Abdul El-Sayed warns that Democrats need to 'earn' their mandate

Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed says Americans “temporarily” put their trust and hope in Democrats. But he adds that if his party doesn’t act boldly when its takes control of Congress, Democrats may lose that trust. El-Sayed is the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Senate. The 42-year-old from Michigan is now calling for new Senate leadership and urging President Trump to meet and discuss how they can “figure out what we can work on and get done.” El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health official, even floated the idea of naming major healthcare legislation after Trump. “Put his name on it,” El-Sayed said. “He'll probably pass it. I'm not above doing that. I don't care what it's called.” In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, El-Sayed sat down with NPR host Leila Fadel to talk about a divisive campaign season, the future of the Democratic Party and how Congress should legislate during the final two years of Trump’s term in the White House. Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available — any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts to get new episodes as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy