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More than 1,000 Michigan medical professionals, including about 700 physicians, signed a letter defending Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s status as a physician and his public-health career. The letter followed remarks by Republican candidate Mike Rogers and Fox News host Sean Hannity questioning his credentials because he does not practice medicine in a conventional clinical role.
More than 1,000 Michigan medical professionals, including about 700 physicians, have signed a letter defending Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s status as a physician after Republican candidate Mike Rogers and broadcaster Sean Hannity questioned whether he is a doctor because he does not practice in a conventional clinical role. The signatories argue that El-Sayed’s public-health work is a form of medicine that serves communities at scale.
The letter, released Tuesday, says El-Sayed earned a medical degree and chose to pursue public health rather than direct patient care. It describes that path as a way to extend medicine’s impact beyond one patient at a time. The signatories ask Michigan voters to support his Senate candidacy, linking his professional background to his proposed health policies.
At the candidates’ first debate earlier this month, Rogers said El-Sayed was “not really a doctor” and argued that he could face legal consequences if he tried to treat a patient in an office. Hannity made a similar claim at a Republican town hall in Saint Clair Shores on Monday, saying El-Sayed “calls himself a physician” but is not one. Those remarks focus on his current role and practice, rather than whether he completed medical training.
El-Sayed’s campaign says he meets the American Medical Association’s definition of a physician: a person who has received an MD, DO or equivalent degree after completing a prescribed course of study at a medical or osteopathic school. His campaign biography and LinkedIn profile list a medical degree from Columbia University, a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University, and undergraduate study at the University of Michigan.
A Credentials Dispute in the Senate Race
The dispute puts professional credentials and public-health experience at the center of a campaign debate over who can speak for patients and health care workers. For voters, the distinction matters: a medical degree identifies formal training, while the work a person does after graduating can range from individual clinical care to public-health administration. The letter’s signatories say those roles should not be treated as evidence that El-Sayed is not a physician.
The doctors also connect his experience to policy proposals, including lower prescription drug costs, action against hospital consolidation, medical-debt relief, reproductive health protections, and support for Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. Their letter is an endorsement, not an independent assessment of those proposals or of his candidacy. The claims made by Rogers and Hannity are campaign and media statements; the information provided does not establish whether El-Sayed currently holds an active license to practice medicine in Michigan.
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El-Sayed’s Public-Health Career
According to his campaign materials and LinkedIn profile, El-Sayed studied biology and political science at the University of Michigan, earned his medical degree at Columbia, and completed a doctorate at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He later served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department and director of the Wayne County Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services.
The letter says that, as Detroit’s health officer, he rebuilt a department affected by long-term disinvestment, expanded access to care in underserved neighborhoods and led responses to public-health emergencies. Those descriptions come from the signatories’ letter. They characterize public-health administration as “medicine, practiced at scale” and argue that the experience is relevant to a Senate role.
The signatories’ names were not published in full. For privacy and safety reasons, the letter lists only each person’s first initial and the first three letters of their last name. The source report says the letter had more than 1,000 medical-professional signatories, including 700 physicians.
“Not really a doctor … Matter of fact, if somebody came into his office and he tried to treat that patient, he’d go to jail.”
— Mike Rogers, at the candidates’ first debate
Practice Status and Claims Still Unclear
The source material does not provide independent confirmation of El-Sayed’s current Michigan medical license, whether he is eligible to treat patients in the state, or whether he currently provides clinical care. Rogers’ statement about possible legal consequences is not accompanied by legal or licensing evidence in the report. The campaign’s reliance on the AMA definition addresses educational qualifications, but the provided material does not settle every question about licensure or current practice.
The letter’s signatories are also not fully identified, limiting readers’ ability to verify each person’s participation from the published names alone. No response from Rogers or Hannity to the doctors’ letter is included in the source report. The available account does not say whether either will provide further evidence for the claims.
Further Responses Could Clarify
The dispute is likely to remain part of the Michigan Senate campaign as candidates continue addressing their records and qualifications. The source report does not identify a scheduled licensing review, formal complaint, or other official process tied to the claims. Further public statements from the campaigns, or documentation about El-Sayed’s license and practice status, could clarify the distinction between his medical education, public-health work and any current clinical authorization.
For now, the confirmed development is the doctors’ letter and its stated support for El-Sayed. The letter’s policy endorsements and its account of his work represent the signatories’ views; the separate assertions questioning his physician status remain attributed to Rogers and Hannity.
Key Questions
How many medical professionals signed the letter?
The report says more than 1,000 medical professionals signed it, including about 700 physicians.
Why did the doctors defend El-Sayed?
They argue that El-Sayed earned a medical degree and chose a career in public health, applying medical judgment to communities and health systems rather than focusing only on individual clinical care.
What did Mike Rogers and Sean Hannity say?
Rogers said El-Sayed was “not really a doctor” and suggested he could face legal consequences if he treated a patient in an office. Hannity said El-Sayed was not a physician. These are their attributed claims, not findings from a licensing authority in the report.
Does the report confirm El-Sayed is licensed to practice in Michigan?
No. The material lists his medical degree and public-health roles and says his campaign cites the AMA’s physician definition. It does not independently confirm his current Michigan license or clinical practice status.
Source: rss
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