US senator Chris Van Hollen is challenging Chuck Schumer for the top Democrat spot in the Senate. Van Hollen said the recent election victory "was really to reject the status quo, and to reject business as usual." The party will select its new majority leader next month after recent wins.
Chris Van Hollen to run to be majority leader in upper house after sweeping party victory in midterm elections
US senator Chris Van Hollen is challenging Chuck Schumer to be the top Democrat in the Senate, setting up a leadership battle after their party's sweeping victories in the midterm elections.
The Maryland senator announced he would run to be Senate majority leader after "we saw a huge outburst of democracy on election day" that was a "call for a larger change" beyond rejecting President Donald Trump.
Van Hollen's move exposes rifts within the party, which is divided on issues including foreign policy and whether Democrats need a new cast of leaders on Capitol Hill to take on Trump over the next two years.
Abdul El-Sayed, who was elected to Michigan's Senate seat, threw his support behind Van Hollen on Thursday.
"The American public spoke clearly last week. They rejected Trumpism. But we have yet to earn our mandate. That will require bold leadership," El-Sayed wrote on X.
Van Hollen, the 67-year-old senator from Maryland, is known to be more progressive and has been a critic of Israel's government in recent years.
Schumer, 75, has served as party leader in the upper chamber of Congress for a decade, including a previous stint as majority leader during Joe Biden's presidency.
Democrats are about to take power in Congress after defeating Republicans in a landslide last week, even in deep-red states like Mississippi. There will be at least 55 Democratic senators in the 100-member Senate come January, with the race for a seat from Alaska still too close to call.
Van Hollen told MS NOW on Thursday the victory "was really to reject the status quo, and to reject business as usual. And to do that, I think we need new leadership".
The Maryland legislator said that he is the "underdog" in the fight for majority leader, but claimed to have support from more than 10 members of the caucus. Van Hollen did not name his backers, but six incoming senators have signalled they will not vote for Schumer.
Senate Democrats will select the new majority leader next month. Schumer or Van Hollen would need 28 or 29 votes from their caucus to win, depending on whether their party clinches the 56th seat in Alaska.
Schumer said he welcomed "discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead", citing the "amazing result" of the election. But he insisted, in a post on X, that he had "the votes to continue serving as Democratic leader".
Bernie Sanders, the fiercely progressive Vermont senator, said he would not support Schumer, while Michigan's Elissa Slotkin said Democrats "need a new generation of leadership".
In the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, 56, is expected to become speaker when Democrats take over the majority in January. Nancy Pelosi, the previous party leader, stepped aside in 2023.