Chris Van Hollen’s challenge to the Democratic establishment

The Democrats’ unity following their resounding victory in the mid-term elections lasted barely a week. On Thursday evening, in an interview with the all-news channel MsNow, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen announced that he would challenge Senate leader Chuck Schumer for his position. In a statement, he said that the midterm results were a sign that “Americans want change not only from Donald Trump’s disastrous policies”, but also “from a status quo that does not work for the working class”: he reiterated that he would use “the full powers of the Senate” to respond to the wishes of the people, namely to lower the cost of living and put an end to the war in Iran. He stated that he would not vote for government funding bills containing funds that could be spent on continuing hostilities with the Islamic Republic.

Schumer, on the other hand, is seen by the more radical elements – who have welcomed Van Hollen’s candidacy – as too moderate and too closely tied to the party establishment: he has been accused of not doing enough to counter Trump’s power and of being a long-standing supporter of US-Israel relations. As soon as Van Hollen confirmed his candidacy, he secured the backing of Bernie Sanders and the newly elected Michigan Senator Abdul El-Sayed: in addition to them, Van Hollen says he has the support of around ten senators, though this is still far short of the majority of twenty-eight required to be elected leader. Precisely for this reason, in a statement following that of the Maryland senator, Schumer said he was proud of the 55 seats secured in the election and that he had the votes to continue serving as majority leader. The election, which will be held behind closed doors, is scheduled for 1 December: this will be the first test to gauge the influence of the more radical voices following the elections and to determine whether discontent with the Democratic establishment might also be widespread within the Senate chamber.

Chris Van Hollen is no newcomer to Congress: aged 67, he has been continuously elected to public office since 1991, serving in the House of Representatives since 2002 and in the Senate since 2016. During his time as a Member of the House, he was one of the closest allies of Nancy Pelosi, the four-time Speaker of the House, and one of the most influential voices on budgetary matters. Since moving to the Senate, he has, somewhat surprisingly, emerged over the past two years as a critic of the Democratic establishment and its relationship with President Trump. Strongly opposed to the White House’s mass deportation agenda, he was the first lawmaker to visit the Cecot maximum-security prison in El Salvador. It was there that the Trump Administration, having reached an agreement with El Salvador’s authoritarian president Nayib Bukele, transferred a number of migrants who had been arrested on US soil: among them was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who had ended up there by mistake, whom Van Hollen met and helped to bring back to the United States.

Furthermore, he has become increasingly critical of the US government’s stance towards Israel: he has accused the Jewish state of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, described Prime Minister Netanyahu as “a wanted war criminal” and denounced the political influence of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby that funds the election campaigns of candidates from both sides of the political spectrum. Jeff Cohen, founder of RootsAction, a group backing Van Hollen’s candidacy, told Politico that the Maryland senator would be closer to the party’s grassroots than Schumer “on many issues: including redefining relations with Israel, taxing the wealthy and taking a stand on the issue of artificial intelligence”.

Schumer’s supporters, meanwhile, have closed ranks around their leader: they cite his decades of experience in fundraising, the deep relationships he has forged with the caucus and the rest of the party, and his work in uniting colleagues to take on the Republicans. Despite the challenge to his leadership, Schumer retains a considerable lead among senators: many of them are wondering why they should oust their leader immediately after securing a major victory. As Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego put it, “when the coach wins the championship, you renew his contract”.