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The calls for change that helped flip the Senate on Election Night have now reached the chamber itself, where some Democrats are turning their backs on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Schumer intends to seek another term as Democratic leader as his party prepares to take control of the Senate next year. But some of the progressive forces energized by the party’s blue-wave victories want to replace him, too.
His caucus is fracturing over whether to support him, with longtime allies such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and newer members such as Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., having declared this week that they would not back him for leader. And Schumer’s detractors are eying Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who has said that he’s “kicking the tires” on a 2028 presidential run, to challenge him.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a press conference with other members of the Senate Democratic caucus following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Now he’s in listening mode and speaking with Senate Democrats about a bid against Schumer — and openly taking shots at the longtime Democratic leader, too, for siding “with the crypto industry” and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) against progressive candidates.
“We just saw democracy in America in action. We should bring a little more democracy to the United States Senate,” Van Hollen said at the Popular Mandate conference this week. “We have two newly-elected senators who would not be there if Schumer and the DSCC had their way.”
When asked about a possible challenge from Van Hollen, Schumer said, “Chris Van Hollen and I are friends.”
“We talk frequently, and we’re united, united in lowering costs and united in ending this damn war,” he added, referring to the Iran conflict.
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Outside the Senate in the adjacent office buildings, showings of support for Van Hollen took the form of blue, orange and pink sticky notes attached to a plaque outside his office. But for Schumer, a group of protesters chanted outside of his personal office “hey, hey, ho, ho, Chuck Schumer has got to go.”
Outside groups, like the progressive organization Indivisible, are bucking Schumer, too. They recently launched the “Tell Democrats: NO Schumer Coronation” campaign urging supporters to push their senator to not back Schumer.
Schumer still has several allies in the caucus, including Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who dismissed Van Hollen’s prospective challenge.
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Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., speaks as he campaigns for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., during a campaign rally in Ferndale, Michigan, U.S., July 25, 2026. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)
“Well, what’s his record, other than yelling about anti-Israel stuff, or last year when he visited that wife beating guy in prison,” Fetterman said, in reference to Van Hollen’s trip to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia, his constituent who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration.
Several senators-elect that rode the blue wave to Washington, D.C., have publicly said they will not support Schumer for leader. Some were not the DSCC’s preferred nominees in key battleground primaries. Senators-elect Adam Hamilton, Peggy Flanagan, Scott Colom and Abdul El-Sayed have all publicly rejected Schumer as the Democratic leader.
El-Sayed told Fox News Digital “time will tell” on how leadership elections will shake out, and whether Van Hollen has a strong enough coalition to beat Schumer.
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“I think we’ll see how things play out,” he said. “This is a unique moment, and it’s our job to make sure we honor our mandate.”
But Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirstin Gillibrand, D-N.Y., fiercely defended him on Tuesday. She lauded his “vision” for helping score several pick-ups in the cycle, and investing early in states like Mississippi.
“And that is why 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.”