Top image: Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at an event in February 2026. Photo: Anderseidesvik / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Rep. Ro Khanna on Thursday night called on every Democratic senator to support Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland for Senate majority leader, putting the Silicon Valley congressman squarely behind the most serious challenge yet to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s hold on the job.
“I am calling on every Democratic Senator to support @ChrisVanHollen for Majority Leader,” Khanna wrote on X at 11:06 p.m. Eastern time. “He will commit to: End funding for the Iran war, Allow a vote on Medicare For All, Zero out aid to Israel. This is a time for new leadership.”
In a video with the post, Khanna said he was asking senators “including the ones I campaigned for” to back Van Hollen, according to ANI. He noted that he was among the first lawmakers to call for Schumer to step aside, the report said.
Khanna’s move fits a pattern. After a campaign season spent stumping for Democratic candidates, the Fremont Democrat has emerged as one of the party’s most visible voices for generational and ideological change, and is widely seen as a likely contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. Allies launched a “Run Ro” draft committee last week, co-chaired by former Rep. Jamaal Bowman and strategist Nomiki Konst, as the Chronicle reported.
Van Hollen’s bid
Van Hollen announced his run Thursday night. “In this election, the American people called for change. They called for a change from Donald Trump’s disastrous policies but even bigger than that, a change from the status quo that isn’t working for working people,” he said in a statement reported by Roll Call. “It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership.”
He was candid about his odds. “Am I the underdog? Yes,” Van Hollen told MS NOW, according to Roll Call. “You’re talking about an incumbent who uses the power of incumbency to, you know, provide deals to people.”
Van Hollen listed priorities including restoring Medicaid funding cut in last year’s Republican budget law, extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, a “livable minimum wage” and making clear that “nobody’s going to pay one penny to subsidize data centers.” He also said he would keep the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from taking money from AIPAC and would not take sides in contested primaries, Roll Call reported.
Schumer says he has the votes
Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, said he would keep the job. “I welcome any discussion about the future of our 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 said, according to Roll Call.
His allies answered quickly. “Why would you fire the manager when you just won the World Series?” said Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said, “The Brewers just had a record season, and next year is not the time to change our management.”
Van Hollen’s early backers include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed. “The American people voted for change,” Sanders said, according to ANI. “That is why I am supporting Senator Chris Van Hollen to lead Senate Democrats.”
Senate Democrats will choose their leader by secret ballot in December, and a simple majority of the caucus wins, according to ANI. Schumer remains the favorite.
Where California’s senators stand
Neither of California’s senators has publicly picked a side. Sen. Adam Schiff has been calling colleagues about joining the leadership team to help improve the party’s messaging, and is not looking to challenge Schumer or Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the expected next whip, Semafor reported Tuesday. Schiff did, however, post Thursday night that when Democrats take control in January, “we cannot simply go back to the status quo before Trump,” calling for “a bold agenda that will dramatically lower costs — like Medicare for all” in a post on X. Replies filled with constituents urging him to back Van Hollen. The Chronicle found no public statement from Sen. Alex Padilla on the leadership race as of Friday morning.
Khanna’s agenda
The endorsement follows Khanna’s own list of demands as Congress returned. “Here are the four things I am demanding: End the war in Iran, $25 living wage, Medicare for All, Zero aid to Israel,” he posted Thursday morning. “We need to be bold. We need to deliver.”
Khanna has also argued that Democrats can investigate the Trump administration and pursue an affordability agenda at the same time. “I can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he told Fox News when asked whether investigations could distract the new majority, arguing that ending the war in Iran would lower food and gas prices.
The White House has dismissed the coming Democratic investigations. “If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people,” spokeswoman Lauren Bis said this week in a statement reported by Quartz, citing The New York Times.
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