, El-Sayed sat down with NPR host Leila Fadel to talk about a divisive campaign season, the future of the Democratic Party and how Congress should legislate during the final two years of Trump’s term in the White House. Find more episodes of Newsmakers on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Abdul El-Sayed: Democrats need to ‘earn’ their mandate | Newsmakers
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