Van Hollen says Schumer's team trying to 'instill fear' to retain Senate leadership
"We need to earn the people's trust," Van Hollen told ABC News' "This Week."
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen touted his chances of becoming Senate majority leader when Democrats take control of the Senate in January, accusing current leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of trying to scare Democrats into supporting his continued leadership.
"I think there's a very open lane here. The Schumer team's put out a lot of misinformation," Van Hollen told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz in an interview on Sunday.
"They're essentially trying to instill fear in people who may say that they're going to support me as a new leader ... We just had a great day for our democracy around the country. How about a little democracy in the Senate Democratic Caucus?"
In a post on social media this week, Schumer wrote that he welcomes "any discussion about the future of our caucus," continuing to say that he has "the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader."
Schumer's optimism came as several Democratic senators and others elected in this month's midterm elections expressed the desire for new leadership in Washington, despite Schumer's efforts in recruiting candidates who led the party to overwhelming control of the Senate.
Van Hollen, who announced his candidacy to challenge Schumer on Thursday night, said voters made clear on election day that they oppose President Donald Trump, but clarified their votes weren't a ringing endorsement of his party either.
Van Hollen told Raddatz he believes this leadership vote is a chance to regain their trust.
"They rejected Trump's policy, his wars, his corruption, the high cost. But they haven't fully hired the Democrats. We have a chance, but we need to earn the people's trust. And I don't think you earn people's trust by simply going back to business as usual and status quo," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen also responded to the resignation of Nvidia's former CEO Jensen Huang amid his admitting to an affair reported to be with an alleged Chinese spy, Alice Huang. Van Hollen told Raddatz he's "very concerned" about the national security implications of the unfolding scandal.
"He has gotten the president to allow Nvidia to send very high-end chips to China against the advice of folks in the national security arena," Van Hollen said, suggesting that Alice Huang may have been part of an effort to divert such chips to China.
Alice Huang was a top executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company with access to Nvidia's most powerful chips, which under U.S. law cannot be imported into China. The New York Times reported that Megaspeed has been under investigation by the U.S. since 2024 for potentially smuggling those chips into China, allegations Beijing has denied.
Huang, who admitted to having an affair last Sunday, resigned from the company he's led since founding it in 1993. His decision to step down came after reports of an additional affair with an Nvidia employee, adding to the growing controversy spawned by reports of his relationship with Alice Huang and her alleged role as a Chinese intelligence asset.
Van Hollen, who sits on both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Banking Committee, rebutted Trump's claims that he was not briefed about the relationship ahead of his trip to China in May of this year, which Jensen Huang accompanied the president on.
"This is a president who lies to the American public all the time, and this is why we need an investigation. We need people testifying," Van Hollen told Raddatz. "I do believe he was briefed. I think all the information that I've seen suggests that this would not have escaped the attention of the president of the United States."
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