More so than breaking any radical new ground, New Jersey’s congressional delegation spent early May continuing long-running disputes and storylines: the Democratic effort to halt American involvement in Iran, the prolonged absence of a Republican congressman, and the long-term fallout from last year’s oversight visit at Delaney Hall.
Here’s some of what New Jersey’s members of Congress did in Washington this week.
212-212: Perfectly balanced, as all things should be
When the U.S. first struck Iran in February, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) was one of the few Democrats to be publicly skeptical about a war powers resolution to bring the conflict to an immediate end, only voting for it after much deliberation.
But the congressman has said that President Donald Trump’s administration has done little to reassure him or the American people about the conflict in the two-and-a-half months since then, and when the House voted once again on a war powers resolution on Thursday, it was one sponsored by Gottheimer himself. The final vote was as close as it could be: 212-212, with three Republicans in favor and one Democrat opposed. (Tie votes are failures under House rules, with no tiebreaking option available.)
“This vote isn’t about whether we should crush the Iranian Regime – we should,” Gottheimer said following the vote. “This is about defending the Constitution, preserving checks and balances, and ensuring Congress fulfills its responsibility as a coequal branch of government.”
The congressman also reiterated his insistence that the Trump administration provide Congress with more information: “It’s been seventy-four days since the start of the conflict in Iran, and Congress still hasn’t been formally briefed on the objectives, our progress, or what success looks like.”
No Kean, no gain
Where is Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield)? It’s a question that has continued to baffle Washington and New Jersey alike, and no one knows when an answer might come.
Kean missed votes yet again this week, having last shown up for congressional work on March 5. His office put out a statement that largely repeated what’s been reported before: “Congressman Kean is still attending to a personal health matter and we appreciate the outpouring of support,” chief of staff Dan Scharfenberger said. “He will be returning to a regular full schedule soon. The Congressman’s team continues to serve the people of New Jersey uninterrupted.”
Kean’s allies in New Jersey politics don’t seem to have much more information on what’s been ailing the congressman, nor do Republican leaders of the House. Punchbowl News reported that Kean’s office has not given GOP leadership more information than what’s been made publicly available; “I don’t have any idea what’s going on,” one unnamed senior GOP aide said.
CNN, meanwhile, spoke yesterday with Kean’s father, former Gov. Tom Kean Sr., who repeated assurances that there’s nothing to worry about. “They all agree he’s going to be fine,” the elder Kean said. “He’s under a doctor’s care.”
A House bill is technically made of paper…
On the first anniversary of their fateful Delaney Hall visit, Reps. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) introduced a bill this week to protect future oversight visits like theirs.
Under their bill, members of Congress – who already have the right to conduct oversight visits at immigrant detention facilities – would be explicitly granted the authority to show up at such facilities with no advance notice, and federal contracts with private operators who fail to comply would be terminated. (The Trump administration has made repeated efforts in the past year to add new restrictions on oversight visits, though they’ve been batted down by several judges.)
“A year ago, ICE tried to stop me from exposing the cruel treatment, inhumane abuse, and their reckless lack of accountability – believing they could sweep their actions under the rug,” said McIver, who remains under indictment on assault charges stemming from her May 2025 visit. “That’s why I’m introducing this bill to reaffirm the people’s right to have someone speak up for the voiceless, go where others are not allowed, uncover the abuses that we know take place in the dark, and stop the brutality against our immigrant neighbors.”
Menendez and Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) also conducted another oversight visit on Monday at Delaney Hall, which reopened just over a year ago and now houses hundreds of immigrant detainees. “No improvements – only more heartbreaking stories,” Menendez said of the visit. “We need to keep the pressure on to close this facility – for good.”
Shawn of the Deal
In other detention center news, opponents of a planned facility in Roxbury Township got some good news this week when ICE agreed to delay their plans until after an environmental review had been completed.
DHS’s intention to convert local warehouses into a detention center has drawn widespread blowback from both parties in New Jersey, with local GOP officials saying that the town hadn’t been consulted and isn’t equipped for a large new facility. Citing those issues, Roxbury Township and the New Jersey state government teamed up in March to sue the Trump administration over the plans.
That litigation remains ongoing, but the new agreement means that development of the facility will at least be paused; after the environmental review is completed, ICE will decide whether to proceed with its plans.
“Since we filed litigation, we’ve been demanding the federal government back off its rushed construction and operation of an immigration detention center in Roxbury,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, and Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo said in a joint statement. “We’ve been clear from the beginning that DHS’s proposed ICE detention facility in Roxbury will harm the community and won’t do anything to make us safer.”
Surveil says
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, launched an inquiry this week into surveillance pricing, the practice of using customers’ personal data to set malleable prices.
Pallone has sent out letters to 25 major corporations like Amazon, Walmart, and Target requesting information on whether they’re using surveillance pricing, which he said is the first step of a broader Democratic effort to rein in the practice.
“Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats will be asking questions across industries in the coming months to get a full understanding of the scope of surveillance pricing and what needs to be done to address it,” Pallone said.
Gas-whupping
President Trump announced at the beginning of this week that he wants to suspend the federal gas tax, and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) quickly introduced a bill in Congress to do just that.
Under Van Drew’s legislation, the 18-cents-a-gallon federal gas tax would be suspended for 18 months, after which it would slowly phase back in. Van Drew also urged Gov. Mikie Sherrill to suspend the state gas tax as another way of lowering gas prices amid the war in Iran.
“Americans are paying too much for gas right now, and the federal government can help relieve some of that pressure,” Van Drew said. “My bill would completely suspend the federal fuel taxes for 18 months, so people are no longer paying those extra taxes per gallon every time they fill up their tank.”
Lai la Lai, Lai la Lai Lai Lai la Lai
The House unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) that urges President Trump to emphasize the plight of Chinese political prisoners at upcoming meetings with Chinese officials.
Of particular importance to Smith is Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong media mogul jailed under the city’s draconian national security laws. Smith has advocated for Lai’s release for years, and brought Lai’s daughter as his guest to this year’s State of the Union address.
“For decades, the United States has seen that naming prisoners works,” Smith said in remarks on the House floor. “It can improve prison conditions. It can secure access to lawyers, family, and medical care. It can save lives. And yes, it can lead to releases – especially when it is done by the President.”
Other Garden State plots
• Rep. McIver announced this week that she is pregnant with her second child, which will make her the first-ever New Jersey member of Congress to give birth while in office.
“I am so excited to be welcoming a new baby to our family this fall,” McIver said. “This moment is filled with so much joy for my family and me. Being a mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, and I am grateful that my family is growing.”
• Rep. Menendez attempted to add an amendment to the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs honoring Alex Pretti, the VA worker who was shot and killed by ICE in Minneapolis earlier this year, but was blocked from doing so.
“Instead of standing up for our federal employees, House Republicans chose to allow the Trump Administration to intimidate and punish dedicated VA employees grieving the loss of a colleague and friend with baseless investigations,” Menendez said.
• The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing this week on the “sandwich generation” – those who have to care for both aging parents and growing children – with the strong approval of Senator Andy Kim, a member of both the committee and the generation.
“Why is the Committee on Aging talking about the sandwich generation? It’s because the care that my aging father gets now is inherently tied to my ability to navigate, provide, and pay for it,” Kim said. “We cannot talk about the care for seniors without considering the families and caregivers that support them.”
