United States Senator Chris Van Hollen has launched a bid to become the Senate Majority Leader, challenging Senator Chuck Schumer, the current Minority Leader.
The move to stop Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats for nearly a decade, is seen by pundits and the opposition as a split within the left-wing party on Capitol Hill.
Appearing on MS NOW’s "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" on Thursday evening, Hollen said the change was needed to overhaul "a system rigged by powerful interests against working people."
"We need to go after a corrupt political system," he stated, accusing some of the world's richest and most powerful of "spending gobs of money in these elections to try to buy a Congress that will do their bidding."
Hollen said it was time to get rid of "political action committees, secret money, and the Elon Musk loophole" that allows moneybags to influence Congress, "while getting billions of dollars in federal contracts."
The Maryland senator, who has served since 2017, urged concerted efforts to strengthen and protect voter rights so that America's democracy works for the people, not "the fat cats."
Declaring support for the impeachment of Pete Hegseth, Hollen maintained that the Cabinet member "has committed war crimes" and "should never have been Secretary of Defense to begin with."
The lawmaker also wants Attorney General Todd Blanche to be held accountable for initiating the idea of using taxpayers' dollars as a slush fund for the January 6 offenders and for "corrupting the judicial process."
Hollen believes President Donald Trump has committed "impeachable offenses" but should not be the focus, saying the electorate rejected "his corruption, wars, and cruelty," and demanded the fixing of "a broken economic system."
He supports defunding ICE and using the $200 billion Republicans put aside in the reconciliation package to help more people afford healthcare, while the legislature stops ICE's "illegal activities and paratrooper approach."
On Medicare, Hollen proposed coverage for kids, a decrease in eligibility age, and extension of Medicare benefits to cover vision, dental, and hearing, insisting the healthcare system must put patients above profits.
Hollen opposed the calls to allow Schumer to lead simply based on the blue tsunami, saying the Democrats' victory was not orchestrated by Washington, D.C., but by a people-powered movement and the will of Americans.
Senator Bernie Sanders announced his opposition to Schumer's candidacy this week. "The Democratic Party needs a new and bold direction," he asserted. "I will not support Chuck Schumer’s reelection as Democratic leader."
In a post Thursday night, following Hollen's declaration of intent, Schumer confirmed he was ready for "any discussion" about the future of the caucus and the important work ahead.
"I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together—55 seats and counting is an amazing result—and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader," he wrote.
Democrats split as Hollen challenges Schumer for US Senate majority leader