The contest for Senate Democratic leader will be settled at a behind-closed-doors caucus meeting scheduled for 1 December, after Chris Van Hollen announced on Thursday that he will challenge Chuck Schumer for the post. Schumer, 75, has said in a post on X that he has the votes to continue serving as Democratic leader; Van Hollen, 67, calls himself an underdog.

The record behind the challenge

The case against Schumer rests largely on two episodes. In March 2025, with a government funding deadline approaching, Schumer opted to advance a GOP-backed spending measure, arguing that it was a bad time to shut down the government - a decision that angered House Democrats and activist groups.

Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, was among the critics: "Senator Schumer should step aside as leader."

Later in 2025, dissident Senate Democrats decided to end a record-long government shutdown without Republicans meeting any of their demands on healthcare. The deal was widely believed to have Schumer's backing, though he did not publicly endorse it.

Who backs whom

Public declarations are arriving on both sides ahead of the Senate caucus vote.

• •Bernie Sanders, the independent progressive who caucuses with the party, has publicly backed Van Hollen.
• •Incoming senators Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota have also endorsed the challenger.
• •Angus King, the Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, is backing Schumer. "Why would you fire the manager when you just won the World Series?" King asked.
• •Schumer himself wrote on X: "I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader."

Other incoming senators have called for change without taking sides. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, incoming senator Adam Hamilton of Kansas and Juliana Stratton of Illinois said the party should choose a new leader, but have not said who.

Activist groups have cheered the challenge. Joel Payne, executive director of MoveOn, said members "want bold, creative leadership that will help Democrats usher in affordability and accountability" in the next Congress.

The backdrop to the contest is last week's midterm elections, in which voters gave Democrats their biggest majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives in years.

Van Hollen's argument and record

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Van Hollen framed his bid as a question of trust rather than a repudiation of the party's recent results. "And I don't think you can close the trust deficit by simply returning to the status quo," Van Hollen said.

He has served in the Senate since winning election from the House in 2016, and drew national attention for traveling to El Salvador to meet Kilmar Ábrego García, who had been wrongfully deported from Maryland.

On Israel and Gaza, Van Hollen voted against providing bulldozers and bombs to Israel, and after visiting the Gaza-Egypt border in 2025 co-released a report accusing Israel of planning to ethnically cleanse the territory. He also pressed the state department over the West Bank: his September resolution demanding a report on violence there failed, with Schumer among those supporting it.

Reports after the election had said Van Hollen was not planning to challenge Schumer, fueling speculation about a 2028 presidential run. He now says he's not interested in a presidential run.

What the job controls

Whichever way the caucus goes, the post carries real leverage. Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate majority, and the filibuster's 60-vote threshold makes Schumer a major figure in deciding whether Democrats cooperate or obstruct.

Schumer's own standing in the job stretches back decades: he won election to the House in 1980, then the Senate in 1998, became top Senate Democrat in 2017 and majority leader under Joe Biden.

The contest will be decided at the 1 December closed-door meeting, where Schumer says he has the votes to continue as leader.