As national Democrats remain fractured about their focus and strategy, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen inched closer this week to calling for a change in leadership in the Senate.

Van Hollen said that the Senate Democratic caucus needs to “urgently take a different approach,” but stopped short of calling for the ouster of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from his leadership post, as other Democrats have.

Maryland’s senior senator said his views on how to respond to the Trump administration, which have included pushing back hard on chaotic federal cutbacks orchestrated by an unelected billionaire, have garnered “growing support” in his caucus.

“More and more members are embracing the approach that I’ve taken,” he said at a meeting Thursday with Banner reporters and editors.

A faction of Democrats are furious with Schumer, a self-described institutionalist who has led the chamber’s Democrats since 2017, for aligning with Republicans last week to avoid a government shutdown, and for voting for the latest stopgap spending plan. Nine other Democrats joined Schumer in a move that has proved highly unpopular with a base eager to see Democrats fight back against President Donald Trump. Van Hollen was among those who voted no.

Van Hollen said he told Schumer Thursday that the caucus needs more input from members, a “more effective” communications plan and a “clear-cut strategy” ahead of key votes.

“I think the message has been delivered,” he said.

According to news reports, Schumer said he didn’t want Democrats to take the blame for a federal shutdown and also cast doubts on whether the Trump administration would fully open the government back up again in the event of a shutdown. Schumer’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland’s junior senator, said she did not agree with the calls of some Democrats for Schumer to step down. She said Democrats need to work together.

“Division is not what we need in this moment,” she said.

But there’s work for the party to do, she added, such as effectively communicating among themselves and with constituents.

“I think that everyone will acknowledge that obviously there’s something we could have done better,” she said, “because people feel horrible about the way that it turned out.”

And no one should fall for the “Jedi mind trick” that Democrats are to blame for a federal shutdown, she said.

“The confusion, the corruption — I believe, in many cases, the illegality — that’s the Republican Party that is leading this effort right now,” she said — it’s one that is “causing this pain.”

Democrats in Congress had been united in their opposition to a Republican stopgap measure that gave Trump more budget authority and stripped federal funding from key programs, such as medical care for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals and burn pits. Van Hollen and others have said a vote for the resolution would mean the Trump administration’s draconian actions would be allowed to continue.

Among those calling for Schumer to step down was Maryland’s Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat representing a district with a large population of federal workers. Appearing at a town hall earlier this week, Ivey criticized Schumer for changing course, saying he failed to “meet the moment.”

“I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership,” said Ivey, who voted no on the resolution in the House of Representatives along with other Maryland Democrats. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican, voted in favor.

Schumer has been accused by some of acting as if it’s “business as usual” in the Republican-led Congress, most of whom have expressed loyalty to Trump.

Van Hollen, along with other Democrats in Maryland’s federal delegation, has vocally opposed the Trump administration’s actions to slash government, stood with fired federal workers and backed lawsuits suing to stop the indiscriminate gutting of federal agencies by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump established by executive order.

Van Hollen said it’s time to disrupt “the normal rhythm.”

He said, “I’ve been shouting at the top of my lungs for weeks, even longer, that this is not a business as usual moment.”