At a Capitol news conference on November 10, Bernie Sanders said he would not support Chuck Schumer’s bid to remain Senate Democratic leader. Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin joined the call for a new generation of leadership and a debate over the party’s direction. Their intervention puts pressure on the leader of a caucus preparing to take the Senate majority, but it has not yet produced a formal opponent.

Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, said the midterm results showed voters wanted different leaders. He argued that Democrats should choose their next leader through a process that includes vigorous debate. Schumer has led Senate Democrats since 2017, and no Democrat had formally announced a challenge at the time of the reports.

The calls come after Democrats’ sweeping midterm gains put the party in power in the next Congress. The Guardian reported that several incoming senators had called for new leadership: Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Annie Andrews of South Carolina, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Troy Jackson of Maine and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota. Matzav separately reported that Hamilton, Andrews, El-Sayed and Jackson had indicated they would not vote to keep Schumer as leader.

Van Hollen is a possible alternative

Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is being discussed as a potential successor. He said he was contacting colleagues to gauge support for a change and argued that the leadership choice should not be a coronation. He stopped short of calling for Schumer’s removal. The Associated Press reported that Van Hollen was considering a leadership bid; El-Sayed has said he would support him if he entered the contest.

Slotkin has not presented herself as a candidate. She said she was not actively seeking the leadership job and wanted anyone interested in it to offer a full plan for the new majority’s priorities. She also said she would not support anyone without seeing such a plan. That leaves the calls for change focused on what the next leader should offer, and on whether Schumer should remain in the role.

Schumer says he expects to stay

Schumer has said he is confident he will be elected leader again. He described the caucus as united around lowering living costs, ending corruption and chaos, and ending the war. His public confidence contrasts with the growing criticism from some incoming senators, but the caucus has not yet chosen its leader.

The timing of that choice is unclear. The Associated Press said Senate Democrats were expected to hold leadership elections later in November, while Matzav reported that the caucus would select its leadership team in December. Neither account gives an exact date.