United States Senator Chris Van Hollen has declared that he is running for Senate majority leader as Democrats prepare to take charge of the US Congress in January following a Democratic landslide in this month’s midterm elections.
Van Hollen said in a post on X late on Thursday that Americans had “called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people & fueled by political corruption”.
“To deliver, we need new leadership,” he said, adding that “this isn’t about any one person – it’s about answering that call”.
He is a Democratic senator from Maryland who has been in Congress since 2003, rising to prominence for his opposition in the second term of US President Donald Trump.
Van Hollen was born in 1959 in Karachi, Pakistan. His father was a Foreign Service officer who later served as the US deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs.
His mother worked at the Central Intelligence Agency and the US State Department.
Van Hollen has had mounting calls to enter the race for Senate majority leader amid growing opposition to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ‘s continued tenure over criticism of his handling of the Democratic caucus during the Trump presidency.
US Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed from Michigan has said he will not support Schumer as the majority leader in the Senate and welcomed Van Hollen’s decision to run.
In a post on X, El-Sayed said: “I called on Sen. Chris Van Hollen to lead our caucus as a candidate back in April because he leads with courage and experience.
“We need both right now. Which is why I’m proud to stand with him in his bid to lead our Senate majority,” El-Sayed said.
In April 2025, Van Hollen drew attention when he travelled to El Salvador to meet a Maryland resident mistakenly deported by Trump, in a case which ultimately saw Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States.
In September, Van Hollen forced a vote on a resolution that would have required the Trump administration to report on the killing of nine Americans in the occupied West Bank and on Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children in military detention.
The resolution failed 47-53, with senators voting largely along party lines.
In August 2025, Van Hollen accompanied US Senator Jeff Merkley to the Rafah crossing at Egypt’s border with Gaza as Israel resisted attempts to allow humanitarian aid delivery to Palestinians in the enclave.
Van Hollen has been one of the foremost advocates for ending Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and violations in the occupied West Bank.
He has consistently pushed for strict accountability of Israeli actions and for conditioning US military assistance to Israel.
