Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said he would support Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) if he chooses to challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for Senate majority leader.
Sanders told Jon Stewart that the American people are “sick and tired of the status quo.”
“We cannot have leadership in the Democratic Party who are going to do the same old, same old,” Sanders said, according to
The Hill.
“Chris Van Hollen is one guy who has indicated he might be interested in running for leader. If he chooses to do that, I will support him,” he continued.
The new darling of the Democratic left is … Chris Van Hollen?
https://t.co/FJuhmW3asp
— POLITICO (@politico)
November 11, 2026
The Hill shared further:
Van Hollen has flip-flopped on whether he will make a Senate leadership bid, though he said earlier this week he was “in listening mode” and has not “shut the door” on the possibility.
While Schumer has netted the backing of some veteran senators, many incoming and seasoned lawmakers remain divided on their support.
Sanders previously held a press conference alongside Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), where they both pledged to not support Schumer for Senate leadership. Sanders explained that he believed the current Senate minority leader had not been doing enough to end income and wealth inequality.
Democratic Sens.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (Mich.), Troy Jackson (Maine) and Adam Hamilton (Kan.) similarly declined to back the New York Senator.
When asked about Schumer, Hamilton said many people in his home state found Schumer “polarizing.”
“I mean no disrespect for Chuck Schumer,” the Kansas senator said. “And I’ve told him that as well. But I think, at least where I live in Kansas, he is kind of a polarizing figure.”
“This gets into and it’s a much larger debate and it is very heated about whether Chuck Schumer should continue to be the majority leader of the Senate when it goes back over in January into that session, Hakeem Jeffries as well. Is he too tied to status quo solutions that maybe haven’t worked in the past? Is he too tied to the kinds of parliamentary protocols of the Senate and too deferential?” Stewart asked.
“I think Chuck’s views, you know when you talk about status quo politics, that’s what you’re talking about in terms of Chuck. Do I think we need new leadership which is going to move the Democratic Party in a much more vigorous way to protect the needs of working families? Yes, I do. Absolutely,” Sanders said.
Watch below:
Should Chuck Schumer be the Senate Majority Leader? Sen. Bernie Sanders (
@BernieSanders) weighs in. New pod tomorrow!
pic.twitter.com/94yFjcS2rq
— The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart (@weeklyshowpod)
November 10, 2026
POLITICO has more:
Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has emerged as the alternative of choice for a swath of Democrats who believe Chuck Schumer, the longtime Senate Democratic leader, should step aside despite presiding over massive midterm gains.
It’s the culmination of a remarkable resurgence for Van Hollen, who spent years inching up the Democratic leadership ladder in the House only to ditch his seniority there for the back benches of the Senate in 2017.
Over the past two years, he has emerged as an increasingly strident critic of the Democratic party establishment and its approach to President Donald Trump, as well as its positions on populist economic policies and the U.S. relationship with Israel — and members of the party’s left flank have noticed.
A wave of House Democrats, outside activists and even at least one newly elected senator are effectively trying to draft him into what could be an uphill race to unseat the 75-year-old Schumer as majority leader.
“I have been very impressed by Senator Van Hollen’s leadership,” said Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, who beat a more centrist Democrat in her state’s primary and has said she will not back Schumer.
Van Hollen has wavered on whether he is pursuing a role in Senate leadership or perhaps instead a 2028 run for the presidency.
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Bernie Sanders Suggests Alternative To Become New Senate Majority Leader appeared first on
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