Tax-paying voters who are opposed to funding transgender surgeries for undocumented immigrants might reconsider their support for Abdul El-Sayed following a recent disclosure.
The Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan made statements on various podcasts in 2021 and 2022, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
In one segment, El-Sayed expressed frustration that conservatives are leveraging the issue of transgender surgeries for undocumented immigrants to challenge “Medicare for All.” He pointed out that these discussions often get contentious when determining who qualifies for medical care.
He noted, “The prime example that conservatives will impose on a conversation about Medicare for All will be ‘well, what do we do with the undocumented person who comes to this country and wants to get gender reassignment surgery on Medicare for All?'” El-Sayed also stated that the foes of transgender treatments for undocumented individuals are, in his view, committing an “original sin of racism,” a narrative often used by extreme leftists.
In another clip from a Boston University health policy podcast in 2021, he clearly stated his desire for taxpayer funding of transgender surgeries for undocumented immigrants. “When you talk about care for transgender people, when you talk about care for immigrants, like, all of these things are going to be deeply politicized,” he commented. He added, “My hope, right, is that we would pass a Medicare for All that is truly inclusive and offers the full gamut of health care that any and everyone would need.”
Cole Wozniak, a spokesperson for El-Sayed’s campaign, released a statement suggesting that El-Sayed continues to advocate for transgender surgeries for undocumented immigrants. According to Wozniak, “Abdul wants to guarantee health care for every single American taxpayer and believes that medical decisions should be between a patient, their family, and their doctor.”
Interestingly, support for transgender surgeries for undocumented immigrants was a key factor that undermined Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign in 2024. In a particularly striking campaign advertisement, Harris promoted transgender surgeries for incarcerated individuals and ended with the line, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
An April 2025 poll conducted by the American Principles Project revealed that 66% of American adults are opposed to the federal government financing any transgender surgeries or gender reassignment treatments.
The latest polling data indicates a competitive race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers for the Michigan Senate seat in 2026.
