Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed launched a new leadership political action committee (PAC) named Habibi PAC. Habibi translates to "my friend" or "my beloved" in Arabic.
PACs take in contributions and pool the money to support or oppose political campaigns. A leadership PAC is similar, but it's run by a politician specifically to raise money for other candidates, allowing them to fund their political allies.
Political commentators view the immediate launch of Habibi PAC as a classic strategic move to help El-Sayed build influence within the Democratic Party and position himself as a key player ahead of the 2028 presidential election cycle.
However, campaign finance watchdogs are keeping a close eye on the new committee.
Neil Thanedar, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN) , noted that because the PAC was launched less than a week ago, there is currently no Federal Election Commission (FEC) reporting available to show who is donating or how the money is being spent.
Thanedar pointed out that El-Sayed's use of a PAC is notable given his stance against accepting certain PAC money during his Senate campaign.
"It will be interesting to see who the donors are for this PAC and where the money goes, because Abdul El-Sayed has talked numerous times about not wanting to accept corporate PAC money and other special interest funding," Thanedar said.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) strictly prohibits candidates from using their official campaign committee funds for personal use. However, because a leadership PAC is legally considered a separate political committee, not the candidate's campaign committee, it has historically been used as a loophole regarding the "personal use" ban.
"So campaign accounts can strictly not be used for personal things," Thanedar said. "But the leadership PAC has this loophole where, in some cases, senators are paying for international trips, donating money to candidates in other countries... there is a lot of places where that money can go that is for the candidate's personal use, not for politics."
He added that these committees can sometimes become a "honeypot for bad behavior," allowing donors to directly influence politicians who spend the PAC funds on luxury vacations or personal items.
"I think a key factor of keeping politicians honest is seeing where is the money coming in from and where is the money going out."
Because Habibi PAC is new, it is currently subject to a smaller donation limit that will increase once the PAC has been active for six months, received at least 51 donations, and contributed to five different candidates.
Until those milestones are met, political observers and watchdogs will be waiting for the first FEC reports to see exactly who is funding the new senator's committee and where that money is going.
