Washington DC - Democratic Senator John Fetterman recently suggested that he may considering exiting the Democratic Party if his colleague Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is elected as the next Majority Leader.

During an interview with Fox News on Saturday, the Senator was asked if there was any "red line" that Democrats could cross that would drive him to "walk away" from the party.

"Yeah, absolutely," Fetterman declared. "It would be troubling if my caucus elects someone like Van Hollen, that has really made his name being very hostile to Israel."

Fetterman's comments come after Democrats pulled off major wins in the midterm elections earlier this month, allowing the party to take back control of both the House and Senate.

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The Senate's current leader, Chuck Schumer – a staunch Israel defender who first served from 2017 to 2021, and was elected again last year – has been facing calls to step down from his role to allow new leadership to take over.

Earlier this week, Van Hollen – an outspoken critic of Israel – became the first politician to challenge Schumer, and has received support from notable progressive Democrats, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan.

In recent months, Fetterman has gained the ire of Democratic voters and colleagues by going out of his way to defend President Donald Trump and opposing much of his own party's platform.

Fetterman has made defending Israel one of his biggest priorities and has also backed Trump's unpopular war with Iran.

In his interview, Fetterman expressed confusion as to why so many Democrats are seeking to "punish" Israel – which has been accused of leading a genocide in Gaza – when they should instead be focused on doing so to Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas.