Summary
Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic senator from Maryland who has served in Congress since 2003, announced that he is running for Senate majority leader. He has drawn attention for his criticism of U.S. policy toward Israel and for visiting El Salvador in 2025 to meet a Maryland man who had been deported there.Key Facts
- Van Hollen was born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1959.
- His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and his mother worked for the CIA and the State Department.
- Van Hollen announced his bid for Senate majority leader in a post on X.
- He is seeking the post as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January after the November 2026 midterm elections.
- In April 2025, Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who had been mistakenly deported there.
- In September 2025, Van Hollen forced a Senate vote on a resolution seeking information about the deaths of nine Americans in the occupied West Bank and Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children in military detention; it failed 47–53.
- In August 2025, Van Hollen visited the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with Gaza with Senator Jeff Merkley.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
