Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is definitely talking like someone who wants to run for Senate majority leader.

Speaking with MS NOW’s Ali Vitali at a “Popular Mandate” event hosted by Groundwork Action, Van Hollen said he is “in the process right now of calling my colleagues” about who should lead them going forward, and that he is “actively listening.”

“Let’s face it, there was also a clearly an anti-Washington establishment tone to this election,” he said, “and so that is why I am now actively listening to people who are looking for that kind of change, and I am in the process right now of calling my colleagues because ultimately the question is whether the caucus is hearing the same calls for change or not. So, I’m actively calling my colleagues, because at the end of the day, this is a vote in the Democratic caucus.”

Van Hollen said that he has not yet spoken with all of his Democratic colleagues. Senate Democratic leadership elections are expected for December 1.

Even as he works the phone, a process that looks a lot like whipping votes, Van Hollen said he has been playing “phone tag” with Sen. Chuck Schumer. The New York Democrat has led the party in the Senate since 2017 and is “confident” he will be elected to continue leading the party in the majority.

The maneuvering points to a growing divide between the party’s establishment and its progressive wing.

As Van Hollen teased his political future to a roaring crowd, Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., were at a podium on Capitol Hill echoing his call for change within the party. Sanders said outright that he would not support Schumer. Slotkin said whoever earns her vote “is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different.”

Minutes later, Schumer, flanked by Sens. Kristen Gillibrand, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ruben Gallego, told reporters, “We have great unity in our caucus, and I’ll be proud to lead it as majority leader.”

The back-and-forth followed the Democrats’ first caucus meeting since the midterm elections. Van Hollen came to the event straight from a caucus lunch that included its newly elected members, describing the mood in the room as one of “exhilaration, but also a recognition of responsibility.”

When Vitali asked whether it would be a “mistake” for Democrats to keep Schumer at the helm, Van Hollen paused.

“Well,” he said, “this is a decision for the caucus, and this is why, Ali, I’m having these discussions.”

After cheers died down, he added, “I’m clearly hearing the calls around the country for change. I think the question is whether those calls are being heard within the walls of the Senate Democratic caucus.”

Some of the friction predates the leadership race. Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party’s campaign arm led by Gillibrand, endorsed or showed preference for certain candidates they believed to be more “electable,” in places such as Michigan.

“My strong view is, under only very, very rare exceptions should the DSCC be weighing in,” Van Hollen said. “Let the people decide.”

“Fortunately, the people did decide,” he added.

Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and Troy Jackson of Maine won their primaries and then their general elections without initial support from Schumer or the DSCC. Once they got the nominations, however, Schumer spent big and lent support.

“This is one of the many issues that the Senate Democratic Caucus needs to consider as we look at what change means,” Van Hollen went on. “Because, as you’re saying, we have two members in that room, newly elected senators, who would not be there if Schumer and the DSCC had had their way.”

Those newly elected senators, and other caucus members, appear to be pushing Van Hollen toward a leadership bid despite earlier statements that he was “kicking the tires” on a 2028 presidential run.

El-Sayed has been a vocal supporter of Van Hollen as leader if he runs, introducing him as the next majority leader at a campaign event in July. Van Hollen was the first senator to endorse El-Sayed.

Jackson, along with Sens.-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas and Juliana Stratton of Illinois, has said plainly that he will not support Schumer for leader. James Talarico of Texas has not made a commitment. Flanagan and Annie Andrews of South Carolina have called for a new generation of leadership.

Van Hollen, 67, and Schumer, 75, are both baby boomers, so Van Hollen would not technically embody the “generational change” Andrews called for. But he does represent the emerging progressive wing of the party.

Van Hollen ticked through a progressive policy dream list that included everything from a wealth tax, reinstating lapsed-ACA healthcare subsidies, raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour and passing Medicare for All — which he admitted was unlikely to pass.

But he seemed to rule out impeaching President Donald Trump again.

“I do think that spending a lot of time impeaching Trump, I’ve made it clear: Obviously, he committed impeachable offenses. He did that in his first term, and of course, was impeached twice. My view is our time would be better spent focused on the oversight hearings and corruption and accountability and how it is hurting the American people,” he said.

Van Hollen said “one of the clear messages” from the midterm elections was a clear rebuke of the Iran war from voters. He said Democrats “have a responsibility … to use our power to end the war, and that means not providing one more dime to an illegal war.”

He challenged Trump to shut down the government amid an impending funding deadline on Capitol Hill.

“That’s his choice. But the American people have made their choice,” he said.

CORRECTION (Nov. 10, 2026 at 8:54 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article said that no date has been set for Senate Democratic leadership elections. In fact, they are scheduled for Dec. 1.

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