Abdul El-Sayed, a leading Democratic contender in Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary, is under fresh scrutiny after reporting revealed he has repeatedly referred to himself as a "physician" despite having relatively little hands-on experience as a licensed medical doctor. The flap centers on how he has described his own clinical work and on state records that, according to reporting, show no evidence he has ever been licensed to practice medicine in either Michigan or New York.
What the reporting found
According to Politico, a review of Michigan and New York medical licensing records turned up no sign that El-Sayed was ever granted a license to practice in those states. Deadline Detroit summarized that reporting and said it concluded there is "overwhelming evidence" he has had no experience as a licensed medical doctor.
His own words on clinical experience
El-Sayed holds an M.D. and advanced public-health degrees, but his own public comments indicate his direct patient care was limited. In a 2022 interview he described a four-week sub-internship at a small Manhattan hospital and said his "job was to be the, like, worst doctor on the team" and that he was "cosplaying a doctor," according to the Crooked Media transcript.
Campaign pushback and political reaction
El-Sayed’s campaign is not backing down. Spokesperson Roxie Richner told reporters he had "earned the right to be called 'doctor' twice over," a line that has echoed in local coverage as the campaign leans on his academic and public-health credentials. The Washington Examiner and other outlets report that Republican operatives have seized on the dust-up, folding it into a broader set of attack lines heading into the primary.
Credentials and public-health track record
On paper, El-Sayed’s résumé is stacked: medical training at the University of Michigan, an M.D. from Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, a doctorate in public health from Oxford, and leadership roles in Detroit and Wayne County public health. Those details appear on his campaign site and in university bios, including Columbia and his Abdul for Senate biography.
Legal risk and local stakes
Michigan law makes it a crime to practice or "hold oneself out" as practicing a regulated health profession without a license, a provision critics cite when arguing that El-Sayed’s choice of words could mislead voters about his clinical background. The relevant language appears in the Michigan Public Health Code and is outlined by the Michigan Legislature.
The fight over what it means to be a "physician" is now baked into the Senate contest, as rivals press the point and Michigan voters weigh the gap between medical degrees, public-health work, and licensed clinical practice. For El-Sayed, the road ahead likely involves defending his record to skeptics while trying to drag the conversation back to policy in a crowded, closely watched primary.
