Senator John Fetterman has signaled he could walk away from the Democratic Party if Senator Chris Van Hollen becomes the Senate majority leader, Newsweek reports. The Pennsylvania senator made his position clear during a Fox News interview on Saturday, November 16, when he spoke with Kayleigh McEnany about the ongoing leadership race. When asked if a win for Van Hollen would represent a red line for his membership in the party, Fetterman replied, “Yeah, absolutely, it would be troubling if my caucus elects someone like Van Hollen, that has really made his name being very…hostile to Israel.” This potential shift in leadership comes as Democrats hold 55 seats in the Senate following their midterm election victories. Van Hollen announced his challenge to the current Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, on Thursday. Van Hollen believes the party needs a change in direction to address public dissatisfaction with Washington Van Hollen stated on X, “In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people & fueled by political corruption. To deliver, we need new leadership. This isn’t about any one person–it’s about answering that call.” Fetterman suggests he will leave the Democratic Party if Van Hollen is elected majority leader pic.twitter.com/7tTzIsx5zf— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 14, 2026 Van Hollen has been a vocal critic of the military campaign in Gaza and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In November 2024, he supported resolutions meant to block specific U.S. sales of offensive weapons to Israel. He argued that military assistance should not act as a blank check for the Israeli government. While he maintains support for defensive systems like Iron Dome, he has pushed for a pause on offensive weapon deliveries until the Israeli government complies with U.S. laws and humanitarian requirements. His efforts have continued into this year. In March, he joined a push to block nearly $659 million in proposed offensive weapons sales. He also recently led a group of senators attempting to remove parts of the 2027 defense bill that would mandate expanded U.S.-Israel military and intelligence cooperation. Van Hollen acknowledges that he is the underdog in his race against Schumer. During a press conference at the What’s Next conference in Denver, he noted that the majority leader has many powers of incumbency to make deals. He claimed that this dynamic is part of the problem with the current process. Despite this, he has already secured public commitments from several senators, including Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, and incoming senators Abdul El-Sayed and Peggy Flanagan. For Fetterman, this is not the first time he has clashed with his own party. He has consistently warned that he would consider leaving if the Democratic Party became the anti-Israel party. He has previously questioned why his colleagues focus so much criticism on Israel rather than on Iran or militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Fetterman has also taken independent stances on other issues. He has been the only Senate Democrat to oppose a motion on a resolution restricting President Donald Trump’s war powers over Iran. On immigration, he has called for stronger border security and opposed Democratic proposals to restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. He also broke with his party last year to support Republican-sponsored legislation to reopen the federal government. While these positions have gained him praise from Republicans and even interest from President Donald Trump, Fetterman has historically pushed back against the idea of switching parties. In a May opinion piece, he described himself as a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats. However, the current leadership contest highlights deep divisions within the caucus regarding foreign policy and the future direction of the party. As of 1:00 PM ET on November 14, prediction markets on Kalshi gave Fetterman a 23 percent chance of securing the Republican nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2028, compared to just a 3 percent chance for the Democratic nomination.