Van Hollen Applauded, Jeffries Heckled at Denver Democrats Summit

Van Hollen told the “What’s Next” summit, hosted by Majority Democrats, that he would seek to lead Senate Democrats in the next Congress. Audience members shouted “Leader!” as he took the stage, hours after he announced his candidacy.

He said a priority would be restoring voters’ faith in democracy. “We have an opportunity to restore faith in our democracy—not by preaching about its virtues, but delivering,” Van Hollen said, according to Semafor reporter Dave Weigel. He also called for Senate votes on issues popular with voters, arguing that President Donald Trump should be allowed to veto such measures if he chooses. Van Hollen’s remarks echoed recent comments by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sens.-elect Abdul El-Sayed and James Talarico.

Jeffries, who is seeking to become House speaker, faced repeated boos and interruptions during a conversation with Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov. One protester, escorted from the auditorium, called him a “traitor” for “shaking hands with the Trump family.” The outburst was apparently connected to Jeffries’ meeting earlier this year with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Progressive organizers have urged Jeffries to step aside, but no other House Democrat has formally announced a bid for speaker. A Change.org petition calling for Rep. Ayana Pressley of Massachusetts to be drafted for the role had nearly 99,000 signatures at the time of publication. The New York Times reported Friday that Jeffries was pressing to secure his nomination next week “quickly and overwhelmingly,” while some potential detractors complained about what they described as an undemocratic process.