Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he’s ‘kicking the tires’ on a potential 2028 presidential bid

The Maryland Democrat also said on “Meet the Press” that democratic socialists have a place in the party “as part of the debate.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he’s “kicking the tires” on a potential 2028 presidential bid.

“We need to be against the status quo, and that’s why I’ve been kicking the tires as I look at 2028, because I don’t think the Democratic Party has answered the call about how we’re going to make sure we have an economy that really does work for everybody, especially working people,” he said.

Van Hollen’s comments came as he was pressed about whether he is interested in challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as the chamber’s party leader, if Democrats retake the Senate this fall.

Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether he was interested in the position, Van Hollen said his focus was “not on majority leader, it’s on what Democrats stand for going into 2028.”

Van Hollen, a longtime member of Congress, has been a prominent critic of the Trump administration and has pushed Democrats to provide a clear alternative to the Republican Party’s agenda. He has previously said he is “kicking the tires” in considering a potential 2028 run, acknowledging the possibility of a presidential campaign to NOTUS and at the Hill Nation Summit, an annual event put on by The Hill and NewsNation.