WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Thursday that he will challenge longtime Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, arguing that voters who handed Democrats control of Congress also demanded a break from the status quo.
“In this election, the American people called for change,” Van Hollen said, adding that Democrats need “new leadership” to respond to concerns about affordability, government accountability and working-class economic issues.
Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, says he has the votes to remain leader. Democrats will enter the next Congress with at least 55 Senate seats, with Alaska still unresolved. The leadership election will be decided by a private caucus vote next month.
Van Hollen has already won support from more than 10 incoming Democratic caucus members, according to Reuters. Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, have publicly backed him.
Progressives have criticized Schumer as insufficiently aggressive toward President Donald Trump and too supportive of Israel. Van Hollen has taken more confrontational positions on Trump administration policies and has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Schumer’s allies point to Democrats’ unexpectedly large Senate gains as evidence his leadership strategy worked.
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