Michigan Senate candidates battle over their records on 9/11 at 25-year mark

September 11, 2026 / 5:20 PM EDT / CBS News

Lansing, Mich. — Speaking to a room full of college students, many of whom weren't alive during the 9/11 attacks, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed started with a moment of silence to commemorate the 25th year since the terrorist attacks.

He then looked to hit back politically against his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, who has ramped up criticism of El-Sayed this week due to his ties to left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who in 2019 said that "America deserved 9/11."

On Friday, El-Sayed, who campaigned with Piker during the Democratic primary and has since distanced himself from the streamer, criticized votes Rogers took as a congressman against benefits for 9/11 survivors and first responders.

Rogers, who represented Michigan in the House from 2001 to 2015, backed financial support for 9/11 victims in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. But he voted against the 2010 James Zadroga Act, which provided medical treatment and financial aid to first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At the time, he pushed for the aid to be funded annually and warned that the bill "jeopardizes the financial health of the United…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/