“Now is the time for change.” Bernie Sanders will not support Schumer as Democratic leader in the Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday he will not support Sen. Chuck Schumer as Democratic majority leader in the new Congress, setting up a seismic showdown after the party swept to power in the midterm elections.

Sanders was joined by Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan at a news conference at the Capitol, and together they said there needs to be a new generation of leaders and a vigorous debate about the direction and future of the party. A number of new Democratic senators echoed that call, signaling they would support another candidate over Schumer.

“Now is the time for change,” said Sanders, an independent from Vermont and essentially the father of modern progressivism in the United States. “And I will not support Chuck’s re-election as leader of the Democratic Party.”

Slotkin, who said she was not actively seeking the position herself, explained that she wants to see potential Senate leaders present a comprehensive plan on the new majority’s priorities.

“I’m no until someone tells me,” she said.

The confrontation intensified as Democrats scoured the Senate map to flip Republican-held seats well beyond those that were initially competitive, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.

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Schumer recruited high-profile candidates who helped secure the majority, including Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Sen.-elect Roy Cooper in North Carolina. But his preferred candidates also lost primaries in Michigan and Maine, with progressive candidates prevailing and then winning their general elections.

Democrats, particularly those on the party’s progressive wing, have bombarded congressional offices with phone calls saying it is time to change direction. Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed and other progressives have pushed for Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland as a potential nominee.

Van Hollen, who previously said he was considering a run for president in 2028, is now also considering a run for Senate leader. It is unclear what support he would have.

“I’m calling my colleagues,” Van Hollen said at an event in Washington on Tuesday.

Schumer, 75, has shown few signs of stepping down, especially after leading his party to power. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, defended Schumer wholeheartedly Tuesday, saying “this caucus is grateful for the work of Sen. Schumer.”

“I am confident that I will be elected,” Schumer said on Capitol Hill.

Pressed to talk about his own future in an interview with AP shortly after the party’s election victory, Schumer said he was focused on the year ahead.

“The focus has to be on getting things done,” he told AP.

While Republicans met behind closed doors Tuesday to choose their party leaders for the next Congress, Senate Democrats are just beginning those conversations ahead of elections scheduled for later this month.

Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed to this report.