The office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., brushed off criticism from a Democrat senator over the chamber leader’s lagging endorsement of Democrat socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in New York, The New York Times reported.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., blasted Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., over their delay in endorsing Mamdani, calling it “spineless politics” during a fundraiser in Iowa on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Jeffries fired back at Van Hollen, telling the Times, “confused New Yorkers are asking themselves the question, Chris Van Who?” Justin Chermol added that Jeffries “will have more to say about the general election well in advance of Nov. 4.”
Van Hollen endorsed Mamdani in a speech at the Polk County Steak Fry in Des Moines on Saturday, taking aim at other Democrat leaders for not doing the same.
“Yet, many Democratic members of the Senate and the House representing New York have stayed on the sidelines,” Van Hollen told Democrat activists and officials. “That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of. They need to get behind him, and get behind him now.”
He went on, “This finger in the wind stuff has got to end. We also need to stop deluding ourselves that the problem is all about messaging, or about volume, or style,” he said. “We don’t just need to fight. We need to fight for something.”
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul followed with her endorsement of Mamdani on Sunday. Schumer, meanwhile, met with Mamdani last week and said the two would “keep talking,” according to the Times.
It was Van Hollen who came to the defense of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the illegal migrant who is accused by the U.S. of being a member of the MS-13 gang. He was charged with two felonies involving transporting illegals in Tennessee. In April, Van Hollen flew to El Salvador to meet Abrego Garcia and urged his release after deportation.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.