After a lengthy hiatus, the U.S. House is back – and so is D.C. Dispatch.
Both chambers of Congress passed a stopgap funding bill this week that at last reopens the U.S. government, over the strong objections of New Jersey Democrats, who protested the bill’s lack of an Affordable Care Act subsidy extension. Two of those New Jersey Democrats also announced that they’ll soon be leaving D.C., for very different reasons.
Here’s some of what New Jersey’s members of Congress did in Washington this week.
Reopen your mind
For nearly two months, Democrats insisted that in order for them to vote to reopen the government, Republicans had to work with them to extend ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of this year. For those same two months, Republicans insisted that in order for any negotiations to happen, Democrats needed to reopen the government.
It was a Catch-22 that was at last resolved on Sunday evening, when eight Senate Democrats relented on their filibuster and gave their blessing to a bill that funds the government through January 2026. (The bill also includes three full-year FY2026 appropriations bills.) In exchange, Senate Republican leaders have promised a vote on ACA subsidies, though no similar promise was made in the House.
The bill passed the Senate on Monday and the House on Wednesday – and earned zero votes from New Jersey Democrats in either chamber. Senator Andy Kim called it a “disgrace,” Senator Cory Booker said the Democratic Party needs “new leaders” – perhaps a shot at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who voted against the bill but has still borne a lot of intraparty criticism – and even Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), a Problem Solver who spent the House’s hiatus working to find a funding compromise, voted no.
“They didn’t give the American people more affordable health care, so they don’t get my vote,” Gottheimer said. “When they work with us on a bipartisan solution, then I’m in.”
But stuck in the minority, their objections ultimately were moot; the bill was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, officially bringing the 43-day shutdown – the longest in U.S. history – to an end.
“Now, it’s time to move forward and focus on what matters: lowering costs, strengthening our economy, and securing America’s future,” Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) said. “That is the work the American people sent us here to do, and that is exactly what I will continue to fight for.”
Pinky swear?
Gottheimer and a bipartisan crew of fellow House members are now working on the next step: getting the House to pass some form of ACA subsidy fix. Gottheimer joined 31 other representatives, among them Reps. Kean and Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), on a letter to Senate leaders today asking for House members to be included when the Senate hashes out the ACA proposal it will vote on next month.
“We kindly request that you include both House Democrats and Republicans in the legislative process leading to the promised health care reform vote in December,” the letter states. “If we work together, our hope is that the bill will not only achieve a sixty-vote majority in the Senate, but will also then move to the House for immediate consideration and passage.”
Kean and Van Drew have both been at the forefront of a charge within their caucus to get an extension passed; Van Drew has said that if Republicans don’t figure something out, there will be electoral hell to pay from voters in 2026. On the night the funding bill passed, he said his task now will be to secure a vote on an extension and get it signed into law.
“I wish that we had done more, as far as locking in something,” he said. “But we didn’t, and we’ve got to open government up. As soon as we open up, we’ve got to press hard to get something done.”
But Democrats – who unanimously support extending the Covid-era subsidies – are skeptical of any GOP promises. “Republicans don’t give a damn. I think that’s what the reality is,” Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) said. “I wouldn’t take a pinky-swear promise from them.”
12…
12th district Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) made some unexpected news this week: this term in Congress will be her last.
The 80-year-old congresswoman was first elected in 2014, succeeding Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell) and becoming the first woman of color to represent New Jersey in Congress. Her time in Washington has included holding Congress’s purse-strings on the powerful Appropriations Committee, wailing on Donald Trump and his Republican allies, and championing myriad progressive causes – even those that aren’t immediately popular within her own party.
So why is she heading for the exit? In her retirement announcement, the congresswoman said it’s time to “to pass the torch to the next leader” who will fight for the same fights she’s taken on in Washington. (She was also unable to vote this week due to a herniated disc that kept her in New Jersey, but her office said she’s set to return to D.C. next week.)
“I made this decision with tremendous thought and reflection, and through many personal conversations with my husband Bill and my family,” Watson Coleman said. “I am confident it is the right choice for me and my family who have graciously sacrificed by my side when I placed serving our community above all else and I can truly say, I am at peace with my decision. “
The announcement has created a rapidly developing Democratic primary for her safely blue, incredibly diverse district – two candidates have already launched campaigns and dozens more are considering it – but that’s outside the purview of this dispatch.
11…
11th district Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), meanwhile, is about to trade in that title for a new one: governor.
Sherrill doesn’t have to leave Congress until January 20, when her term as governor begins, but she announced on Wednesday that she’ll move that timeline far forward, submitting her letter of resignation next week. (The exact timing of her departure is still in flux.) That will allow a much quicker special election schedule to replace her, with her successor – nearly a dozen Democrats and one Republican have announced campaigns for her seat – likely taking office sometime in April.
In her final speech on the House floor, Sherrill warned her constituents and her soon-to-be-former colleagues not to “give up the ship,” in Navy parlance, and to continue fighting against the policies of the Republican majority.
“To my colleagues: do not let this body become a ceremonial red stamp for an administration that takes food away from children and rips healthcare away from people,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill did stick around long enough, however, to cast a vote against the government funding bill, calling it “malpractice”; her signature will also still count towards the 218 needed for a discharge petition on the Jeffrey Epstein files.
10…
10th district Rep. McIver’s fight against assault charges got handed a major setback this week, after a federal judge rejected her bid to dismiss the charges.
McIver’s attorneys had argued that the charges, which stem from a brief melee at Newark’s Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in May, should be dismissed for two reasons. For one, they said, the indictment is inextricably tied to McIver’s official oversight duties as a member of Congress, which are protected by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause; for another, the Trump administration was selectively and vindictively choosing to prosecute McIver in retaliation for her political views.
But U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper rejected both arguments, writing that there was not sufficient evidence of Trump targeting McIver specifically and that her actions did not count as protected legislative business. “No genuine legislative purpose was advanced by Defendant’s alleged conduct,” Semper wrote.
McIver said in a statement that she was “disappointed” by the ruling, and her lawyer, Paul Fishman, indicated that more legal action may be coming, perhaps including an appeal.
“Although it is apparent that the court gave the motions thoughtful consideration, we believe the decisions are wrong,” Fishman said. “It is clear this administration is treating Congresswoman McIver’s actions differently than the actions of those who are on their side. It is also clear that this prosecution is designed to chill the Congresswoman’s lawful authority to conduct oversight and hold the administration to account. We are currently evaluating next steps.”
Andy Kim objects to Illinois politicians acting like New Jersey politicians
In the midst of the government funding drama on the House floor on Wednesday, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Washington) picked an unexpected fight with Rep. Chuy García (D-Illinois), filing a motion of disapproval against her fellow Democrat. Gluesenkamp Perez’s issue: García had initially filed to run for re-election, but ended his campaign at the last minute right as his chief of staff submitted petitions to run for his seat, guaranteeing that she would be the only Democrat to make the ballot.
That sure sounds like something that might happen in New Jersey, though the preferred method in the Garden State is typically to win the primary and then drop out, allowing the local party to choose your replacement. Senator Kim, who has his own history of fighting against backroom political deals, said on social media that García’s scheme was “undemocratic and should not be allowed.”
“Standing against corruption means standing up no matter which political party violates,” Kim wrote. “The House should condemn and steps need to be taken to restore the people’s right to choose.”
Not everyone in New Jersey politics agrees, though; Politico quoted Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) as being critical of Perez’s tactics, saying that “there are other ways to handle it, and I don’t think this is the best moment if it’s something you feel compelled to do.”
The Masked Agent
In response to reports around the country of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers making arrests without identifying who they are, Rep. Menendez led a letter with 53 of his colleagues to top Department of Homeland Security officials demanding that enforce federal law regarding officer identification.
“We’re deeply troubled by incidents across the country in which ICE and other federal immigration enforcement officers reportedly failed to identify themselves appropriately during arrests,” the letter states. “Even more concerning, these arrests often occur while officers are concealed behind masks without any visible identifier such as a name tag or badge number, compounding confusion and reducing transparency.”
“Such routine violations of legal protections demonstrate the Trump Administration’s disregard for immigrant rights and intentional use of intimidation tactics that undermine public trust and stoke fear in our communities,” it continues.
Also signing onto the letter were New Jersey Reps. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), and Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon).
