Bernie Sanders, El Sayed endorse Senator Van Hollen for Democrat majority leader role, call for 'bold leadership'

Bernie Sanders, an independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats said, "The American people voted for change. They want a Democratic Party that will stand up to powerful special interests, take on the billionaire class and fight for working families. That is why I am supporting Senator Chris Van Hollen to lead Senate Democrats.

Abdul El Sayed the newly elected Senator from Michigan also endorsed Van Hollen saying, "The American public spoke clearly last week. They rejected Trumpism. But we have yet to earn our mandate. That will require bold leadership. I called on Sen.@ChrisVanHollen 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 Im proud to stand with him in his bid to lead our Senate majority."

Earlier Speaking to MS Now Van Hollen said his decision to run for Senate Majority leader was spurred by the voice of the people who he said had voted for larger change in Washington.

This is not about any one individual, but it is about answering the call of the American people. We saw a huge outburst of democracy on Election Day red states, blue states, purple states and it wasnt only a rejection of Donald Trump and his corruption and his wars and his cruelty, it was also about a call for a larger change to take on a broken economic system thats rigged in favor of the very wealthy against working people, led by a corrupt political system, he said.

Van Hollen also accused Schumer of backing Republican candidates in the recent mid-terms which the Democrats have swept.

"We shouldn't have a leader who is getting involved in picking sides in open Democratic primaries, and we should be focused on defeating Republicans. We have two senators right now in the Senate who wouldn't be there if the current majority leader had his way. He supported establishment candidates in the primaries," he told MS Now.

Earlier, Schumer in a post on X, appeared to respond to Van Hollen's decision to run against him with an assertion that he had enough votes backing him to lead the Democrats in the Senate.

"I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead. Im proud of what weve accomplished together55 seats and counting is an amazing resultand I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader. I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people," he said.

Van Hollen has taken stringent positions when it comes to seeking action against President Donald Trump on allegations of corruption.

"While people across the country could barely make ends meet, Trump made $1.4 BILLION from his crypto schemes alone last year. This is exactly the type of corruption weve got to tackle head on. Americans deserve answers on his White House money-making schemes," he had said.

Van Hollen has also been a public supporter of the move to impeach incumbent Secretary of War Pete Hegseth while calling for Congress to defund the war in Iran.

"The American people have spoken loud & clear: They want us to end Trumps illegal & senseless war. And in 1 month, well have an opportunity to do that. I will not support a government funding bill unless it defunds this war," he said.

Senator Chuck Schumer, who has led the Senate Democratic caucus since 2017, remains favored to retain the position of Democratic leader. Still, its likely to be the most serious challenge he has gotten for the job. (ANI)