Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed is taking a campaign catchphrase to Washington, naming his newly formed political fundraising committee Habibi PAC after an Arabic term of affection he frequently used to mock Republican opponents during his successful U.S. Senate campaign.
According to The New York Times, El-Sayed has formed a leadership political action committee (PAC) that will allow him to raise money and distribute it to other Democratic candidates. The committee is separate from his Senate campaign.
The name draws on an expression that became a recognizable part of his campaign rhetoric and gained national attention when he used it to address Vice President JD Vance during his election victory speech.
“JD, habibi — there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” El-Sayed said.
The remark was a pointed reference to Vance’s role as president of the Senate, whose presiding officer administers the oath to newly elected senators. Under Senate procedures, the vice president normally performs that duty, although the president pro tempore can do so in the vice president’s absence.
READ: From Michigan to Bhatkal: Abdul El-Sayed’s historic Senate victory sparks celebrations in wife’s ancestral hometown (November 6, 2026)
El-Sayed, 42, made history on November 3 by becoming the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. The Egyptian American Democrat defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race, despite strong backing for Rogers from President Donald Trump and national Republicans.
His victory also represented a significant development for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing and kept the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Democratic hands.
During the campaign, El-Sayed focused on the rising cost of living and the financial pressures facing working-class Americans. He presented himself as a candidate committed to making everyday life more affordable, while portraying Rogers, a 63-year-old former congressman and FBI agent, as someone who would largely follow Trump’s agenda.
READ: From Bhatkal to Michigan: The Indian roots of Sarah Jukaku, wife of Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (October 10, 2026)
The creation of Habibi PAC now gives El-Sayed a fundraising vehicle beyond his own campaign, allowing the incoming senator to support other Democratic candidates and political allies as he prepares to take office in January.