Josh Gottheimer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Josh Gottheimer
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 5th district |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Scott Garrett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1975 Livingston, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Marla Tusk
(m. 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residences | Wyckoff, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA) Pembroke College, Oxford Harvard University (JD) |
Joshua S. Gottheimer (/ˈɡɒthaɪmər/ got-HY-mər; born March 8, 1975) is an American attorney, writer, and public policy adviser who has served as the U.S. representative for NJ's 5th congressional district since 2017. The district stretches along the northern border of the state from New York City's densely populated metropolitan suburbs in Bergen County northwest through exurban and rural territory in northern Passaic and Sussex Counties.
A member of the Democratic Party, Gottheimer was a speechwriter for Bill Clinton and served as an adviser to the presidential campaigns of Wesley Clark, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. He has also worked for Burson Cohn & Wolfe, the Federal Communications Commission, Ford Motor Company, and Microsoft.
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Early life and education
Gottheimer was born in Livingston, New Jersey, on March 8, 1975. Gottheimer is the son of a preschool teacher and a small business owner. Growing up, Gottheimer stocked shelves at his father's store. At the age of 16, Gottheimer served as a U.S. Senate page for Frank Lautenberg, a senator from New Jersey. Through high school and college, Gottheimer held internships with C-SPAN, the U.S. Senate secretary, and Tom Foley, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gottheimer graduated from West Essex High School, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard Law School. He was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. While at Penn, he served on the "rapid response team" for Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign. After Clinton's reelection, Gottheimer attended Pembroke College, Oxford, on a Thouron Award, studying toward a Ph.D. in modern history.
Early career
Gottheimer joined the Clinton administration as a speechwriter in 1998, at age 23, working in the administration until its end in 2001. While attending law school, he worked as an adviser for Wesley Clark's 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, and Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. After the 2004 election, Gottheimer worked for the Ford Motor Company, then became an executive vice president at Burson Cohn & Wolfe. From 2010 to 2012, he worked for the Federal Communications Commission, where he led an initiative related to broadband internet. He subsequently became a strategist at Microsoft.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2016
In the 2016 elections, Gottheimer ran for the House of Representatives in NJ's 5th congressional district, a seat held by Republican Scott Garrett. Cory Booker joined him when he officially announced his candidacy.
Gottheimer attracted more attention than previous challengers to Garrett due to his fundraising ability and ties to the Clintons; he was eventually nicknamed the "Human Fundraising Machine". The New York Times ran a prominent article about his Clinton ties, describing him as a protégé of the Clintons and noting that Bill and Chelsea Clinton had appeared at a recent Manhattan fundraiser for Gottheimer, at which Chelsea introduced him as "something of a family member". Gottheimer's campaign's 2015 financial filings, which reported raising around $1 million through the end of September, showed that "about one dollar in six came directly from fellow alumni of the Clinton White House and campaigns...or from major donors and employees of consulting firms tied closely to the Clintons." Among those who donated were three former Clinton press secretaries and two former Clinton chiefs of staff. Gottheimer also received significant support from super PACs, including the National Association of Realtors' PAC, which spent $1.3 million to promote him via television ads, and the House Majority PAC, which allocated $1.6 million to anti-Garrett ads.
The 5th had historically been one of New Jersey's more Republican districts, but redistricting after the 2010 census made it slightly more Democratic by pushing it further into Bergen County. The race was characterized by the media as "intensely personal", "marked by negative advertising", and "one of the region’s most bitter political races".
Gottheimer defeated Garrett, primarily on the strength of a strong showing in the district's share of Bergen County, home to over three-fourths of the district's voters. He won Bergen by over 33,800 votes, more than double his overall margin of almost 14,900 votes. It was the most expensive House race in New Jersey history. He was sworn in on January 3, 2017– the first Democrat to represent the district since 1981, when it was numbered the 7th District (it has been the 5th since 1983).
2018
Gottheimer faced John McCann, a former Cresskill councilman, in his first race for re-election in 2018. In Gottheimer's first three months in office (in 2017) he raised $752,000, setting a New Jersey record for funds raised by a freshman congressman in this timeframe; during the second quarter of the 2018 cycle Gottheimer raised $1,500,000. The race was characterized mostly by McCann painting Gottheimer as an establishment Democrat (especially one connected to Nancy Pelosi) while Gottheimer defended himself as bipartisan and moderate, citing his work with local elected officials, votes for Republican legislation, and a "common ground" oriented approach to Donald Trump and fixing the Affordable Care Act. The race became particularly inflamed when a Gottheimer campaign sign displayed by a supporter on their property had a swastika and the phrase "vote MAGA" spray painted on it; McCann was criticized for connecting the vandalism to, "Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters [spreading] messages of hate" whereas Gottheimer was called out for fundraising off the incident and having subsequently denied doing so.
Gottheimer was reelected in 2018, defeating John McCann with 56% of the vote. While he lost three of the district's four counties, Gottheimer won his second term on the strength of carrying the district's share of Bergen County by over 51,000 votes, more than his overall margin of 41,300 votes.
2020
In 2020, Gottheimer faced a primary challenge from a more progressive Democrat, Glen Rock councilwoman Arati Kreibich. According to Kreibich, she was ultimately pushed to challenge Gottheimer after he played a leading role in passing an emergency border funding bill that failed to provide certain aid and safeguards to detained migrants. Her platform also included environmental policy, as she touted her work to ban single-use plastic bags and transition Glen Rock to renewable energy as well as supported the Green New Deal, and she was in favor of Medicare For All. During the campaign Gottheimer remarked that, "...if Bernie Sanders, socialized medicine and extremism are more of your view, then my opponent is probably your candidate," whereas Kreibich characterized him as "Trump's favorite Democrat"; Representative Ayanna Presley of Massachusetts, Food and Water Action, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorsed Kreibich while Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Gottheimer; and Gottheimer promoted his bipartisan record, painting the fifth as a moderate swing district that could easily be flipped by a Republican opponent, while Kreibich argued that the constituency was "evolving", women were "waking up", and that Gottheimer failed to respond to these shifts. In July 2020, Gottheimer won the primary election with 70.1% of the vote.
Gottheimer was elected to his third term in the 2020 general election, defeating Republican nominee Frank Pallotta, a former Morgan Stanley director from Mahwah, with 53% of the vote. Though fifth district Republicans slightly outnumbered Democrats as of the 2016 election, Democrats in the district had since registered at twice the rate. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attacked Pallotta as "the subprime King of New Jersey", because, though Pallotta denied involvement, testimony implicated him in working with Morgan Stanley's subprime mortgage division. Pallotta described himself as a "fiscal conservative" while casting Gottheimer as a member of the "radical left" who voted with members of Congress such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez more than 80% of the time; like in 2016 and 2018 Gottheimer positioned himself, instead, as decidedly moderate. As in his previous campaigns, Gottheimer lost three of the district's four counties, but defeated Pallotta in the district's share of Bergen County, this time by 52,600 votes, more than his overall margin of 32,800 votes. He was also helped by Joe Biden carrying the district with 52% of the vote.
2022
Redistricting made the 5th somewhat safer for Gottheimer. The district lost its share of heavily Republican Warren County and most of its share of equally Republican Sussex County; these areas had been Garrett's base for most of Garrett's seven-term tenure. To make up for the loss in population, the 5th was pushed further into Bergen County, as far as Fort Lee. The new 5th was six points more Democratic than its predecessor; had it existed in 2020, Biden would have won it with 58 percent of the vote.
In May 2022, Gottheimer became involved in the Republican primary contest that would decide his eventual general election opponent. He sent mail to Republican voters that compared his 2020 opponent, Pallotta, to former Republican president Donald Trump. Pallotta won the primary, defeating front-runner and US Marine Corps combat veteran Nick De Gregorio by 1,475 votes.
As of October 2022, Gottheimer had $14 million in campaign funds, including $1.1 million he raised in the third quarter of 2022 and accounting for $2.4 million he had already spent on his 2022 re-election. At this point, for the entirety of the 2021-2022 cycle, Gottheimer had raised $7.9 million; he had raised $26.4 million since first running for Congress in 2015.
Gottheimer was elected to his fourth term in November, 2022, defeating Frank Pallotta with 54.7% of the vote. As with previous elections, Gottheimer lost Sussex and Passaic counties (by 26 and 12.3 percentage points, respectively) but won by 18.1 percentage points in Bergen County, where 79.98% of the district's votes were cast.
2024
Gottheimer announced he would seek re-election to his fifth term in February 2024. At launch, the campaign had over $17 million in available funds — having raised $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, $4.9 million in the first half of the 2023-2024 cycle, and $33.3 million since Gottheimer first became a candidate in 2015.
Committee assignments
- United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- United States House Permanent Select Subcommittee on Intelligence on National Security Agency and Cyber, Ranking Member
- United States House Permanent Select Subcommittee on Intelligence on National Intelligence Enterprise
- Committee on Financial Services
- United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions
- United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion
- United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets
Caucus memberships
- Blue Dog Coalition
- New Democrat Coalition
- Climate Solutions Caucus
- Problem Solvers Caucus
- Congressional Coalition on Adoption
Political positions
Some consider Gottheimer a conservative Democrat, with GovTrack rating him the most conservative Democrat in the House as of February 2021, as well as more conservative than 32 House Republicans. During Donald Trump's presidency, Gottheimer voted in line with Trump more often than any other Democrat in Congress. During 2021 and 2022, Gottheimer voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis; this results in a Biden Plus/Minus score of +23.6, indicating significantly more support for Biden's priorities than would be expected given the makeup of his district. In 2023, of 54 measures "on which Biden expressed a clear position," Gottheimer voted for Biden's position 86% of the time.
Domestic policy
Food
On May 22, 2023, Gottheimer wrote to the Department of Agriculture, suggesting it revise expiration-date guidelines dictating when consumers, sellers, and restaurants should dispose of their products — with the goal of reducing food waste and minimizing expenditures on food that goes unconsumed. Gottheimer simultaneously supported the Food Date Labeling Act to, "...establish an easy-to-understand, uniform food date labeling system," which would also, "...allow food to be sold or donated after a 'best if used by' date," in order to support food pantries and the needy.
Health care
In 2017, Gottheimer said "we need to fix the Affordable Care Act. There's plenty wrong with it, whether it's the medical device tax or the Cadillac tax".
Gottheimer felt that the Trump Administration's American Health Care Act of 2017 did not reflect an effort "to reach across the aisle", and he was mainly concerned that the proposal could raise healthcare costs for senior citizens.
As of 2019, Gottheimer opposed single-payer healthcare, often referred to as "Medicare For All" in American politics.
Immigration
In March 2019, Gottheimer co-sponsored the Dream and Promise Act of 2019, joining, one week after the bill was introduced, more than 200 other congresspeople in doing so. According to The Record, the bill would have granted, "...permanent legal protection to more than 2 million undocumented immigrants," including Dreamers and those with TPS and DED protections. Speaking retrospectively in 2023, Gottheimer criticized the House Speaker's ability to unilaterally block a vote on any bill (arguing it "paralyzed" bipartisan progress), in part because, "That’s what killed the immigration bill in 2019...[which] would have provided a path to citizenship for Dreamers," as, ultimately, "We had 300 co-sponsors but...Paul Ryan would not bring it to the floor".
In June 2019, Gottheimer supported a $4.6 billion emergency border aid package, arguing that the bill's $1 billion for migrant shelter and food and $3 billion for childcare made supporting it, "'...a simple choice for me'...'Get humanitarian aid immediately to children at the border or let the perfect be the enemy of the good and do nothing'". Democratic leadership, however, only reluctantly endorsed the legislation shortly before it was set to be voted on, because they hoped to secure certain restrictions that would result in better quality care for migrants. The bill especially angered progressives, in part because it set aside $280 million for ICE and $1 billion for Customs and Border Protection, resulting in 95 Democratic representatives voting against it.
In October 2023, Gottheimer backed a bill by Sen. Lindsey Graham that packaged together funds for increased domestic border security with funds for military assistance to Ukraine in its defense against Russia, stating, "...we need to make sure that we deal with...the challenges at the border and border security and live up to our values there". Lawmakers, however, were not able to pass Graham's package (or any other border funding bill) before Congress ended its session in December 2023.
Infrastructure
Gottheimer supports New Jersey infrastructure projects, including the Lackawanna Cut-Off and the Gateway Tunnel.
In August 2021, Gottheimer led a group of centrist Democrats who sought to ensure infrastructure investment by separating $1 trillion in physical infrastructure funding from a $3.5 trillion "social policy package" that was critical to the Biden Administration's Build Back Better agenda. Progressive democrats preferred that the two be voted on together so that the bundle was more appealing to conservative democrats who supported the physical infrastructure investments but might not vote for the social spending on its own. Ultimately the two packages were voted on separately, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill passing and the Build Back Better act failing.
In January 2024, Gottheimer campaigned against electric car manufacturers excluding AM radio from newly produced vehicles. At a media event near a Tesla dealership on Route 17 Gottheimer was joined by the New Jersey Broadcasters Association director to argue that AM radio is still widely used and necessary in emergency situations; he also warned that, if unregulated, car manufacturers may eventually charge fees for all infotainment options. To challenge the rising rate of removal, Gottheimer wrote a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pushing it to stipulate that vehicles without AM radio come with a warning sticker noting they are unsafe in emergencies; he, moreover, led the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act in the House, which would require manufacturers to keep AM radio in new vehicles and that Gottheimer claimed, "...ha[d] about 200 sponsors and bipartisan support, including the Republican Speaker".
Congestion pricing
Gottheimer staunchly opposed congestion pricing in Manhattan, New York City, one of the most polluted and congested areas of the world.
In August 2021, Gottheimer and Rep. Jeff Van Drew introduced legislation that would bar the Department of Transportation from awarding certain grants to New York's MTA unless New Jersey drivers were exempted from congestion pricing, as Gottheimer argued that, in its current form, "Every nickel will go to New York to their mass transit," while, "Not a cent will go back to PATH or New Jersey Transit to actually help our state in any way". In September 2022, Gottheimer produced an analysis that suggested 75% of opinions given at the MTA's virtual hearings for the plan's public comment period were against congestion pricing in Manhattan. In January 2023, Gottheimer and Rep. Mike Lawler introduced a bill that would stop the Department of Transportation from granting new capital investment funds to New York City's MTA projects unless drivers from New Jersey and the outer-borough crossings into Manhattan were exempted from congestion pricing. In July 2023, Gottheimer accused the head of the MTA and a primary congestion-pricing proponent, Janno Lieber, of causing children to get cancer, as traffic around the George Washington Bridge (the entrance to which is in Fort Lee, a town in his 5th district) could increase under a congestion pricing plan due to it being located north of the impacted zone. After the congestion pricing plan's specifics were revealed, in December 2023, Gottheimer again joined Mike Lawler to denounce the plan as a "money grab" that he believed would hurt commuters and downtown small businesses; he also threatened to launch lawsuits against the plan.
In January 2024, Gottheimer produced a study estimating that the congestion pricing plan (as approved by the MTA) would generate $3.4 billion in revenue per year, exceeding New York City's $1 billion target; the study also projected that the plan would still raise about $1.5 billion yearly even if every eligible crossing from New Jersey into Manhattan was excluded. Gottheimer, furthermore, warned that the Port Authority could lose around $83 million in tolls collected per year from a decrease in Lincoln and Holland tunnel crossings. Gottheimer ultimately argued these findings demonstrated that New Jersey crossings ought to be exempted from (what he called) the "congestion tax". John J. McCarthy, the MTA chief of policy and external relations, responded by calling the congressman "Gridlock Gottheimer" and alleging that he, "...still thinks more cars, more congestion and more pollution is the answer to the region’s clogged streets, and here he is again with yet another publicity stunt fighting for the status quo".
Labor
Seeking to stave off a strike during the 2022 railroad labor dispute, Gottheimer, along with 79 House Republicans and all but 8 House Democrats, voted for a measure that forced rail companies and their unions to agree to a, "...deal [including] a 24-percent increase in wages over five years, more schedule flexibility and one additional paid day off," though which, "Several rail unions had rejected...because it lacked paid sick leave,".
In December 2023, Gottheimer pushed for bipartisan legislation to fund the FAA so they could hire and train more air traffic controllers, citing a 3,000-staffer national shortage and only 54% of essential tristate-area positions being filled. To this end, Gottheimer signed a bipartisan letter "demanding" that any bill to fund the FAA must stipulate (and include money for) the hiring of air traffic personnel to capacity, then he introduced it to leaders of the House Transportation and Senate Commerce committees. He also sponsored legislation that would begin a Government Accountability Office investigation into flight delays at airports in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
Policing
According to the New Jersey Globe, Gottheimer has supported law enforcement throughout his tenure, having, "...cosponsored the Public Safety Officer Pandemic Response Act of 2020 to support first responders impacted by COVID-19, voted for the Thin Blue Line Act," which, "...would make the targeting, killing, or attempted killing of a [state or local] police officer an aggravating factor in favor of maximum sentences," and worked "...to pass the bipartisan Never Forget the Heroes Act, which provides long-overdue support for 9/11 survivors and first responders".
In January 2022, Gottheimer introduced the Invest to Protect Act, which aimed to provide $200 million in funds over 5 years to smaller police departments. The spending would be targeted at provisions such as officer safety and de-escalation training, body cameras, recruitment and retention, and mental health resources. The Invest to Protect Act passed the House in September 2022 but failed to advance further than a unanimous consent passage in the Senate; in May 2023 Gottheimer reintroduced the bill in the 118th Congress.
Upon being endorsed, in October, for the 2022 election cycle by the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, Gottheimer stated that, "I’m fully committed to funding — not defunding — the training, tools, and support our officers need to fight crime and terror, and protect themselves and our communities...if you want to make something better, you don’t get there by cutting or defunding. You need to make smart, targeted investments...We must always get the backs of those who protect our communities".
Fiscal issues
Congressional stock trading
Gottheimer has been criticized for inappropriately handling stock trades during his time as a congressman, though his team has stated that, "Prior to taking office, Josh turned over management of his portfolio to a third party and only receives statements of prior transactions". For example, in August 2022, filings revealed that Gottheimer failed to report an exchange of stocks in his portfolio within the mandated 45-day period; in September 2022, analysis indicated that Gottheimer made, "...trades involving 326 companies and 43 potential conflicts of interest," over a three-year period; and in April 2023, it was shown that Gottheimer sold shares in impacted companies before and during the 2023 banking crisis.
In February 2022, Gottheimer pledged to establish a blind trust to manage his assets; however, as of reporting in August 2022, he had yet to create one, and, as of July 2023, the electronic statement that was cited to substantiate this pledge had been removed from Gottheimer's House website.
In February 2022, Gottheimer released a statement in support of Representative Abigail Spanberger's Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act, which has 50 co-sponsors.
Government shutdowns
In January 2018, Gottheimer was one of six House Democrats who voted with Republicans for a short-term spending bill in an attempt to stave off a federal government shutdown.
In February 2022, with the previous year's continuing resolution set to expire on the 18th, Gottheimer was the only Democrat to vote against a successful stopgap bill that extended funding through March 11. Gottheimer argued, "Stop-gap measures for short-term government funding weaken our military and harm...the ability for our states to plan critical infrastructure projects, and much more," so, since there were "more than 200 hours" before the deadline, Congress should have negotiated towards an omnibus deal "until the last possible minute".
In September 2023 (facing the possibility of a shutdown on the 30th), Gottheimer, along with the rest of his Problem Solvers Caucus, endorsed a continuing resolution plan to fund the government until January 2024, which included aid to Ukraine, disaster-relief funds, and enhanced border security. Gottheimer also suggested using a discharge petition if other funding methods failed. He later co-headlined a No Labels-organized virtual "exclusive congressional update" to discuss this “commonsense bipartisan framework” aimed at preventing a government shutdown despite “partisan actors on both sides of the aisle”. A spokesperson wrote that, during the event, Gottheimer emphasized how, "With divided government, a bipartisan proposal was the only way to stop the far-right from holding Congress hostage, get a bill out of the Senate and signed into law by the President".
In January 2024, facing a shutdown, Gottheimer urged Speaker Mike Johnson to, "support a six-week government funding extension to allow time for a longer-term budget deal to be reached," as he warned, especially, that veterans would be hurt if the government had to shut down. Gottheimer blamed the looming shutdown on "ultra-right extremists", and, on January 18, voted for a successful stopgap bill to fund the government through a deadline in March.
Taxes
On April 15, 2017, Gottheimer announced that he would be introducing the "Anti-Moocher Bill", under which states receiving more federal dollars than they contribute to the national treasury would pay their "fair share", asking: "Why should Alabama get our federal tax dollars and get a free ride, while we're left holding the bag with higher property taxes? It just doesn't make sense." In October 2017, Gottheimer and Rep. Leonard Lance introduced the Return on Investment Accountability Act, which they wrote would, "...give tax credits to individuals whose states get less funding from the federal government than they pay in aggregate".
In August 2023, Gottheimer proposed a plan that would provide families with tax credits to be used towards the administrative and equipment costs of youth sports, helping parents to use, "...pretax dollars, and [boosting] the maximum contribution of these dollars per household" as well as creating, "...a federal grant program to invest in recreational youth sports programs and organizations".
SALT deduction
Gottheimer is a proponent of restoring the full State And Local Tax (SALT) deduction, which was limited to $10,000 by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, arguing that, "...there would be no better way to lower taxes for Jersey families than to restore the State and Local Tax Deduction".
In January 2018, Gottheimer was the first New Jersey lawmaker to propose that towns establish charitable funds (to be used towards municipal expenditures as property taxes would) that residents could donate to and, thereafter, receive an equal credit on their property tax bills — allowing homeowners to deduct their full property tax expenses as charitable contributions on federal tax forms. The workaround was signed into law by governor Phil Murphy after passing in the state legislature in April 2018, but it was ultimately blocked by an IRS ruling.
Gottheimer has made numerous attempts to uncap the SALT deduction, such as last-minute efforts to negotiate its reduction in 2017; attempts to include the deduction's restoration in Build Back Better legislation circa February 2022; writing to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to push for a state-level workaround in June 2022; and, beginning in February 2023, leading a bipartisan caucus devoted to the issue.
In February 2024, Gottheimer publicly promoted a bill that would have doubled the SALT deduction cap to $20,000, but, later that week, he abstained from a procedural vote (which failed) that would have brought the bill to the floor; a 'yes' vote would also have allowed consideration of a Republican resolution denouncing the Biden administration's energy policies.
Foreign affairs
Israel
Gottheimer has said that, "Our relationship with Israel is a vital relationship" and "Israel [is] our most vital ally in the Middle East".
In March 2023, Gottheimer reaffirmed his pledge to, "...support Israel’s security, grow the Abraham Accords, support a two-state solution and counter threats to Israel and the U.S."; at the same time Gottheimer urged members of Congress to refrain from voicing their concerns over proposed judicial reforms in Israel.
In April 2023, Gottheimer made two official trips to Israel within one week — once as a part of a 12-member delegation of House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and once as one of five Democrats to join Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a bipartisan visit. During the same month, Gottheimer co-sponsored legislation, "...that reaffirmed the House’s support for military aid to Israel" and he stated, "'I’ve worked personally against and successfully killed attempts to condition aid [to Israel]...I’ll continue to work to kill conditions on aid [to the sole] democracy in the region and a critical ally".
In May 2023, Gottheimer introduced legislation expanding anti-boycott laws to include blocking boycotts organized by international governmental organizations, with the intended effect of stopping the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in the United States.
Israel-Hamas War (2023–present)
In October 2023, Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush were the only two congresspeople who, shortly after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, probed what they considered the systemic underpinnings of the escalation (including "Israeli military occupation" and "apartheid government") and criticized the United States for having "unconditionally" funded Israel despite these contexts. Gottheimer strongly condemned this language, responding, “It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members shot in their homes...[Bush and Tlaib] believe Congress should strip U.S. funding...and allow innocent civilians to suffer". On November 7, 2023, Gottheimer was one 22 House Democrats who voted successfully to censure Tlaib, passing a resolution that accused her of, "...promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack," as well as criticized, in particular, her use of the slogan "from the river to the sea".
On October 10, 2023, Gottheimer (along with Reps. Claudia Tenney, Max Miller, and Brad Schneider) introduced the "Operation Swords of Iron" Iron Dome Appropriations Act, which Gottheimer wrote, "...is critical to increasing American security assistance for Israel’s missile defense system...[so that] the U.S.-Israel relationship will remain, as it has for decades, ironclad".
On October 16, 2023, Gottheimer (along with Reps. Don Bacon, Jared Moskowitz, and Claudia Tenney) led a group of 63 Democrats and 50 Republicans in drafting a letter to President Biden, in which they, "...ask[ed] him to boost Israel’s security, hold Iran accountable for its role in funding Hamas...and put pressure on nations who support Hamas, including Qatar and Türkiye...[as well as] thanked the President for his unwavering support for the State of Israel [and] reaffirmed their commitment to increasing American security assistance".
On October 25, 2023, Gottheimer voted to support Israel and condemn Hamas following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
On November 2, 2023, Gottheimer was one of 12 House Democrats to vote for a $14.3 billion aid package to Israel that was funded by cutting the IRS' budget. Though Gottheimer disapproved of reducing funds for countering tax fraud (saying he, "...do[es] not support the Speaker’s approach to [the] legislation"), he viewed passing the aid as paramount, arguing, "...we must ensure that Israel has the resources to defeat Hamas and other terrorists...[therefore] the symbol to the world of voting no would have done more damage". On the same night, the House passed the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act (which Gottheimer helped introduce) that, "...would require the president to [report] on foreign entities that...assist Hamas or PIJ and...[to sanction] those entities, including [by] suspending U.S. assistance, seizing property...and denying exports".
On November 22, 2023, Gottheimer released a statement regarding the conflict's first Israel-Hamas hostage deal, writing, "...despite premature and hostile calls for a ceasefire without concessions from Hamas, President Biden has...demonstrate[d]...the necessary leadership to negotiate a deal," resulting in, "...women and children held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza [being] released, paving the way for a temporary pause and more humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinians being used as human shields"; Gottheimer added that, "While the deal represents important progress, the unfortunate reality is that this war is not over. Hamas...still hold[s] more than a hundred and fifty hostages...[and] Hamas terrorists have made it clear that they will not back down," concluding that the United States must, "...stand by Israel to...crush the terrorists, and provide much-needed humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians...[as] Israel must eliminate every single terrorist responsible for this war".
On December 21, 2023, Gottheimer returned to the United States after leading an official House Intelligence Committee trip to Israel during which he and other congresspeople met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the director of Mossad, and other Israeli officials regarding the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. According to a statement by Gottheimer and his remarks at a virtual press conference, these meetings included (among others topics) discussions over Qatar's role as a negotiator, the strength of the US-Israel relationship, Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, the importance of avoiding civilian casualties, planning for "the day after" and Gaza's future, and a de-radicalization campaign in Palestine.
Syria
Gottheimer said that he thought President Donald Trump acted appropriately in striking Syria in response to the 2018 use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. "There's room the president has to deal with a crisis, and I believed, if you looked at the heinous crimes and atrocities committed, poisoning your own children, that demanded a response, and I'm glad he responded."
Ukraine
Gottheimer and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick introduced House legislation to support Senator Joe Manchin's initiative to close American ports to Russian oil, natural gas, and coal products.
In October 2023, after the Problem Solvers Caucus (under the congressman's co-chairmanship) proposed a similar measure, Gottheimer backed Sen. Lindsey Graham's bill to simultaneously fund Ukraine military assistance (which had, after debate, previously been excluded from the September 2023 continuing resolution to fund the US government) and increased domestic border security. When speaking on the bill, Gottheimer claimed it was necessary to, "...support Ukraine to make sure we stand up to Putin and to China and Iran, which is critical to our national security and to our allies". Following weeks of negotiations, lawmakers were not able to pass Graham's package (or any other Ukraine/border funding bill) before Congress ended its session in December 2023.
Politics
Bipartisanship
Gottheimer was ranked the eighth most bipartisan member of the House for 2017 by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy. For 2020, 2021, and 2022, Gottheimer was ranked the most bipartisan Democrat in the House — placing second overall behind Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick for 2022.
Gottheimer is the Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. Gottheimer has pointed to his work with the Problem Solvers Caucus as proof that he is not "ideologically rigid". He has also said that members of Congress "are more bipartisan than people think".
Since being elected Gottheimer has worked with the No Labels organization, with founder Nancy Jacobson saying, "I created the Problem Solvers Caucus...and we put Congressman Gottheimer in there"; though the caucus was announced in 2014, it was launched in 2017 with Gottheimer, upon just having taken office, becoming its first (and thus far only) Democratic co-chair. In September 2023, Gottheimer co-headlined a No-Labels-organized event despite having, recently before, denounced the group's intentions of putting up a third-party presidential candidate in 2024. According to The Intercept, "Wealthy executives and investors have funneled hundreds of thousands through No Labels’s Problem Solvers PAC to members of the caucus," including Gottheimer.
In February 2024, "hardline" House Republicans floated removing Speaker Mike Johnson after he agreed to a spending deal with Senate Democrats; Gottheimer, meanwhile, aimed to give Johnson "room to put bipartisan legislation on the floor" by authoring a resolution that, "...would require party leadership or a majority of either party's caucus to sanction any vote to vacate the speaker's chair," (as opposed to the contemporaneous rule that any single member could force a vote on removal) and which was contingent on Johnson holding a vote on a defense spending package including aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Donald Trump
In 2017, Gottheimer called for an independent commission to probe alleged ties between Donald Trump and Russia.
On the possibility of impeaching Trump over the Ukraine scandal, in September 2019 Gottheimer said, "We need to make sure this is fact-driven and evidence-based. You can't prejudge something that is so solemn and obviously could have a big historical impact on our country, and you need to keep the country together."
Gottheimer voted to impeach Trump during both his first impeachment and his second impeachment.
Gottheimer was one of eight Democrats to vote against a resolution that would curtail Trump's war powers following the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.
When asked during a 2020 primary election forum in what ways he supported Trump, Gottheimer answered that, "He’s good on the relationship with U.S.-Israel. Although I don’t agree with everything that...Netanyahu does or says, I think it’s a very important relationship to the United States".
Social issues
LGBTQ rights
Gottheimer supports same-sex marriage, saying, during his first campaign in 2016, "I think that people should be able to love and marry whomever they want, and I don’t think it’s the government’s role to dictate that," and, "I understand the religious objections to it, but the world is changing, and it is now the law of the land. It’s like any other civil right, in any sphere." In 2022, Gottheimer voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.
Throughout his tenure, Gottheimer has attended and spoken at pride events in his district. To celebrate pride month in June 2023, Gottheimer hosted a roundtable with advocates and local leaders where they discussed hate crimes, public safety threats, homelessness, mental health issues, and bullying affecting the LGBTQ community.
In 2017, Gottheimer introduced the Freedom from Discrimination in Credit Act, which prohibited credit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; the legislation was eventually passed in 2021 as part of the Equality Act (that Gottheimer supported), which amended the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis on sexual orientation of gender identity.
For the 2022 election, Gottheimer was endorsed by Garden State Equality Action Fund, which touted that, “Each election cycle, we endorse candidates based on their support for our mission of lifting up the diverse voices of LGBTQ+ communities to advance the movement for equality in New Jersey."
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joshua S. Gottheimer | 43,250 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 43,250 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer | 172,587 | 51.1 | |
| Republican | Scott Garrett (incumbent) | 157,690 | 46.7 | |
| Libertarian | Claudio Belusic | 7,424 | 2.2 | |
| Total votes | 337,701 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 27,486 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 27,486 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 169,546 | 56.2 | |
| Republican | John J. McCann | 128,255 | 42.5 | |
| Libertarian | James Tosone | 2,115 | 0.7 | |
| Independent | Wendy Goetz | 1,907 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 301,823 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 52,406 | 66.5 | |
| Democratic | Arati Kreibich | 26,418 | 33.5 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 225,175 | 53.2 | |
| Republican | Frank Pallotta | 193,333 | 45.6 | |
| Independent | Louis Vellucci | 5,128 | 1.2 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 31,142 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 31,142 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 145,559 | 54.7 | |
| Republican | Frank Pallotta | 117,873 | 44.3 | |
| Libertarian | Jeremy Marcus | 1,193 | 0.5 | |
| Independent | Trevor Ferrigno | 700 | 0.3 | |
| Independent | Louis Vellucci | 618 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 265,943 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Books
Gottheimer is the editor of Ripples of Hope (2003), a collection of American civil-rights speeches. The text of one of the speeches included in the book, which was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma on January 25, 1965, was previously unpublished. Gottheimer acquired the text from an Alabama police consultant who had transcribed it from FBI surveillance tapes.
Despite not working on any of the Obama campaigns, Gottheimer also co-authored Power of Words (2011) with Mary Frances Berry, a book about Barack Obama's speeches. Power of Words sold poorly, with less than 1,000 copies purchased across all formats, and was upsetting to former Obama campaign staffers, given Gottheimer's position and actions in the 2008 Clinton campaign.
Personal life
Gottheimer is a native of North Caldwell, and he currently resides in Wyckoff. He is Jewish and a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He married Marla Tusk in 2006. Together, they have two children.
See also
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
