Chris Van Hollen
Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (/væn ˈhɒlən/ van HOL-ən; born January 10, 1959) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maryland since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Van Hollen served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2017.
Chris Van Hollen | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2017 | |
| United States Senator from Maryland | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Barbara Mikulski |
| Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Leader | Chuck Schumer |
| Preceded by | Jon Tester |
| Succeeded by | Catherine Cortez Masto |
| House Democratic Assistant to the Leader | |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Leader | Nancy Pelosi |
| Preceded by | Xavier Becerra |
| Succeeded by | Jim Clyburn (Assistant Democratic Leader) |
| Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Leader | Nancy Pelosi |
| Preceded by | Rahm Emanuel |
| Succeeded by | Steve Israel |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 8th district | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Connie Morella |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Raskin |
| Member of the Maryland Senate from the 18th district | |
| In office January 11, 1995 – January 8, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia Sher |
| Succeeded by | Sharon M. Grosfeld |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 18th district | |
| In office January 9, 1991 – January 11, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia Sher Lawrence Wiser |
| Succeeded by | Sharon Grosfeld |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christopher Van Hollen Jr. January 10, 1959 Karachi, Pakistan |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Katherine Wilkens (m. 1987) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
| Education | Swarthmore College (BA) Harvard University (MPP) Georgetown University (JD) |
| Signature | |
| Website | Senate website |
In 2007, Van Hollen became the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). In this post, he was responsible for leading efforts to defend vulnerable Democrats and get more Democrats elected to Congress in 2008, which he did. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created a new leadership post, Assistant to the Speaker, in 2006 so that Van Hollen could be present at all leadership meetings. He was elected ranking member on the Budget Committee on November 17, 2010. Pelosi appointed Van Hollen to the 12-member bipartisan Committee on Deficit Reduction with a mandate for finding major budget reductions by late 2011. On October 17, 2013, Pelosi appointed Van Hollen to serve on the bicameral conference committee.
Van Hollen ran for the United States Senate in 2016 to replace retiring Senator Barbara Mikulski. He defeated U.S. Representative Donna Edwards in the Democratic primary and won the general election with 61% of the vote to Republican nominee Kathy Szeliga's 36%. He was reelected in 2022 with nearly 66% of the vote to Republican nominee Chris Chaffee's 34%. Van Hollen chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) from 2017 to 2019. Van Hollen will become Maryland's senior senator when Ben Cardin retires from the Senate in 2025.