New Jersey will have more clout and the Democrats will have less. Watch video
WASHINGTON -- The 115th Congress convenes Tuesday with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, albeit with smaller majorities than in the just-concluded 114th Congress.
The New Jersey congressional delegation will have one new face, Democrat Josh Gottheimer, the former White House speechwriter who ousted seven-term incumbent Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in the 5th District.
Gottheimer will be sworn into office Tuesday with a target on his back; his district is sure to be one of the House Republicans' top priorities in 2018.
N.J. lawmaker has all kinds of power in D.C.
The state also will get its first full committee chairmanship since the House GOP leadership removed Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) as head of the Veterans Affairs Committee in 2005 for defying the Republicans and supporting more funding for veterans.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) will take over the chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which writes the annual legislation funding the federal government.
Here are five questions about the 115th Congress.
1. What are the priorities of the Republican Congress?
Both incoming President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would take away health insurance from more than 20 million Americans, as soon as possible.
In New Jersey, 528,000 individuals would lose the coverage they now receive under Medicaid, according to N.J. Policy Perspective, and another 205,242 individuals would no longer receive the tax credits that allows them to afford health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
2. Will the Democrats do to Trump what the Republicans did to Obama?
Groucho Marx's ditty, "Whatever it is, I'm against it," could have been the theme song of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky during the six years the GOP was in the minority during President Barack Obama's administration.
McConnell and Senate Republicans required a supermajority of 60 votes to pass any legislation, preventing Obama from enacting his agenda and holding up dozens of appointments to his administration.
New Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer of New York now is in the same position as McConnell was.
While Schumer has expressed a willingness to work with Trump on issues such as rebuilding U.S. roads and bridges, he and the other Democrats also are expected to oppose Trump's tax cut plan and efforts to roll back environmental, consumer and banking regulations.
They have 48 seats in the Senate, more than enough to filibuster legislative proposals and a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who they deem out of the judicial mainstream.
3. Will the Republican Congress stand up to Trump?
Much of the GOP establishment shunned Trump during the primaries and general election but most have fallen in line behind him since Nov. 8. Congressional Republicans are aligned with Trump in eliminating the Affordable Care Act and in cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Those actions would increase the federal deficit.
On some issues, however, there are enough Senate Republicans with an independent streak, such as Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Susan Collins of Maine, who could cross party lines and join Democrats in blocking some of Trump's nominees and proposals.
In the House, a group of conservative Republicans have opposed federal spending under Obama in order to reduce the federal deficit. Will they apply the same test to Trump?
4. Will New Jersey have more clout on Capitol Hill?
In a word, yes, thanks to Frelinghuysen ascending to the Appropriations chairmanship. In addition, Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) will gain in seniority on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th Dist.) will become the second most senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee, which will be in the forefront of the battles against Trump's spending priorities.
Pascrell joined Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the Democratic panel that makes appointments to House committees. That gives the state two voices to advocate for their New Jersey colleagues to fill vacancies on the House panels.
In the last Congress, the state was ranked 23rd of the 50 states in clout despite being 11th in population, according to an analysis by NJ Advance Media.
5. What role will Sen. Cory Booker play?
Booker (D-N.J.), who was on the short list of Hillary Clinton's vice-presidential candidates, already is talked about as a potential Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, the same year he would have to run for re-election to the Senate.
Which road will Booker travel in 2020?
His prime-time address at the 2016 Democratic National Convention garnered him national attention and he has been a oft-requested speaker before progressive groups. He already has called on his allies to "speak truth to power, fiercely defend those who are bullied, belittled, demeaned or degraded, and tenaciously fight for all people and the ideals we cherish."
In the new Congress, Booker will sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helping him develop some foreign policy expertise in advance of the next presidential election.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook