If Donald Trump wins the presidency, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) is positioned to hold the keys to the gate for New Jersey Republicans who want a position in the administration, including U.S. Attorney.
Van Drew is Trump’s top political ally in New Jersey; the two speak every week to ten days, and Van Drew was Trump’s pick to chair his 2024 campaign in the state. Van Drew became a Republican in 2019 after opposing Trump’s impeachment, and the two have grown close.
Top Republicans who spoke to the New Jersey Globe on the condition of anonymity confirm that Trump would rely heavily on Van Drew if he returns to the White House. Indeed, Van Drew could himself emerge as a candidate for a cabinet post.
If Trump wins, State Sens. Douglas Steinhardt (R-Lopatcong) and Michael Testa, Jr. (R-Vineland) are high on the list of contenders for U.S. Attorney, the New Jersey Globe has learned. Both are close friends of Van Drew and have ties to Trump; both are said to be interested in the post.
As Republican state chairman, Steinhardt played a significant role in clearing the Republican field for Van Drew to run for re-election in 2020 as a Republican after his party switch. Testa, the Cumberland County GOP chairman, also moved quickly to support Van Drew. As a result, self-funder David Richter, who had entered the race to run against Van Drew, moved to the 3rd district and challenged Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).
Steinhardt and Testa are also close personal friends.
The challenge for Trump and Van Drew would be U.S. Senator Cory Booker – along with Tammy Murphy or Kim, depending on who wins the Democratic Senate primary. They might not sign off on a Trump nominee. New Jersey has not elected a Republican U.S. Senator since 1972.
After Trump became president in 2017, he needed to bypass Bob Menendez and Booker, who were not moving his federal nominees through the Senate.
Instead, Attorney General Jeff Sessions named Craig Carpenito as acting U.S. Attorney, and the seventeen U.S. District Court Judges from New Jersey voted to appoint him. (Now, fourteen of the sixteen sitting federal judges – Edward Kiel is awaiting Senate confirmation – were appointed by Democratic presidents; Trump made no District Court nominations in New Jersey.)
Carpenito, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, was the choice of former Gov. Chris Christie. At the time, Christie was Trump’s top political ally in New Jersey. Carpenito had been Christie’s personal attorney, and during the Trump presidency, all things New Jersey went through the former governor. The current U.S. Attorney, Philip Sellinger, was nominated by President Joe Biden.
Christie no longer has any influence with Trump, and Van Drew has replaced him.
Van Drew wasn’t ready to discuss who would get what if Trump was elected.
“Right now, I just want to focus on one thing: winning the election,” Van Drew told the New Jersey Globe.