Washington DC - Senator Chris Van Hollen has shared his thoughts on how Democrats need to move forward as he gains momentum in his challenge against Chuck Schumer to become the next Senate majority leader.

While giving a speech during the What's Next summit on Friday, Van Hollen argued that while Americans may have "fired" President Donald Trump's policies in this month's midterm elections, they "have not fully hired" Democrats.

"We've been given a chance. It's up to us to meet this moment," Van Hollen said.

"We should not be preserving our institutions if they are not delivering for the American people, and we should be making delivering for the American people the single mission of our government, even when that means shaking things up, and that is why I’m running for the majority leader in the United States Senate," he added.

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His comments follow a midterms "blue wave," which saw Democrats win key races across the nation, allowing them to flip many typically red states and regain control of both the House and Senate.

Schumer – who has been in the Senate since 1999 – is facing increased calls to step down to allow new leadership to take over.

Following the elections, Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders both suggested Van Hollen should take the helm.

On Thursday, Van Hollen officially became the first politician to challenge Schumer and remains the only one to do so.

The following day, Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon endorsed Van Hollen, writing in an X post that his colleague would fight to "restore government by and for the people, not the privileged and powerful."