'Hold him accountable': Abdul El-Sayed vows to grill RFK Jr 'for all of the grift'

WASHINGTON, DC: Abdul El-Sayed said he wants to use a future Senate seat to publicly challenge Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, arguing his medical expertise makes him well-positioned to hold one of President Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet officials to account.

The Michigan Democrat made the remarks during a CNN interview, just after winning the Democratic primary for the US Senate, framing Kennedy as the Trump official he most wants to question if elected.

Abdul El-Sayed targets Robert F Kennedy Jr

Asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Thursday, August 6, which Trump administration official he most wanted to grill, El-Sayed did not hesitate.

“I can’t wait to sit across from RFK Jr and actually grill him,” he said, referring to Kennedy, who earlier this year addressed affordability concerns by telling struggling voters to eat liver.

El-Sayed argued that his medical training would allow him to challenge Kennedy's claims directly.

“Dude uses big words he does not understand, and I happen to go to medical school, so I kind of understand them,” he said. “It is going to be a good time holding him accountable for all of the grift that he has pushed on the American public.”

When Collins asked whether Kennedy topped his list of officials he wanted to question, El-Sayed doubled down.

“I think it’s the Trump official that most people would probably like to see me stand up against, because look, I’m a guy with a doctorate in medicine and in public health,” he said. “He’s a guy who takes his kids swimming in Schitt's Creek.”

The remark referenced Kennedy's social media post last year showing him and his grandchildren swimming in Rock Creek in Washington, DC, a waterway known to be contaminated with sewage.

Medical background shapes campaign message

El-Sayed emphasized his own credentials while explaining why he believes he is suited to confront Kennedy.

He earned a medical degree, worked as an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, received a doctorate in public health from Oxford University, and later served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department.

The Michigan native first entered statewide politics in 2017 after launching a gubernatorial campaign inspired by the Flint water crisis.

Although he lost that race to Gretchen Whitmer, he secured the Democratic Senate nomination this week by defeating establishment-backed candidate Haley Stevens.

Abdul El-Sayed addresses Chuck Schumer tensions

El-Sayed also addressed his relationship with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had endorsed Stevens during the primary.

He said Schumer doesn’t want to see him “on the inside of the US Senate,” but described their conversation after his victory in positive terms.

“I think we had a good, meaningful, heart-to-heart conversation about what it takes to win in a state like Michigan,” El-Sayed said.

He added that he was “looking forward to partnering alongside him to win the Senate majority, to win back — to keep — the state of Michigan, and to win back the gavel for Democrats so that we can start holding Donald Trump accountable.”