Abdul El-Sayed has selected a former Kamala Harris campaign adviser who once said Zionists were “controlling” American politics to help oversee his transition after his surprising Michigan Senate victory.
Brenda Abdelall, an Egyptian-American attorney who served as Harris’ director of Arab-American outreach during her 2024 presidential campaign, will direct the transition operation for the newly elected senator.
The appointment returns Abdelall to the political spotlight because of controversial comments she made at an American Muslim Council convention.
Her remarks resurfaced during Harris’ presidential campaign and led the Democratic nominee’s team to publicly defend her.
“The Zionists have a strong voice in American politics,” Abdelall told The New York Sun in a 2002 interview at the convention. “I would say they’re controlling a lot of it.”
Abdelall made the statement after being asked about a convention speaker who had claimed that Zionists were “destroying America.”
She said “destroying” was too strong a term, but nevertheless suggested that Israel’s supporters exercised substantial influence over American politics.
The comments resurfaced in August 2024, soon after Harris chose Abdelall to lead her campaign’s outreach to Arab-American voters.
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At the time, a Harris campaign spokesperson defended the decision, citing Abdelall’s work at the Department of Homeland Security, where she helped carry out the Biden administration’s first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
“Those 2002 comments do not reflect Brenda’s views or the views of the campaign,” the spokesperson said.
Abdelall also played a leadership role in organizing the White House’s United We Stand summit, an initiative focused on combating violence driven by hate.
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Her appointment to El-Sayed’s transition team comes as Democrats continue wrestling with internal divisions over Israel. Those tensions are particularly pronounced among the party’s progressive wing, which has increasingly called for an end to US military support for the Jewish state.
El-Sayed has been one of the Democratic Party’s most vocal critics of Israel, repeatedly condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its military campaign in Gaza and urging Washington to use its influence to pressure Israel.
That stance has put him at odds with more moderate Democrats, including longtime supporters of Israel, as the conflict has become an increasingly divisive issue within the party.
Abdelall’s earlier work in the Biden administration also placed her at the center of federal efforts to combat rising antisemitism in the United States. As a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, she helped implement the administration’s first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, unveiled in May 2023.
The strategy sought to coordinate federal action against antisemitism through education, law enforcement and engagement with Jewish communities.
Nevertheless, her 2002 comments remained an issue during the 2024 campaign, drawing fresh scrutiny as Harris tried to retain support among Jewish and Arab-American voters amid the war in Gaza.
Abdelall’s new role with El-Sayed places her once again in a prominent position within a Democratic coalition sharply divided over the US relationship with Israel.
As El-Sayed prepares to enter the Senate after defeating Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s 2026 midterm election, questions remain about the priorities he will bring to Washington.
El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat and former public health director, has made opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a defining part of his political identity. He has characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and opposed US military assistance to the Jewish state.
The Michigan Democrat’s rise has also highlighted deep divisions within his party over its approach to Israel and the war in Gaza.
The Post contacted El-Sayed and Harris’ campaigns but did not immediately receive a response.
