Fetterman says Van Hollen as Senate leader would be 'troubling'

Cam Kettles, Bloomberg News on Nov 14, 2026

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., suggested he may reevaluate his role in the Democratic Party if Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., were elected majority leader, citing his colleague’s criticism of Israel.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Fetterman said Saturday in a Fox News interview when asked about any red line that would make him “walk away” from his party. “It would be troubling if my caucus elects someone like Van Hollen that has really made his name being very anti, hostile to Israel.”

The Pennsylvania Democrat emphasized he hasn’t made any decision about how he’d respond to a Van Hollen majority leadership.

“I don’t know how that’s going to look, but I am a Democrat,” Fetterman said.

Fetterman, who has broken with his party over issues including the war with Iran and data centers, is no longer expected to be a critical vote in the Senate’s next term starting in January after Democrats picked up at least eight seats in the midterm elections. Still, an exit would diminish the the party’s moderate flank.

Van Hollen has launched a progressive challenge to incumbent Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, vowing to take a more aggressive stance against President Donald Trump’s administration. He has consistently criticized Israeli policies and the administration’s approach to U.S. military aid to Israel, including in a letter to Senate colleagues in July.