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House Democratic leaders are delaying deciding whether to punish Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., after she endorsed a Republican in Michigan’s Senate race, sparking calls from fellow Democrats for her removal from the party’s House caucus.
Stevens endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, on Nov. 1 — just two days before Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The decision drew sharp criticism from Democrats, including lawmakers who want Stevens expelled from the House Democratic Caucus, but party leaders are waiting until after the election to address her future.
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Former Rep. Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan and candidate for U.S. Senate, and Rep. Haley Stevens, Democrat of Michigan, speak to the media after a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit on November 1, 2026. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A senior Democratic aide told Fox News Digital that House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., would likely support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in his response to Stevens’ endorsement.
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“Haley Stevens made a terrible decision, caught everyone off guard and isolated herself from the House Democratic caucus. We will have a discussion about appropriate next steps when we return,” Jeffries told POLITICO.
Spokespeople for Jeffries and Aguilar did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Stevens, a four-term lawmaker, will leave Congress at the end of the year after narrowly losing Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary to El-Sayed.
Since his defeat, Stevens has taken a lukewarm approach in supporting El-Sayed’s campaign while criticizing his approach toward Israel and Jewish and black voters.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks alongside Representatives Pete Aguilar and Katherine Clark during a press conference in Washington, DC, January 8, 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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That fragile peace was shattered over the weekend when El-Sayed’s campaign publicly asked Stevens to refrain from showing up at any of its events, even after she said she would attend church with him and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., in an effort to mobilize black voters.
Stevens apparently caught her Democratic colleagues off guard when she later appeared at another church alongside Rogers and his wife and later endorsed the Republican before Election Day.
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Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said during a Sunday appearance on CNN that Stevens reassured her “multiple times” over the weekend that she would not endorse Rogers.
“I don’t know what changed between Saturday night and Sunday morning,” Dingell said during another CNN appearance Monday.
And that endorsement also prompted his ouster from the Michigan State Democratic Party.
Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel wrote on X that Stevens “is not currently a member of the Michigan Democratic Party and will not be in the future” after supporting Rogers.
In the House, Democratic leaders, such as Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Illinois, have already called for Stevens to be removed.
“Deplorable and embarrassing. Capitulating to fascism, Islamophobia, racism, and policies that harm ordinary Americans makes you unfit to serve in the Democratic caucus,” Ramirez wrote on X. “Shame on Haley Stevens. She must be removed from the caucus.”
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Ramirez did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., echoed Ramirez’s assertion and added that Stevens “has no place in our party,” according to POLITICO.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed answers questions from reporters after a campaign rally October 24, 2026 in Detroit. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)
Vocal organizations aligned with the Democratic Party, such as the IfNotNow movement, have also officially called for the congresswoman to be removed from the caucus, calling her support a betrayal of the party.
“As national organizations representing Jewish, Muslim and Democratic voters opposed to Donald Trump’s war on Iran, which is responsible for rising gas and grocery prices and an affordability crisis that is taking a toll on working families at a time when the future of our democracy is at stake,” the organization said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “We are calling on House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to expel Congresswoman Stevens from the Democratic caucus and strip her of her committee assignments.”
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If Stevens was removed from the caucus, she would no longer be able to attend weekly meetings at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats could also take action against his committee assignments, although the process and authority to do so would have to be determined under applicable caucus and House rules.
And it seems Stevens’ staff also avoided her because of her support. When Fox News Digital contacted his office for comment on the backlash from House Democrats, an automated response from his communications director said he “has not been a part of Congresswoman Haley Stevens’ office” since November 1, the day she endorsed Rogers.
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