Van Hollen Says No Rubber Stamp for Schumer as Majority Leader Without Support for 'Bold Agenda'

A top progressive senator on Wednesday said Democrats should not commit to supporting Sen. Chuck Schumer to lead the caucus after the party's historic midterm wins without demanding his support for a "bold agenda" that reflects the needs of the American public, which is facing a worsening cost-of-living crisis under President Donald Trump.

"Working people have been screwed for way too long, and we need to unrig an economy that’s been built to serve billionaires and big corporations,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who previously led Senate Democrats' campaign arm, told Bloomberg in an interview. “It’s not a time for incrementalism. It’s a time to move forward a very bold kitchen table agenda.”

Van Hollen, a vocal critic of US support for Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza and a supporter of Medicare for All, has indicated that he does not intend to run for Senate majority leader himself. But the senator said Wednesday that "no one should be committing to anybody as the next Democratic leader" without first discussing how the party plans to advance an ambitious policy agenda.

"We need commitments," Van Hollen told Bloomberg.

The senator's remarks came as two prominent progressive advocacy groups, Indivisible and Our Revolution, called for the Senate Democratic caucus to move past Schumer.

"Contact your senators and demand they oppose another term for Chuck Schumer as leader—and insist on a public and transparent process for choosing new leadership," Indivisible wrote in a series of social media posts on Wednesday. "Schumer has a lower approval rating than Trump. After our seismic wins, we need new leadership to define this new era of politics."

Schumer, who has headed the Senate Democratic caucus for nearly a decade, brushed off potential challenges to his leadership on Wednesday, telling reporters with certainty, "I'll be reelected as majority leader."

But several newly elected Democratic senators—including Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Troy Jackson of Maine, Juliana Stratton of Illinois, and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota—have explicitly said they would not support Schumer for leadership, raising the possibility of a significant revolt following the party's midterm wipeout of the GOP. Other senators-elect, including James Talarico of Texas and Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, have declined to endorse Schumer for the leadership post, saying the party should explore other options.

"We are at the point of a new movement in this country," Flanagan said Wednesday. "Many of us were elected who refused corporate PAC money and are only beholden to the people who elected us—and are ready to fight for bold change."

"I think it's time for a new leadership," she added, "and I'm eager to work in partnership with my new colleagues to get that done."