Michigan Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers praised Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens for putting America ahead of her party Monday while accusing Democrats of viciously attacking the congresswoman after she stunned her party by endorsing him over Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

Rogers told Brian Kilmeade on the «Brian Kilmeade Show» that Stevens’ endorsement «flipped this thing upside down,» saying the congresswoman called him Sunday morning while he was on his way to church before ultimately deciding to publicly back his campaign following her bruising primary loss to El-Sayed.

«This is a congresswoman who just stood up and said, ‘America is more important than my party right now,’» Rogers said. «And we cannot elect somebody who is so anti-Jewish, who is divisive, who’s angry, who was mean about his politics. It’s just the wrong thing to do.»

EL SAYED’S LEFT-WING ALLIES ATTACK ‘EVIL’ STEVENS AFTER BOMBSHELL ROGERS ENDORSEMENT

Rogers’ comments came as reported Monday that Stevens’ endorsement triggered backlash from top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Schumer called the move a «despicable betrayal,» while Pelosi accused Stevens of «dangerously» betraying Michigan families by backing Rogers.

The endorsement marked a dramatic break for Stevens, who had stopped short of explicitly endorsing El-Sayed in the weeks after losing the Democratic primary but continued to publicly align herself with the party. During an October CNN interview, Stevens was repeatedly pressed on whether she supported El-Sayed and declined to explicitly say she endorsed him, instead stressing that she was «still on the team» and planned to support Democrats on the ballot.

The tensions between the former primary rivals had been building in the closing stretch of the race. Stevens pressed El-Sayed to condemn an outside group’s ad linking U.S. support for Israel to higher grocery prices, which she called antisemitic, before El-Sayed’s campaign asked her to stay away from its remaining campaign events. El-Sayed said his campaign did not produce the ad and that he disagreed with its contents.

MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT HALEY STEVENS BACKS EL-SAYED AFTER NARROW PRIMARY DEFEAT, CALLS SOCIALISM ‘DANGEROUS’

Meanwhile, days before she publicly endorsed Rogers, Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, had already broken with the Democratic nominee. Turkish, a Jewish Michigan attorney and registered Democrat, told reporters at a Rogers campaign event that he planned to vote for the Republican, arguing that El-Sayed’s rhetoric on Israel had made the Jewish community «less safe.» Turkish described his decision as «putting country before party.»

Still, even hours before the endorsement, Stevens appeared to be denying that she planned to back Rogers. Digital reported Monday that Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said she spoke with Stevens around midnight Saturday and was told reports of an impending Rogers endorsement were a «rumor» and «not true.»

However, hours later, Stevens was standing alongside Rogers at a Detroit church service, where she ultimately announced she would cross party lines and endorse him over El-Sayed.

«We didn’t know what was going to happen. We were driving to the church yesterday morning when the call came in,» Rogers said. «I just invited her to come in. She decided between when she got in the car and she got to the church, she was going to not only withdraw the endorsement, but endorse me.»

DEMOCRATS WHO ‘NEVER VOTED REPUBLICAN’ BACK ROGERS OVER EL-SAYED IN RAZOR-CLOSE RACE

Rogers, who said the pair had a «great conversation» on the phone, also pushed back on suggestions that Stevens had received anything in exchange for the endorsement, saying his campaign had no advance knowledge that she planned to back him.

«Absolutely not. Matter of fact, we didn’t know what was going to happen,» Rogers said when asked whether he had offered Stevens anything. «She said, ‘I’ve not asked anyone to go with me, I’m just telling you what I’m doing.’»

Rogers then took aim at Democrats who have attacked Stevens since her announcement.

«They want to attack Haley Stevens for saying, ‘I’m a Democrat, I’m voting Democrat up and down the ticket, except for one race, Abdul El-Sayed. I am voting for Mike Rogers,’» Rogers said.

ROGERS ARGUES EL-SAYED IS VULNERABLE WITH 2 TRADITIONALLY DEMOCRATIC BLOCS AS OBAMA HEADS TO MICHIGAN

«Their whole plan now is to come out and attack her with viciousness,» he continued. «She’s the only one in the Democrat Party today that has enough common sense to know you elect somebody that hates a group of people this much, it’s gonna be a disaster for Democrats and America.»

During his appearance on Kilmeade’s radio show, Rogers was pressed on a New York Times/Siena poll released Sunday that showed El-Sayed leading him 53% to 42% among likely Michigan voters, a significantly wider margin than other surveys of the race.

Rogers rejected the findings, pointing to his campaign’s internal polling and modeling, which he said showed the race within one or two points.

«We have it as a one- or two-point race,» Rogers said. «Our polling, our modeling and polling shows this is tied or we’re up by two. So we think that’s closer to the truth.»

Rogers also argued that the poll underestimated his support among Black voters in Detroit, saying his campaign had made «great inroads» in the community.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

His comments come after Stevens publicly questioned El-Sayed’s outreach to Black voters. During the October CNN interview, when she would not explicitly back El-Sayed, Stevens said she had urged El-Sayed and his campaign to deliver a speech to the Black community.

«But yeah, I mean, that didn’t happen,» Stevens said at the time. «That speech hasn’t happened.»

elections, democratic party, politics, abdul el sayed, chuck schumer, democrats senate, democrats elections, nancy pelosi

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing renewed scrutiny from Republican critics over his mother’s questioning by federal investigators more than two decades ago as part of an investigation into an Islamic charity where she worked.

El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., accused the Democratic candidate of misleading Michigan voters about his views on the Muslim Brotherhood, pointing to reported associations involving members of El-Sayed’s family.

El-Sayed previously told that he has «never been» and will «never be» a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Digital is not aware of any direct ties between El-Sayed and the organization.

El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.

CONTROVERSY OVER ABDUL EL-SAYED’S FAMILY TIES TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IGNORED, DOWNPLAYED BY LIBERAL MEDIA

«Michiganders cannot trust Abdul El-Sayed. He lies about his physician credentials, his family life, and about how much his disastrous policies will cost Michigan’s families,» a spokesperson for Rogers told Digital. «Tell the truth, Abdul.»

El-Sayed has not publicly addressed the details of his mother’s questioning by federal investigators or the raid on the offices of the Islamic charity where she worked since the Washington Free Beacon resurfaced the reports last month.

Federal authorities raided the Missouri office of the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), where El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Elkomy, worked in 2004, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. The newspaper reported that federal agents questioned Elkomy for approximately three hours during the investigation.

In 2008, IARA was shut down by the federal government in connection with alleged violations of federal sanctions and terrorism-related financing restrictions, including allegations involving funding for Islamic militants in Afghanistan and terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Elkomy was not charged in connection with the investigation, according to multiple reports. Digital has found no evidence that she facilitated transfers of funds to terrorist organizations.

The U.S. Treasury Department did not respond to Digital’s request for comment about the government’s findings concerning IARA’s alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood or why Elkomy was questioned by federal investigators.

TRUMP LINKS MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: ‘HE’S A CON MAN’

During his Senate campaign, El-Sayed has sought to distance himself from his mother’s reported political associations, emphasizing that she did not raise him.

El-Sayed was raised in Michigan by his father and stepmother after his parents divorced when he was 3.

«I have no ties. We have no ties,» El-Sayed told NBC’s Tom Llamas in October. «I have never had these conversations with my mother, I wasn’t raised by my mother.»

The scrutiny of El-Sayed extended to the candidate’s fundraisers and campaign events with Islamic leaders, some of whom have reported ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or have been accused of making antisemitic or hateful remarks. The controversy has also included El-Sayed’s campaign appearances with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker.

His former Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., endorsed Rogers on Sunday, citing concerns about El-Sayed’s approach to the safety of Michigan’s Jewish community and his repeated campaign appearances with Piker, who previously said, «America deserved 9/11.»

«I don’t like a democratic nominee for U.S. senate campaigning and standing with someone who’s saying that America deserved 9/11,» Stevens said during a CNN interview Sunday night. 

El-Sayed declined to comment on Piker’s remarks during an April interview with POLITICO but later disavowed them during an August appearance on NBC’s «Meet the Press.»

EL-SAYED ERUPTS AT GOP RIVAL OVER MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ACCUSATIONS IN FIERY SENATE DEBATE

Amy Mek, founder of the RAIR Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on investigating groups it identifies as connected to terrorism, echoed Rogers’ concerns about national security and El-Sayed’s silence in a statement to Digital.

Mek, who previously testified before Congress about terrorism-related threats in the United States, told Digital that she believes El-Sayed’s silence on his mother’s questioning reflects political considerations. 

She also pointed to social media posts by El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, who wrote on X in 2012 that members of their family have «long been» members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In a separate 2013 post that remains publicly available on her account, Abdelhadi said she was «praying for all my family that supports the #MB.»

Abdelhadi later recalled her family’s fear of FBI surveillance in a 2016 article titled, «Queer, Muslim, and Unwelcome at the ‘New Stonewall.’»

El-Sayed has not publicly addressed his half-sister’s statements in detail but called the tweets «not serious» during his NBC interview, accusing Llamas of «using hearsay evidence from a tweet» to question him about his family’s reported connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.

politics, abdul el sayed, fbi, al qaeda terror, midterm elections

El sistema financiero de Centroamérica y República Dominicana transita en 2026 una etapa de menor expansión después de varios años de crecimiento acelerado. El crédito bancario se moderó de forma generalizada en la región, aunque la calidad de los préstamos se mantiene bajo control y los bancos conservan niveles adecuados de liquidez, según un informe difundido este lunes por Moody’s Local.

La agencia calificadora señaló que las entidades financieras aumentaron el uso de depósitos como fuente de recursos. Esa dinámica redujo la necesidad de financiamiento proveniente del exterior y sostuvo la posición de liquidez de los sistemas bancarios regionales.

El informe indicó que el crédito continuará con una evolución positiva, aunque a un ritmo menor que el registrado en los últimos años. La proyección depende, entre otros factores, de la evolución de los costos de fondeo y de la capacidad de los bancos para preservar la calidad de sus activos en un escenario menos expansivo.

La agencia advirtió que será necesario seguir el desempeño de los segmentos que crecieron con mayor fuerza en los últimos períodos. El objetivo será medir cómo evolucionan esos préstamos a medida que alcanzan etapas más maduras y cuál podría ser su efecto sobre los indicadores de morosidad y cobertura.

El consumo todavía sostiene una parte significativa de la expansión

El financiamiento al consumo conserva un lugar central dentro de la cartera bancaria regional. Moody’s Local atribuyó ese comportamiento a la demanda de los hogares y al interés de las entidades por productos con mayor rentabilidad, como las tarjetas de crédito.

No obstante, el crecimiento de este segmento perdió fuerza en algunos mercados. Las instituciones aplicaron políticas más prudentes ante los riesgos asociados con el endeudamiento de los hogares, en especial en créditos de consumo y préstamos para la compra de vehículos.

La calificadora sostuvo que la cartera de consumo puede seguir impulsando el crédito, aunque el ritmo de expansión dependerá de las condiciones macroeconómicas, las tasas de interés y las decisiones de riesgo de cada banco. El aumento de las tasas y el deterioro de algunos indicadores de calidad crediticia ya frenaron el avance de las carteras en varios países.

La evolución de los depósitos también aparece como un factor relevante. Una mayor captación local permite a los bancos financiar una porción más amplia de sus préstamos con recursos internos, lo que reduce su exposición a los mercados internacionales y a posibles cambios en las condiciones externas de financiamiento.

El Salvador lidera las previsiones de crecimiento del crédito

El Salvador aparece como el mercado con mayor dinamismo previsto para 2026. Moody’s Local estimó que el crédito podría crecer 9.8% al cierre del año, una de las tasas más elevadas de la región.

La expansión se apoya en los sectores del comercio, el consumo, los servicios y la construcción, que lideran el incremento de los préstamos bancarios desde 2023. Dentro de ese conjunto, la construcción registró el mayor crecimiento.

El informe destacó que, aunque el crédito al consumo continúa en aumento, perdió participación dentro de la composición total de la cartera. Esa modificación en el perfil de los préstamos podría contribuir a moderar presiones sobre la calidad de los activos si las condiciones económicas se mantienen estables.

Después de El Salvador, Honduras se ubicaría entre los países con mayor expansión, con una previsión de crecimiento del crédito de 8,7%. Le seguirían Nicaragua, con 7,5%; República Dominicana, con 7,4%; y Guatemala, con 6,6%.

En estos mercados, el menor impulso responde a una combinación de condiciones. Entre ellas figuran el encarecimiento del crédito, una mayor cautela de las entidades financieras y la necesidad de controlar el riesgo en segmentos que habían mostrado un avance acelerado.

Panamá mantiene el menor ritmo, aunque mejora frente a 2025

En el otro extremo de la región se encuentra Panamá, que continúa con el crecimiento crediticio más bajo. Aun así, el ritmo de expansión de la cartera total aumentó durante el primer semestre de 2026.

Moody’s Local calculó que, si esa tendencia se sostiene durante la segunda mitad del año, el crédito podría cerrar con un alza cercana a 4,4%. La cifra superaría el crecimiento de 2,9% registrado en 2025.

La recuperación panameña se produce dentro de un contexto regional de desaceleración, en el que los bancos buscan mantener el equilibrio entre el crecimiento de sus préstamos, la rentabilidad y el control de la morosidad.

Costa Rica constituye un caso diferente por el efecto del tipo de cambio sobre las comparaciones interanuales. A junio de 2026, la cartera nominada en moneda extranjera del sistema financiero total acumulaba una caída de 6,4% frente al cierre de 2025. En contraste, los créditos otorgados en moneda local mostraban un incremento de 1,6%.

La evolución regional durante los próximos meses dependerá de la actividad económica, las tasas de interés y el comportamiento de las carteras de consumo, construcción y comercio. Moody’s Local espera que el crédito mantenga una expansión sostenida y una calidad de activos favorable, aunque bajo condiciones menos dinámicas que las observadas en los años anteriores.

América Central,economía regional,dólar de Estados Unidos,canasta básica