Van Hollen, a prominent Israel critic, challenges Schumer for Senate leadership

US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland who is known as a critic of Israel, has said he will seek to lead his party in the Senate, setting up a contest with Chuck Schumer, who has headed the Senate Democrats since 2017. The Times of Israel reported that Van Hollen is running for Senate majority leader following midterm elections in which the Democratic Party won control of the chamber, and described his bid as an underdog run.

Ynet, the news site of the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, reported in a brief alert that Van Hollen, whom it called a prominent critic of Israel, would compete for the leadership of the Democratic majority. According to The Times of Israel, Schumer responded with a statement of his own saying he had enough support to continue as the party's leader in the Senate. Senate Democrats will decide the matter next month in a vote held behind closed doors by secret ballot.

What the two senators said

Van Hollen framed his candidacy around the midterm results. In those elections, The Times of Israel noted, Democrats also won a majority in the House of Representatives, giving the party control of both chambers of Congress. Van Hollen said voters had asked for a change from a status quo that, in his words, is failing working people. He argued that meeting that demand requires "new leadership," and said that was the reason for his bid.

Schumer, by the account in The Times of Israel, is expected to keep his post. The same report said he had earlier predicted he would face no challenger at all, a forecast Van Hollen's announcement has now overturned. Schumer's statement asserted that he had the votes to remain leader; neither report says how many senators have committed to either candidate.

What the Senate Democratic leader does

In the US Senate, each party chooses a leader from among its own members. When a party holds the majority, its leader becomes the majority leader, the senator who largely controls which bills and nominations come to the floor and when they are debated and voted on. The post is one of the most influential in Washington, and the person who holds it shapes much of the legislative agenda of the chamber, including measures that touch on foreign policy and US assistance to allies.

The leadership election is an internal party matter. Only Democratic senators vote, and because the ballot is secret, individual senators are not required to disclose how they voted. That is one reason public claims of support, such as the one in Schumer's statement, can be hard to test before the result is announced.

Why Israeli outlets are watching

Both reports led with Van Hollen's record as a critic of Israel, which explains the attention the race is receiving in Israeli media. Schumer has been the Democrats' Senate leader since 2017, so a change at the top would mean a new figure directing the agenda of the majority party in the chamber. Neither report, however, sets out which of Van Hollen's positions on Israel have earned him that description, and neither says whether Israel or US policy toward it featured in his announcement. His quoted remarks, as reported, focused on economic concerns and on voters wanting change.

For readers following US politics from Israel or the diaspora, the contest is a question of who will run the Democratic majority in the Senate, not a vote on any specific policy. The outcome will be known after the secret ballot next month.

What the reports do not say

• Neither report gives a count of senators backing Van Hollen or Schumer, and Schumer's claim that he has the votes is not supported by any published tally.
• The reports do not specify which of Van Hollen's statements or votes on Israel have made him known as a critic, or whether Israel was mentioned in his launch.
• No exact date for the leadership vote has been reported beyond its being scheduled for next month.
• No reaction from the Israeli government or from Jewish community organisations in the United States has been reported.