Abdul El-Sayed Offers Trump a Named Medicare-for-All Plan
The Michigan senator-elect pitched the president on a no-cost healthcare system during a Tuesday interview, citing the new Democratic mandate from the midterms.
By Julian Schulz ·
Abdul El-Sayed, the newly elected Democratic senator from Michigan, proposed a specific deal to President Donald Trump on Tuesday. He suggested the president put his own name on a Medicare-for-all program to fulfill a long-standing campaign promise.
Speaking on CNN, El-Sayed addressed the president directly. “Donald, if you’re watching, we can put your name on it,” he said. He noted that Trump enjoys attaching his name to initiatives. “You can finally meet the unmet promise in America to guarantee everybody healthcare. So, it’s on the table if you want to do it.”
Interviewer Kaitlan Collins asked if El-Sayed was being serious. “I’m absolutely serious,” El-Sayed replied. He stated that the name of the legislation matters less than the outcome. “I don’t care what it’s called. I want people to have healthcare in this country.”
El-Sayed detailed the specifics of the plan he supports. It would provide coverage from birth through death with no copays, premiums, or deductibles. The system would also eliminate the risk of medical debt for patients. He said he made a similar offer in an interview with Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan the previous week.
The proposal contrasts with the current policy stance of the White House. Trump has spent ten years vowing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare. He succeeded in advancing a repeal in 2017 only because Senator John McCain of Arizona voted against it. The president has since said he wants to replace the law with his own system, though he has not released detailed specifics. During the 2024 campaign, he described his ideas as the “concepts of a plan.”
El-Sayed argued that the recent midterm elections gave Democrats the political capital to act. He said he has worked on healthcare policy throughout his career. “What better way to answer the mandate that the American public gave Democrats but to say, ‘Hey, look, we can finally, once and for all, solve the challenge of American healthcare in this country,’” he said.
The offer positions a universal coverage model as a bipartisan path forward. It challenges the president to define his healthcare platform by adopting a single-payer structure. El-Sayed emphasized that the goal is to ensure every American has access to care without financial barriers.
