'Margarita-gate' senator who visited deported illegal immigrant challenges Schumer for Majority Leader

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen.

A U.S. senator from Maryland who infamously traveled to El Salvador to visit an illegal immigrant caught up in a deportation dispute in April 2025 announced Thursday he is challenged Senator Chuck Schumer of New York for the Senate Majority Leader position. 

Chris Van Hollen threw his hat into the ring, fulfilling Bernie Sanders' prediction that Schumer would be challenged for the role. "In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people & fueled by political corruption," Van Hollen said in a post on X. "To deliver, we need new leadership. This isn't about any one person – it’s about answering that call. That's why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader."

Van Hollen, infamously, was part of the "Margarita-gate" fiasco in April 2025 after the Trump administration deported an illegal immigrant named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been living illegally in Maryland for years, to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia has been accused by his own wife of domestic abuse, has been accused by the U.S. government of human-trafficking and is a suspected gang member. 

Yet, Van Hollen went to El Salvador in a bid to bring him back to the U.S. after his deportation, which he successfully did due to a legal technicality surrounding where Abrego Garcia could be deported to. Abrego Garcia continues to live in the U.S. The fiasco became known as "Margarita-gate" because El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos on social media showing Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia enjoying margaritas during their meeting in an effort to debunk allegations that Abrego Garcia was being tortured while in prison there.

Van Hollen denied the two drank the margaritas that were seen in the photos on the table. 

Since the midterms, numerous Democrats have publicly expressed opposition to Schumer, who was the senate majority leader during Biden's lone term, and Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed is on the record saying he supports Van Hollen as the new majority leader, saying, "he would be amazing at the job." Ro Khanna has also thrown his support for Van Hollen saying in a post on X late Thursday night that he's "calling on every Democrat" to support Van Hollen's bid.