El-Sayed backs ending Israel aid, wants review of support for Egypt, Saudis

Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said President Trump is "right" to end military aid to Israel and called for halting U.S. weapons sales to the country, as well as a broader review of military support for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan.

Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, who will be the first Muslim member of the U.S. Senate, said he supports President Donald Trump's plan to end roughly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel. "I think the president is actually right on this policy," El-Sayed told NPR on Wednesday. "I'd also like to see us stop selling weaponry that gets used to do the worst things, including genocide and apartheid, to Israel."

El-Sayed also called for a broader review of U.S. military support for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan, arguing that taxpayer dollars should be spent at home, according to The Jerusalem Post. "I don't think we should be continuing to subsidize a foreign military that has done the worst things with our money," he told MS NOW's Morning Joe on Thursday.

Trump said Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several months ago to end the aid by December, adding that Netanyahu himself raised the idea. "He brought it up, he said, 'I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid,'" Trump said. Israel would still be able to buy American weapons, he said. The existing aid agreement provides $3.8 billion a year through fiscal 2028.

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in 2025 (file photo)

El-Sayed's opposition to military aid to Israel was a central issue in his campaign against Republican Mike Rogers. In a CBS 60 Minutes interview before the vote, he said he believes "in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike."