Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday that he will not support Chuck Schumer to lead Senate Democrats in the new Congress, the most senior public break yet in a leadership fight the party is having in the open after winning back the Senate.
“I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years, and I like Chuck. Nobody works harder than Chuck Schumer,” Sanders told reporters at the Capitol, standing with Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. “But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck to be reelected as the Democratic leader.” He added: “He’s not going to run unopposed, I don’t think.”
Slotkin set a condition rather than a refusal. “Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different. I’m a no until and unless I see that from anyone,” she said, adding that she is not pursuing the job herself. She has also said she had a productive conversation with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland about a possible candidacy. Van Hollen, asked on Tuesday whether he would challenge Schumer, demurred; he has argued there should be “no coronation” of the next leader and has been talking with colleagues. He has not declared a candidacy, and no Democrat has formally entered the race.
Schumer, asked whether he is confident he will be elected majority leader, answered “yes.” He has led Senate Democrats since 2017 and was majority leader from 2021 to 2025. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Cory Booker have spoken up for him, and Senator Mark Kelly has said he plans to support him while agreeing Democrats need to operate differently. Reporting before the election also said Schumer had secured commitments from enough senators to win; the public refusals since suggest the count is at least contested. At least seven incoming Democratic senators have declined to commit to him.
The argument the challengers are making is generational and programmatic at once: that a majority won on cost of living and the Iran war needs a leadership and an agenda visibly different from the last decade’s, with a concrete plan for the first 100 days. The election itself is by secret ballot in December, which means public statements are only part of the arithmetic. What is already clear is that Schumer, if he wins, will win a contested vote rather than an acclamation, and will owe his majority to colleagues who have said out loud that they want change.
Transparency note: the Sanders and Slotkin remarks are from their joint Capitol appearance on Tuesday, reported by Bloomberg Government, the Associated Press and others. Van Hollen’s position is stated as he has stated it: considering, talking, not declared. Reports of private commitments for Schumer are noted as reports; the leadership vote is secret and no official count exists.
