U.S. Senator George Helmy’s time in the Senate won’t last long, but he intends to use every minute of it for the betterment of New Jersey, he said in his maiden speech on the Senate floor today.
The 44-year-old Helmy, who took office last week after being appointed to replace disgraced former Senator Bob Menendez, has spent most of his career as a staffer: first for the late Senator Frank Lautenberg, then for Senator Cory Booker, and finally in the office of Gov. Phil Murphy, where Helmy served as chief of staff for more than four years. That time behind the scenes, Helmy said today, gives him an interesting perspective on the task of being a U.S. Senator.
“It was always my job to be the guy behind the guy,” Helmy said. “It was my job to make sure they were prepared, that they had the best possible counsel, and were ready to make the consequential decisions required of every United States Senator. So standing here now is a little odd, a little overwhelming, and very humbling.”
As he acknowledged in his speech, Helmy won’t be a long-term presence in the Senate. He has pledged to step down in November, after the ongoing Senate election between Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and Republican hotelier Curtis Bashaw is certified, and allow the victor in that race to be appointed in his place. By Helmy’s count, his 70 or so days in the Senate would put him at a tie for the 10th-shortest tenure in Senate history.
The brevity of his time in Washington, he said, heightens the need for him to be an effective presence for New Jersey while he’s here. That means confirming President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, fighting for New Jersey in the appropriations process, and advocating for one issue in particular: youth mental health, which he said is in crisis in an era of widespread social media usage and rising hopelessness.
“I’m committed to breaking this negative cycle,” he said. “I’m committed to preventing our most precious national asset, our next generation, from falling further in this downward spiral… The youth mental health crisis is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is, and must be, an American priority.”
Booker, Helmy’s boss-turned-colleague, accompanied Helmy on the floor during his speech, and said in his own brief remarks afterwards that the Senate needs someone like George Helmy: someone who can bring his experiences as a former staffer and as an Arab American to a body that could use both of those perspectives. (Helmy, a Coptic Christian and the son of Egyptian immigrants, is the only Arab American currently serving in the Senate.)
“He is throwing himself into this job as if every single day is precious,” Booker said. “I dare say there is not a senator in this body who is taking each day like he is and trying to make it as meaningful as possible. In that sense, Jersey has a senator that is incredibly hardworking.”
During his first two weeks in the Senate, Helmy has sponsored and co-sponsored a number of bills – including one renaming Paterson’s Great Falls National Historic Park after the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) – and voted to confirm seven new federal judges. Thanks to Congress’s October recess, he’s likely got only a few more weeks left while the Senate is in session, but he said he’ll make them count.
“No one comes to this august and revered chamber because they were a wallflower before they got here, and so no one seeks to be a wallflower whether they are here for a day or a decade,” Helmy said. “The challenges facing our nation are many, but that means so, too, are the opportunities. And I am going to lean into these opportunities so that, while my time here may be short, my impact may be lasting.”