Michigan’s U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is under fire for banning the media from speaking to the head of Detroit’s animal control because he didn’t like their reporting on the shelter’s deplorable conditions.
When 7 Action News in Detroit blew the whistle in 2015 on disgusting conditions in Detroit’s animal control, El-Sayed banned the station from interviewing the new head of animal control.
In September 2015, Mayor Mike Duggan transferred animal control office management from the Detroit Police Department to the Detroit Health Department, led by El-Sayed.
Detroit’s animal control had faced criticism for a high kill rate and deplorable conditions that contributed to many animal deaths, according to a whistleblower lawsuit that described the shelter as a “slaughterhouse.”
In 2015, the Detroit Animal Control’s kill rate was 74%, the Detroit News reported.
A former employee of the shelter said that she was fired after complaining about deplorable conditions and alleged animal abuse. The lawsuit claimed that sick animals were kept alongside other animals, and that staff didn’t check stray animals for microchips.
The lawsuit claimed that drains were clogged, feces and urine backed up into kennels, and the shelter was infected with roaches and rats, Mlive reported.
The city paid $63,000 in 2016 to settle the lawsuit, according to Michigan Public Radio.
More than 10 years later, El-Sayed is running to fill the Senate seat of Gary Peters.
El-Sayed is running on a Medicare-for-all platform. He claims to be a medical doctor, but he’s never practiced medicine. Instead, he’s worked for the government and written a book.
He opposes the private insurance market and favors “abolishing” medical debt.
His website says: “No one should have to choose between getting the care they need or going into debt in the richest, most powerful country in the world. I will fight to expand Medicare to cover all necessary healthcare, including vision, dental, and hearing, and extend it to every single American from cradle to grave without premiums, copays, or deductibles.”
El-Sayed wants to use the government to break up hospital mergers and expand public healthcare.
El-Sayed is running against Democrats state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Haley Stevens, as well as former Congressman Republican Mike Rogers.
On Friday, the UAW union endorsed El-Sayed for U.S. Senate.
The UAW is proud to endorse @AbdulElSayed for U.S. Senate.
— UAW (@UAW) June 5, 2026
UAW members in Michigan want a fighter in Washington, D.C. who isn’t afraid to push forward a strong working-class agenda with moral clarity. Having never taken a dime from corporate PACs, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is someone… pic.twitter.com/qKyNAPxlPh
The political divide between UAW bosses and their members who actually work in the auto industry is growing rapidly.
— Jesse Arm (@Jesse_Leg) June 5, 2026
As @daveweigel observed, the UAW's endorsement of far-left Abdul El-Sayed mentions everything from Medicare for All to banning stock buybacks, yet says nothing… https://t.co/a7bvvKeheu pic.twitter.com/TLY6wruyKh
Good news for @MikeRogersForMI -- @BryPannebecker, the founder of Auto Workers for Trump, is totally blasting the UAW's decision to back Abdul El-Sayed in #MISEN, and predicts that Rogers will win https://t.co/7Rfgf9BC4T
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) June 5, 2026