Overview
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen told the On NOTUS podcast Wednesday that he is “kicking the tires” on a possible 2028 presidential bid and is weighing whether to run.
- He has visited early-voting states including Iowa and New Hampshire at the invitation of state Democrats, moves that party operatives and reporters say fit normal exploratory steps rather than an official campaign launch.
- Van Hollen used the interview to stake out foreign-policy positions that break with party orthodoxy, saying Democratic candidates must be willing to hold the government of Israel accountable for human-rights and international-law violations.
- He also urged Democrats to reject unconditional expectations from AIPAC, criticized the Trump and Biden approaches to human-rights-based policy, and framed his stance as part of a push for “dramatic change” in Washington.
- Van Hollen said a meeting with Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, a Maryland constituent who was deported to El Salvador, convinced him that inside-the-Capitol assumptions are insufficient and helped shape his case for a more activist, accountability-driven agenda.