The fight over Democratic party leadership mirrors the wider battle over Israel

“The issue is not me,” Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters after the Democrats won back the Senate. “I’ll be reelected as majority leader.” Schumer’s statement might turn out to be correct, but there’s increasing reason to believe that outcome is not a foregone conclusion, as the momentum to push him from his leadership position has only grown since the election. Multiple Senator-elects, including Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Troy Jackson of Maine, Annie Andrews of South Carolina, and Juliana Stratton of Illinois, have all stated that they won’t back Schumer as leader or have publicly expressed doubts about his return. By Tuesday, the chorus of of critics grew louder, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., saying they would not support Schumer’s bid as Senate majority leader. “I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years, and I like Chuck. Nobody works harder than Chuck Schumer,” Sanders said in a joint press conference with Slotkin. “But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck to be re-elected as the Democratic leader.” Multiple incoming House members have also voiced trepidation about supporting Hakeem Jeffries as House Majority Leader. “As of right now, my vote is no. I know for sure that over 100,000 Angelenos voted for courage,” Representative Angela Gonzales-Torres of California told Democracy Now. “They voted for change. And I think that what I don’t know is what Representative Hakeem Jeffries is offering my community and constituents of California’s 34th Congressional District for their vote. I think I know for sure that the incumbent would have rolled over and handed over the vote without keeping our community in mind, without one community conversation, and that is not the case anymore. Those days are behind us.” Lawmakers pushing these changes are acting on behalf of their base, as Democratic voters have repeatedly called for a change at the top of the party. Members of Congress have been inundated with calls and emails demanding new leadership. One anti-Jeffries petition has already been signed by over one million people. “We believe the Speaker should represent the Democratic voters, not just the Democratic establishment,” it reads. There are a variety of reasons for this frustration. Many believe that Schumer and Jeffries are not just incapable of standing up to the Trump administration but also unwilling to hold it accountable for its crimes. Neither of the two men support Medicare for All. Neither has called for ICE to be abolished. Both of them have deep ties to Wall St. and rely on corporate donors. The Congress members’ devotion to Israel is also a major reason for the backlash. FEC filings reveal that they’ve received a combined $2.1 million from pro-Israel lobby groups. They are both vocal opponents of the BDS movement. They’ve both voted against attempts to condition or cut military aid to Israel. They haven’t minced words when explaining their position. During Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza, Jeffries spoke at a pro-Israel rally outside the United Nations and told the crowd, “Israel today, Israel tomorrow, Israel forever!” In 2025, Schumer told the New York Times, “My job is to keep the left pro-Israel.” In this sense, the Democratic battle over Congressional leadership is just one part of a wider war over the party’s relationship with Israel going forward. A number of Democrats heading to Congress highlighted Palestinian rights on the campaign trail and called for an end to the U.S./Israel military alliance, including soon-to-be Michigan Senator Abdul El-Sayed, who told the audience at his victory party, “We don’t want our money sent to do apartheid or genocide or war.” “For Trump, support for Israel is now about poor optics, not about destructive and inhumane policies,” writes author and professor Moustafa Bayoumi in The Guardian. “The Democrats, on the other hand, have an obligation. They must listen to their constituents, understand why they were elected and take a stand out of principle. Since Congress controls government expenditures, the Democrats will soon have a very significant role to play.” In recent days, we have seen El-Sayed and others begin to rally around Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who has indicated he is considering a run for Majority Leader. In contrast to Schumer, Van Hollen, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he wants to end Israel’s “blank check” of U.S. support. In 2023, he called on the Biden administration to release a report on the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces while reporting in the region. In 2025, he traveled to the Middle East, with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), as part of a fact-finding delegation in the Middle East. Upon their return, the Senators released a report accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and stating that the U.S. is complicit in their actions. Most recently, Van Hollen introduced a resolution calling on the State Department to provide a report on human rights conditions in the West Bank, as Israel has killed at least nine Americans in the illegally occupied territory since 2022. “The U.S. Government – including this Administration – has said time and again that our number one priority abroad is ensuring the safety and security of American citizens. And yet, as we’ve seen violence rise in the West Bank, nine American citizens have been killed in recent years, and they have received no justice and no accountability,” said Van Hollen in a statement after the Senate blocked his effort.“Their families – and the American people – deserve answers on their deaths. But today Republicans denied them that. Meanwhile, the Palestinian people have also borne the toll of this violence day in and day out.” There’s an overwhelming amount of polling indicating that Democratic voters align more with Van Hollen than Schumer on the issue. A March 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that 80% Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now have a negative view of Israel, which is up from 69% in 2025. Will these sentiments help fuel a new generation of leadership? We’ll soon find out.