Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) officially launched his bid to replace longtime Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the party’s Senate leader Thursday night, receiving support from some of the party’s Left wing.
Van Hollen, who’s best known for flying to El Salvador to hang out with illegal immigrant and accused MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia, said he is answering Americans’ call by running for Senate leadership.
“In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people & fueled by political corruption. To deliver, we need new leadership. This isn’t about any one person – it’s about answering that call. That’s why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader,” he wrote on X.
Immediately after Van Hollen’s announcement Thursday night, democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said he is backing the Maryland Democrat’s push to replace Schumer.
“The American people voted for change. They want a Democratic Party that will stand up to powerful special interests, take on the billionaire class and fight for working families. That is why I am supporting Senator Chris Van Hollen to lead Senate Democrats,” Sanders said.
Schumer appeared to respond to the challenge from Van Hollen and said he is confident that he holds the votes to remain the party’s Senate leader.
“I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together—55 seats and counting is an amazing result—and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader,” Schumer said. “I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people.”
Van Hollen’s announcement came after police arrested dozens of radical Left-wing activists for staging a sit-in inside Schumer’s Washington, D.C., office. Authorities arrested over 50 activists with the youth climate group the Sunrise Movement for the stunt, which they said was to show Democrats they want new leadership. The Sunrise Movement said another 150 activists visited the offices of every Democrat senator to deliver letters demanding a new direction for the party.
It’s not just young radical activists demanding a change in the Senate Democrat Caucus. Van Hollen hopes to ride the wave of support from newly elected leftist senators who are fed up with Schumer and want a new generation to take the reins of power in D.C. Six incoming Democrat senators have publicly voiced support for a change in their party’s Senate leadership. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) has led those calls and has endorsed Van Hollen, saying he has “always admired his approach to leadership.”
“He’s willing to take risks when it matters. Flying down to meet Kilmar Abrego-Garcia was a real risk,” El-Sayed told NPR earlier this week.
Adam Hamilton, who became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Kansas since the Great Depression, said during his campaign he wants someone else to lead the party. He confirmed last week that his position on Schumer “hasn’t changed.”
“I mean no disrespect for Chuck Schumer, but we need new leadership. We need new, younger leadership, young blood. I don’t mean just age, but people who are bringing fresh ideas and fresh leadership,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got to have leaders that can unite us, bring us together. Not just Democrats, but bring together Democrats and Republicans to solve real problems.”
Other newly elected Democrats who have come out against Schumer as leader include South Carolina’s Annie Andrews, Maine’s Troy Jackson, Minnesota’s Peggy Flanagan, and Illinois’ Juliana Stratton, The Daily Wire previously reported.
Van Hollen is a relatively new face to the Senate compared to longtime Sen. Schumer. Van Hollen has held his Senate seat since 2017, the same year that Schumer became leader of the Senate Democrat Caucus. Since then, Schumer has gone back and forth between holding minority and majority leadership roles. He was Senate majority leader from 2021 to 2025 and Senate minority leader from 2017 to 2021 and then again from 2025 to now.
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