Sen. Chris Van Hollen challenges Schumer to lead Senate Democrats

Well, a political power struggle is brewing among Senate Democrats. New York Senator Chuck Schumer now facing an official challenge to his leadership just as his party prepares to take control of the Senate. All right, good days. Francis Wang has more on the senator looking to switch things up at the top. We sort of heard about this a little earlier this week. Now it looks like it's confirmed, Francis. And now it's official from the challenger side. So Democrats, they may have won back control of the Senate. There's now a battle, though, over who is going to be leading them because for the first time in decades, the race. for Senate Democratic leader will be contested. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen officially making his challenge towards longtime Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, saying. Americans voted for change, and that change should extend to the party's leadership. Van Hollen just announced his bid yesterday, a little over a week after Democrats reclaimed control of the Senate in the midterms. He says more than 10 senators have already pledged their support, although he has not identified them. But we know some high-profile lawmakers have already publicly backed him, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as incoming Coming Michigan, Senator. Abdul El-Sayed. The divisions here are not new. Schumer has already faced backlash from progressives last year after he sided with Republicans on a government spending vote. And just last week, right here in New York, demonstrators took their concerns directly to Schumer's doorsteps. Protesters gathered outside of his Brooklyn home, opposing legislation they say would make it easier to expand AI data centers across the country. Meantime, Schumer, he is pushing back against this leadership challenge. He says he's welcoming discussions about the party's future, but insists he has the votes to keep his position, pointing to the Democrats' midterm success with at least 55 seats in the incoming Senate. Now, Schumer does have the backing of several prominent senators as well, including Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. Senate Democrats will be choosing their next leader in a closed-door secret ballot election in a few weeks on December 1st. Dan Tashani.