January 2025 was a time of great transition in Washington: upon retaking control of the White House, President Donald Trump immediately began working to reshape the federal government both with the help of Congress and, in many cases, by explicitly working around Congress and the funding it has appropriated.
New Jersey’s congressional delegation, too, went through a sizable transition, with two new members taking office at the beginning of this year and two others being sworn in late last year. Five House members – Reps. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), Herb Conaway (D-Delran), and Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) – were first elected after 2020, meaning this is the first time any of them are casting votes under a Trump presidency.
Click here for a web version of the New Jersey Globe’s January 2025 vote tracker, with links to the bills and votes in question, or scroll to the bottom of this article for a PDF version.
The first big vote of the 119th Congress, of course, was the vote for Speaker of the House, which went off more smoothly than had been predicted. New Jersey’s nine Democrats all supported Hakeem Jeffries, while its three Republicans voted for Mike Johnson; it looked at first like Johnson wouldn’t have the votes to be elected thanks to a few conservative detractors, but most of them eventually came around to supporting him, allowing him to win on the first ballot.
“Speaker Johnson has done an outstanding job that earned him re-election today,” Kean said of his vote for Johnson. “I look forward to continue working with him on behalf of the New Jerseyans I represent to make life more affordable, our communities safe, and our country prosperous.”
As for legislation, easily the most notable bill that Congress passed in January was the Laken Riley Act, which requires immigration officials to detain undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes. An early priority of the Trump administration, it passed the House and Senate with unanimous support from Republicans and a sizable number of Democratic votes – among them New Jersey’s Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly).
“If you’re a violent criminal, you’re not welcome in New Jersey or in our country,” Gottheimer said. “But, let me be clear: If the President thinks he is going to go into churches and schools to round up innocent people, that’s not okay by me, and I’ll do everything in my power to protect Jersey families.”
Every other New Jersey Democrat, however, voted against the bill, arguing that it violated immigrants’ due process rights.
“Make no mistake, Congress must take actions that make our communities safer. But this bill will make us less safe,” Senator Cory Booker said. “As written, the bill mandates the indefinite detention of any noncitizen of any age for even the most minor of infractions – even if charges are dropped and even if the subject is a child. This will command billions of taxpayer dollars to be used in ways that countless law enforcement officials agree is a waste. Our resources should be better spent, targeted toward threats to public safety, not directed away from them.”
The House also passed a number of other bills that splintered New Jersey’s Democratic delegation. Reps. Gottheimer, Conaway, and Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) broke from most of their caucus to support a bill cracking down on immigrants who commit sex crimes, while Reps. Gottheimer, Menendez, Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), and Donald Norcross (D-Camden) voted for a bill penalizing the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Senate Democrats later blocked the latter bill.)
No New Jersey Democrats, however, supported two bills preventing transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams and prohibiting doctors from failing to care for infants that survive attempted abortions.
Two other notable threads: Gottheimer and Sherrill both missed a handful of voting days in January, likely thanks to their ongoing gubernatorial campaigns. Both missed the initial vote on the Laken Riley Act, for instance, though they each showed up when it came before the House again for final passage. That can probably be expected to continue at least through the June primary, but both have pledged to be in Washington whenever their votes are needed on critical bills.
And Rep. Pou made an early name for herself as a surprisingly consistent “no” vote on Republican legislation despite a tough political situation back at home in the 9th congressional district, which narrowly voted for Trump last year. Pou said that while she was aware of the political peril she may be in, she still wants to make sure she’s “doing the right thing” when she casts her votes.
“Politics is very important, and I would love to make sure I have the opportunity to return back to Congress,” she said. “But I also think that we are here to do a job, and that we should be doing it with the right reasons in mind.”
Over in the Senate, the vast majority of the focus so far has been on Trump’s Cabinet nominations. In January, Senate Republicans pushed through eight Cabinet nominees, some – like now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio – with overwhelming support, and others – like now-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth – only by the narrowest of margins. (Several more nominees have been approved in the first few days of February, but that’s outside the purview of this particular vote tracker.)
Booker and fellow Senator Andy Kim both voted for Rubio and CIA director John Ratcliffe in the earliest days of Trump’s administration, but they’ve since started to take a harder stance against most of Trump’s nominees. Both voted against Hegseth and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Kim also voted against EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (Booker wasn’t there for those votes).
On two nominations, the two senators split their votes: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got Booker’s vote but not Kim’s, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got Kim’s vote but not Booker’s.
“While we disagreed strongly on a number of key points of Trump’s agenda, we both agreed that we could more effectively raise and try to address the pressing needs and concerns of communities and families in New Jersey if we communicate and engage directly with one another,” said Kim, who was one of only seven Democrats to support Noem. “Because of this agreement to communicate and work together through the Homeland Security Committee, I voted to support Governor Noem’s nomination, but I won’t hesitate to use my oversight authority to stand up against actions that go against our Constitution and our values.”
Click here for a web version of the vote tracker.