Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) claims several upper-chamber legislators have switched from supporting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to backing his Senate majority leader bid, accusing Schumer of spreading “a lot of misinformation.”
Van Hollen announced Thursday night that he would be challenging Schumer in the race to lead the Democratic majority in the Senate next year. The Maryland senator said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday that Schumer was trying to “instill fear” in those who would support Van Hollen.
“I think there’s a very open lane here. The Schumer teams put out a lot of misinformation. They’re essentially trying to instill fear in people who may say that they’re going to support me as a new leader. But that’s part of the problem. That’s part of the old system,” Van Hollen said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday.
Van Hollen continued on Fox News Sunday that he has a list of 15 senators “and growing” who will support him in the January leadership election, saying the numbers of support that Schumer’s team is putting out are “flatly wrong.”
“I have a path to get there, no doubt about it,” Van Hollen said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “I saw that Sen. Schumer’s team put out a list just the other day of people they said who are voting for Sen. Schumer. I can tell you that a number of those people on that list have actually committed to voting for me, and the others are very open to the idea of change.”
Van Hollen said he believes there is a “hunger for change” among Senate Democrats and a similar demand for change among the American people who resoundingly elected Democrats in the midterm elections.
“What we saw across America on Election Day was clearly a rejection of Trump’s policies: his wars, his cruelty, his corruption,” Van Hollen said Sunday. “But they haven’t fully hired the Democrats. We’re given a chance. We need to earn people’s trust, and I don’t think you do that by simply going back to business as usual, back to the status quo. I think people are demanding change.”
SCHUMER LEADS ‘UNDERDOG’ VAN HOLLEN IN EARLY MAJORITY LEADER ENDORSEMENTS
The Maryland Democrat has zeroed in on his plans to challenge Schumer, abandoning his consideration of running for president in 2028 in order to pursue the top spot in the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Several incoming senators-elect have voiced a desire to move on from Schumer’s leadership, while Sens.-elect Abdul el Sayed (D-MI) and Peggy Flanagan (D-MN) have publicly backed Van Hollen directly.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
