Chris Van Hollen announces challenge to Chuck Schumer for Senate leadership

Washington — Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Thursday that he will challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader. 

“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,” Van Hollen said in a post on X. “That’s why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader.”

The decision by Van Hollen, who said earlier this week he was in “listening mode” about running for majority leader, marks the most significant step by a high-profile Democrat to challenge the party’s existing leadership since it decisively won last week’s midterms.

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont quickly threw his support behind Van Hollen on Thursday. Some other Democrats have not yet committed to voting for Schumer in leadership elections, which are expected early next month, but haven’t explicitly endorsed another candidate.

Van Hollen, 67, has been in the Senate since 2017 after representing the state in the House for more than a decade. The Maryland Democrat has gained attention from progressives in recent years. In 2024, he vocally supported restricting weapons shipments to Israel and criticized the Biden administration’s posture toward the war in Gaza. Van Hollen also gained attention when he traveled to El Salvador last year to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who lived in Maryland and had been sent to the country’s notorious CECOT prison.

Supporters see Van Hollen as someone who’s willing to speak to the issues progressives hold most dear. Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed told NPR in an interview this week that Van Hollen is “willing to take risks when it matters,” citing his trip to El Salvador. 

Schumer, 75, responded to Van Hollen’s announcement in a post on X, saying he welcomes “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,” he wrote. “I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people.”

Schumer has led Senate Democrats since 2017, when he succeeded retiring Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, defended Schumer at a news conference earlier this week, crediting his “strategic leadership.”

“You will see, despite all the grumblings, enormous gratitude for the hard work he has done to get us to this position,” Gillibrand said. “We are about to win nine Senate seats — that has never happened in my political history.”

Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada endorsed Schumer late Thursday, praising his work ahead of the midterms and writing, “I know he has the experience and the fight to continue leading our diverse caucus at this crucial moment.”

The challenge comes as Schumer is still widely expected to hold on to the top leadership post, especially after the strong showing for Democrats in the midterm elections. Despite a Senate map that appeared unfavorable for the party heading into the cycle, Democrats flipped at least eight Senate seats — with one race remaining up in the air in Alaska — securing a sizable majority in the new Congress.

With the election results, Schumer has appeared to improve his position with the caucus, following a tumultuous tenure in recent years. The pushback took hold after the New York Democrat maneuvered to avoid a government shutdown in early 2025, prompting frustration from his party’s left flank. 

Later that year, he changed course and kept Democrats largely united through a record-breaking government shutdown as they sought to prevent the expiration of health insurance tax credits.

In an interview with MS NOW announcing his run for majority leader, Van Hollen acknowledged he is an “underdog,” but said he has spoken with caucus members and believes the race is “very much in flux.”

Asked what he would do differently from Schumer, Van Hollen suggested the current leader hasn’t taken a firm enough stance on using the power of the purse to force the Trump administration to end the Iran war. He told host Jen Psaki that Democrats should use the Dec. 11 deadline to fund the government as leverage, saying it “should not be a finger-in-the-wind issue.”

Van Hollen also criticized Schumer for, in his view, moving behind the scenes to back certain candidates in Democratic primaries — a longstanding point of contention for progressives.

“On the political side of the equation, we shouldn’t have a Democratic leader who is getting involved in picking sides in open Democratic primaries. … We have two senators right now in the United States Senate who wouldn’t be there if the current majority leader had his way,” Van Hollen said, referring to El-Sayed and Minnesota Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan.

Some members of the Democratic caucus — including both progressives like Sanders and moderates like Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas — have called for new leadership.

Sanders endorsed Van Hollen in a social media post late Thursday, writing: “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.”

Two days earlier, Sanders announced in a news conference he would not support Schumer. Sanders was flanked by the more moderate Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who said she was “not actively seeking this job” but is “seeking change.”

“Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different,” Slotkin said. “I’m a no until and unless I see that from anyone.”