Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is demanding that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed return the money he has received from donors tied to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

The call comes as El-Sayed faces renewed scrutiny over his past 9/11 rhetoric and his willingness to associate with figures who have excused anti-American extremism, a controversy that raises bigger questions about the people and interests backing his campaign.

"Conman Abdul El-Sayed has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from people tied to designated terrorist groups," Rogers wrote on X. "That’s totally disqualifying for anyone running to be a United States Senator. @AbdulElSayed — if you’re serious about wanting to represent our state and our values, return the money."

According to campaign finance records, nearly $130,000 has flowed in from more than 41 people tied to CAIR, including national chair Manal Fakhoury, treasurer Eyas Abdeen, vice chair Emad Sabbah and Michigan board member Muzammil Ahmed, while the Unity & Justice Fund, a super PAC affiliated with CAIR’s lobbying operation, has taken credit for helping him win the Democrat primary. 

The support does not end there: Al-Awda chair Amani Barakat gave $7,000, and El-Sayed’s father-in-law, former CAIR Michigan president Tayeb Jukaku, has put at least $300,000 into a super PAC backing his candidacy.

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“I guess when Abdul claims he wants ‘money out of politics,’ he doesn’t count terrorist organizations. As a former Army officer and House Intelligence Chair, I spent my life fighting to defeat terrorist organizations. Abdul cashes checks from them. It’s absolutely disqualifying and an insult to the brave men and women who’ve risked their lives in service to this great country. Abdul, return the money," Rogers said in a statement.

The questions surrounding El-Sayed are not about his faith or his background, despite what he may claim. They are about his judgment. Michigan voters deserve a senator who will draw clear lines against extremism, reject the people and organizations that traffic in anti-American rhetoric, and treat the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11 as something more than a political inconvenience. El-Sayed says he unequivocally condemns terrorism, but he has repeatedly refused to distance himself from Hasan Piker, the streamer who said America “deserved” 9/11, instead dismissing the issue as irrelevant to Michigan voters.

A Senate seat is not a platform for ambiguity. Before asking Michiganders to trust him with national security, El-Sayed should give direct answers about the donors, allies and ideology surrounding his campaign, and show that his loyalty is to American interests, not those demanding that America apologize for itself.