What tariffs will President Trump suddenly put in place or remove today? When will Republican leaders at last cobble together the votes to pass their budget resolution? Will my plane be able to take off from DCA safely?
These are just a few of the questions members of Congress – and everyone else in Washington – had to be asking themselves and one another this week. Here’s some of what New Jersey’s members of Congress did amid the chaos.
The tariffs on the world go up and down, up and down, up and down
When this week began, President Donald Trump was still touting his expansive reciprocal tariff plan covering nearly the entire world, causing turmoil in the stock market and anger among even some of the president’s fellow Republicans. Frustration in Congress was high enough that a bipartisan coalition, led in part by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), was making a serious push to reassert some of Congress’s authority over trade policy.
Then, on Wednesday, Trump backed off of most of his tariffs, implementing a 90-day pause – except for an across-the-board 10% tariff, which will remain in place, and excluding China, on which tariffs will rise all the way to 145%. The whiplash has resulted in continued market uncertainty and lowered consumer sentiment, and Democrats have accused the president of having no real strategy (or, worse, having a strategy designed to financially benefit his own allies.)
“It’s the art of stupidity,” Gottheimer said yesterday on MSNBC. “It’s why we’ve made very clear, in a bipartisan way with our legislation, the president’s going to have to come in here to Congress and actually make the case for each one of these tariffs he wants to impose.”
But many Republicans, who ultimately could hold the future of Trump’s tariffs in their hands, have declined to publicly break with the president. That includes New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen; Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) told the New Jersey Globe on Wednesday that he broadly approved of Trump’s strategy, and he indicated little interest in joining legislation like Gottheimer’s that would rein the president in.
“[Trump] is a great negotiator,” Kean said. “He’s an individual who understands the importance of growing the American economy. It’s always going to be a difficult process when people are going through direct negotiations between countries. I think it was very important for him to do it the way he has done it to make sure we are prioritizing innovation.”
The vote will succeed, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar
After busy voting schedules this week and last, GOP leaders in both houses of Congress have now successfully pushed through the same budget resolution, a key procedural step on the way to achieving Trump’s tax and spending agenda, though not without some internal difficulties.
The Senate approved a new budget proposal, intended as a compromise between earlier separate versions passed by the House and Senate, late last week after Democrats forced a number of politically treacherous amendment votes on Medicaid, Ukraine assistance, and more. It was then taken up in the House, where Republican hardliners insistent on greater spending cuts initially held it up before eventually relenting yesterday.
Every single Democrat in both chambers opposed the resolution, repeating what they said when its first drafts were approved earlier this year: the resolution would stand to cut Medicaid, they argue, while giving tax cuts to the wealthy and increasing the federal deficit.
“Republicans’ outrageous budget resolution … will threaten Medicaid access for nearly two million New Jerseyans – including one in three New Jersey children – eliminate critical food assistance as the price of groceries rise, and strip funding from New Jersey’s public schools,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) said shortly after yesterday’s vote. “At the same time, this budget adds trillions to our national debt by giving massive tax breaks to billionaires like Trump and Musk – paid for by hardworking New Jersey taxpayers.”
Unfortunately for Democrats, though, the House caucus was down a vote thanks to Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden)’s hospitalization. Norcross said in a statement that he “would vote ‘no’ a thousand times” on the GOP’s budget, but his absence – combined with the deaths of two septuagenarian Democratic representatives earlier this year – allowed the budget to pass 216-214.
New Jersey’s three Republicans all supported the budget, claiming that many of the Democratic arguments against it were bunk. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), for example, said that he opposes any hypothetical Medicaid cuts and noted that the budget itself contains no such cuts (though its provision directing the House Energy & Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion would likely come at least in part at Medicaid’s expense).
“I want to make it absolutely clear that this resolution explicitly does not cut Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security, and it does not make any changes to the current law,” Van Drew said. “I have said it before, and I will say it again now – I will never support any legislation that cuts benefits to eligible, legal Americans or institutions.”
SAVEd by the bell
Essentially everyone in America, as well as actual federal law, agrees that one should have to be a U.S. citizen in order to vote in federal elections. A Republican bill that passed the House this week to ensure that’s the case, however, has proven controversial.
Republicans argue that their bill – the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which requires those registering to vote prove their U.S. citizenship, such as with a passport or birth certificate – provides common-sense protections against the (already illegal) prospect of noncitizen voting.
“This is a big victory for election integrity and protecting our democracy,” Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) said after the bill had passed the House. “I strongly believe that only American citizens should vote in American elections.”
Democrats, though, say that the bill is a solution in search of a problem, and also point out the difficulties it could cause for, say, people who don’t have passports or women who changed their last name when they got married. Every New Jersey Democrat voted against the bill, as did all but four Democrats nationwide.
“Candidly, I believe measures like this are designed not to safeguard elections but to cause distrust in our electoral processes and make it harder for everyday Americans to participate in democracy,” said Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon). “Countering those few existing cases of voter fraud demands focused enforcement, not a nuclear response. So while I will always support securing democracy, I oppose this legislation.”
The same bill passed the House last year, but it stalled out in the Senate; even though the Senate has flipped parties since then, the filibuster means that Democrats there will likely still be able to prevent it from passing.
Policing the Sack
Rep. Gottheimer represents more than five dozen suburban towns in North Jersey, none of which have a population greater than 50,000. That means that his district spans dozens of police departments, each of which individually has relatively little manpower at its disposal – and many of which, Gottheimer argues, don’t have the resources necessary to do their jobs.
For years, Gottheimer has been pushing for the Invest to Protect Act, a bill that awards grants to smaller police departments to use for officer training and retention. This week, Gottheimer reintroduced the latest version of the bipartisan bill, which has made it through both houses of Congress in the past but never ended up signed into law.
“We have a lot of small departments in New Jersey – 175 [officers] or fewer,” Gottheimer said. “And because of that, a lot of our communities don’t get the resources for training, for mental health services… If you have two cops on the street, you can’t pull one off to train. They can’t do a lot of the training – they can’t afford it.”
Get well soon!
Rep. Norcross remains hospitalized nearly a week after suffering an emergency medical event last weekend, but his office said in an update today that the congressman is improving.
“Congressman Donald Norcross’ health continues to improve each day,” his office said. “The medical team has recommended he stay in intensive care but have expressed confidence that his recovery is going well. Rest is the priority right now, something that doesn’t come naturally to him.”
When Norcross’s office first publicized his medical troubles on Monday, his condition was stated to be “likely related to his gallbladder,” though there haven’t been any further details since then on what, exactly, is keeping the congressman hospitalized.
Clipping his wings
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport made unfortunate headlines once again this week after two planes bumped into one another on the runway – and one of those planes just happened to be full of New York City-area House members, among them Rep. Gottheimer.
“It was scary for everybody on our plane, but thank God everyone’s okay,” Gottheimer said on CNN. “What we all want to know, what we’re focused on, is what’s going on at the [Federal Aviation Administration], how do we make sure we have enough staffing there – and we’re obviously concerned about cuts that have come to the FAA in this administration. People need to feel safe in the skies and, of course, on the runways.”
Back in New Jersey, meanwhile, a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River outside Jersey City yesterday, killing a family of five from Spain as well as the helicopter’s pilot. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, called the crash an “absolute tragedy” and noted that it could have been even more disastrous if it had happened on land, which he said has been a frequent worry for his constituents.
“Since coming to Congress, I have heard from countless residents who are concerned about non-essential helicopter traffic over our communities,” Menendez said. “We have continuously pushed the FAA to address these dangerous conditions and the role that helicopters play in this challenge. As we learn more details of the cause of this accident, we will continue to partner with air safety officials to ensure that we prevent future tragedies and safeguard our communities from the pervasive issue of non-essential helicopter traffic in the region.”
R.I.P.
The death of Amer Rabee, a 14-year-old native of Saddle Brook who was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank earlier this week, has sparked outrage in his native New Jersey, with Democratic politicians calling for accountability and answers on his death.
One such call was jointly made by Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker, who asked President Trump today to conduct an investigation into the shooting, which also left two other Palestinian American teenagers injured.
“As New Jersey’s Senators, we are calling for a thorough and transparent accounting of the facts and circumstances around Amer Rabee’s death and the actions of Israeli security forces,” the senators wrote in a letter to the president. “We appreciate the difficult and dynamic nature of the situation, but also underscore our expectation that such an inquiry is possible and should be pursued when an American has died.”
Should ESSER be lesser?
As Trump’s Education Department tries to work towards shutting itself down, New Jersey’s congressional Democrats are sounding the alarm over tens of millions in funding that 20 of the state’s school districts could stand to lose.
In a letter led by Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the state’s 11 Democrats wrote that the Trump administration had moved the expiration date on Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund approvals forward from March 2026 to March 2025, “effectively clawing back $85.5 million in federal funding” from New Jersey school districts.
“These funds were earmarked for vital capital improvements to ensure safe and healthy learning environments for students and teachers – particularly upgrades to HVAC systems, electrical infrastructure, and other essential facilities,” the letter states. “Punishing local districts for global delays outside of their control not only sets a dangerous precedent but directly harms students and staff who are depending on these projects for their well-being.”
Among the school districts affected are Bergenfield, Fairview, Westwood, Delran, Gloucester City, Bridgeton, East Orange, Newark, North Bergen, Guttenberg, Hamilton, Keansburg, Brick, Clifton, Passaic, Paterson, Penns Grove-Carneys Point, Elizabeth, Linden, and the Robert Treat Academy Charter School in Newark.
The Real World: Egg Harbor
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy – a New Jersey voter – joined Rep. Van Drew this week for an event at the William J. Hughes Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center outside of Atlantic City to celebrate the reauthorization of the FAA and the expanded role that the Hughes Center will have going forward in the aerospace field.
“I want to personally thank Secretary Duffy for coming to South Jersey and showing just how much this means to the administration and to the nation,” Van Drew said in a statement. “I also want to thank the FAA leadership for their continued support and vision. The future of aviation is being written right here in South Jersey, and we are proud to be leading the way.”
In remarks at the ceremony, Van Drew – the New Jersey delegation’s most consistent defender of the Trump administration – also seemed to reference Trump’s overhaul (and, in some cases, dismantling) of the federal government, saying that South Jersey could stand to benefit.
“We’re not going to lose here. We’re going to gain,” Van Drew said. “Maybe some changes are made in Washington [for the] people that work there and the bureaucracy that’s there – I actually believe that it will be South Jersey’s gain. It will be this facility’s gain. Real people, doing real work, making a real difference.”
Other Garden State plots
• An effort to allow for proxy voting in the U.S. House for new parents died with a whimper this week; Republicans passed a procedural motion that tables Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s proxy voting effort and instead makes moves to formalize “vote pairing,” in which a member on the other side of the aisle votes “present” to essentially cancel out the missing member’s lack of a vote.
Last week, a similar anti-proxy voting effort prompted a rebellion from a handful of Republicans, among them Rep. Van Drew. This new procedural motion, though, drew no such rebellion, and Van Drew voted for it.
• Rep. Pou’s first bill as a congressman, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Basic Training Accreditation Improvement Act, was approved by the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.
“American homeland security is built on a foundation of experienced, well-trained staff. And good training comes from rigorous training programs,” Pou said. “While many law enforcement training programs are accredited, there are some that are not. My bill will change that and require prioritizing the accrediting of these vital training programs to create higher standards and more effective use of resources.”
• Rep. Herb Conaway (D-Delran) joined two of his Democratic colleagues, both military veterans like himself, in introducing a bill this week that would prohibit Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing much of the sensitive data within the Veterans Affairs Department.
“We are in truly unprecedented times, and since this Administration and Republicans are doing nothing to protect our veterans from Musk and DOGE, Democrats must step in,” Conaway said. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation because veterans deserve to have their data protected, and we must continue to stand against the overreach of Musk and DOGE.”
• Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) co-led a letter to President Trump this week urging the president to cease funding for human embryonic stem cell research.
“We are grateful for the robust pro-life policies you have advanced from the beginning of your second term, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding the destruction of innocent life,” Smith said in the letter, which was co-signed by 28 of his House and Senate GOP colleagues. “As you work to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in U.S. government agencies, we encourage you to stop funding for human embryonic stem cell research.”
