Fact Check Finds No Explicit Call by El-Sayed to Ban Gas-Powered Cars
Republican Mike Rogers has accused his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, of wanting to ban gas-powered cars. A fact check by Bridge Michigan found that while El-Sayed supported the Green New Deal's environmental goals, which would necessitate a reduction in gas-powered…
Grand Rapids Kalamazoo Battle Creek, MI, October 16, 2026 —
Republican Mike Rogers has accused his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, of wanting to ban gas-powered cars. A fact check by Bridge Michigan found that El-Sayed supported the Green New Deal’s environmental goals, but did not explicitly call for a ban on gas-powered vehicles.
The distinction is between support for environmental goals that would necessitate a reduction in gas-powered vehicle production and an explicit position favoring a ban. Bridge Michigan’s fact check said El-Sayed never explicitly called for such a ban. His campaign also denies supporting one.
The information provided does not include the wording or setting of Rogers’ accusation, or additional details about the fact check’s reporting. It also does not specify what policies El-Sayed supported beyond his backing for the Green New Deal’s environmental goals. Those limits leave the central finding narrow: the accusation describes a ban, while the cited fact check says El-Sayed did not explicitly advocate one.
Support for the Green New Deal’s environmental goals, as described in the fact check, should not be treated as equivalent to an explicit call to prohibit gas-powered cars. The summary does indicate that those goals would necessitate reduced production of such vehicles, but it does not say that El-Sayed endorsed a specific ban or identify a proposed timeline or mechanism for reducing production.
Rogers’ accusation and the campaign’s denial are presented in the available information, but no further statements from either candidate were provided. The fact check’s finding, as summarized, does not establish what policies El-Sayed might support beyond the stated environmental goals. It addresses the narrower question of whether he explicitly called for a ban, and its conclusion was that he did not.
Story summarized from the original created by Miles MacClure for Bridge Michigan on bridgemi.com, see more information here.
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