Van Hollen Will Challenge Chuck Schumer For Senate Majority Leader, Deepening Rifts In The Democratic Party

Democratic Senator for Maryland Chris Van Hollen revealed on Thursday that he would challenge New York Senator and current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the position of Senate majority leader as the Democrats prepare to retake control of both the Senate and House in January.

"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," Van Hollen posted to his X account on Thursday.

Chuck Schumer also took to social media on the same day, suggesting that he anticipated he would gain Democrats' backing for the position.

"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. I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people," Schumer said.

The contest between Schumer and Van Hollen will likely be seen as emblematic of the divisions between the centrist and more progressive wings of the party. Surveys of progressive voters show that a large majority - 72% - want Schumer replaced by a new Democratic leader in the Upper House.

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senator-elect for Michigan who is widely seen to be more aligned with the progressive wing of the party, had declined to say in several interviews whether or not he would support Schumer, and late on Thursday said that he was "proud to stand with him [Van Hollen] in his bid to lead our Senate majority."

Progressive stalwart and previous Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also revealed that he would support Van Hollen, but newly re-elected Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Senator Angus King of Maine have all said they would back Schumer.

In order to win appointment to the position as Senate majority leader, Van Hollen or Schumer would need a simple majority of votes from the Senate Democratic caucus. The Democrats have a confirmed 55 Senate seats following their landslide midterm victory, with a potential 56th seat to come if Democrat Mary Peltola wins the Alaska Senate race, which has not yet been called.

Schumer has led the Senate Democrats since 2017, and has significant experience in going toe-to-toe with the two administrations of President Donald Trump. Recently, he led the Democratic Caucus through a 43-day government shutdown in late 2025 and oversaw staggering Democratic wins in Senate races in traditional Republican states such as Texas, Kansas and Mississippi in the November midterms.

However, he has also come under intense criticism from the progressive Democratic wing. In early 2025 Schumer supported a GOP-backed six-month government funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, a move which was lambasted by many Democrats, particularly progressives, as capitulation to the administration of President Donald Trump and the spending cuts pursued by its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Van Hollen, meanwhile, became popular amongst progressive because of his aggressive lobbying on behalf of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was wrongly deported to the country in 2025 by the Trump administration.

On the issue of Israel, which has proven a particularly divisive topic for generally more pro-Zionist centrist Democrats and generally more anti-Zionist progressives, the two also differ significantly.

Although Schumer has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has been a longstanding supporter of continuing U.S. aid to Israel and even supported moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, whereas Van Hollen has opposed expanded U.S.-Israeli defense cooperation and called on Washington and the Democrats to use their leverage over Tel Aviv "to end the occupation [of the Palestinian territories] and achieve two states with full political and legal rights for all. That means withdrawing taxpayer support from Israel and conditioning arms sales."

Schumer has also taken significant amounts of campaign donations from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, whereas Van Hollen has not accepted any money from the group, which has also been widely cited by progressives as a reason for not wanting to support Schumer for Senate majority leader.

The closed-ballot leadership election for the position will take place on December 1.