Biden officials meet with Muslim and Arab American community leaders in Michigan

Biden administration officials traveled to Dearborn, Michigan Thursdayfor private meetings with Muslim and Arab American community leaders, as the president seeks to repair relations with a key constituency upset about his support for Israel's war efforts in Gaza.

Abbas Alawieh, a Lebanese American and aDemocratic strategist, said he was honored to attend the meetings alongside members of the Palestinian American community who advocated for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and for ending military funding to Israel.

But hedescribed it as a somewhat frustrating process. He added that two of the attendees currently have family members stuck in Gaza.

“The meeting was very tense at different times. There was crying at different times, there was yelling at certain times,” said Alawieh, who used to be Democratic Rep. Cori Bush's chief of staff. “I think we certainly found that among the senior officials who were there, my impression was that they were interested in a meaningful back and forth, but also that they were not authorized to deliver meaningfully on any of the demands, the primary demands that the community came in with.”

More than half of Dearborn residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent.

Officials did express there were missteps regarding Biden’s statement around the 100-day mark of the war and the fact that it did not reference Palestinian deaths, according to someone familiar with the meetings, who also said the White House expects there could be additional meetings with Muslim and Arab American community leaders in the future.

Alawieh was invited to attend in a personal capacity, but he also represented the "Listen to Michigan" campaign, which launched last week and calls for Democrats to