Dear Friends, 

 

I’m writing with my weekly update on how I am standing up for New Jersey in Washington. 

 

I am deeply concerned by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s decision to dismantle a core principle of American democracy: the apolitical military. Continue reading to learn more about why this move is so dangerous for our country.

 

House Republicans proposed an extreme budget last week that dismantles Medicaid, cuts food assistance for vulnerable communities, and strips funding from public schools. This budget will make health care inaccessible for millions of New Jerseyans, raise the cost of putting food on the table, and take critical resources away from our children and their teachers. I am demanding that House Speaker Mike Johnson work with House Democrats to pass a budget that lowers costs, supports families, and reflects our commitment to serving the American people. 

 

Finally, I am fighting to support New Jersey’s world-class colleges and universities, despite Trump and Musk’s decision to cut funding for lifesaving medical research at schools like Rutgers and Princeton.

 

Make sure to sign up for future newsletters, or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X for continued updates and information about upcoming events.

Take care,

Rep. Mikie Sherrill's signature

Rep. Mikie Sherrill

Member of Congress

Standing up against the political abuse of the United States military

On Friday night, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that he is firing some of our nation’s top military leaders — including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and a number of three and four star Generals and Flag Officers. 

 

You don’t rise to our military’s highest positions without decades of leadership and commitment to serving missions across the globe. Four-star General C.Q. Brown has been serving our nation since 1984. Four-star Admiral Lisa Franchetti has been serving since 1985. Both of these individuals earned their barrier-breaking positions because they devoted their lives to taking on our nation’s toughest challenges — and they have the resumes to prove it. Yet, Secretary Hegseth called Admiral Franchetti a DEI hire in his book, and criticized General Brown because of his commitment to promoting diversity in our armed forces. This move isn’t about strengthening our armed forces, and it isn’t about merit. It's about Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump implementing their political agenda. 

 

Additionally, Trump and Hegseth fired the top Judge Advocates General, who are the military’s top lawyers. These are the individuals who interpret law for our commanders, and ensure that we’re fighting in accordance with our values. 

 

Normally, our military’s top leadership serves under multiple administrations — Democrats and Republicans alike. At the beginning of a presidential term, the leaders in these positions typically stay in place — some of the leaders fired last week even served in Trump’s first administration. 

 

Now, Trump and Hegseth are trying to gut the military’s leadership so they can use the armed forces to carry out their personal, political agenda. This move will threaten America’s national security, show weakness to dictators worldwide like Vladimir Putin, and give Donald Trump unchecked power to abuse our military.

 

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I joined my veteran colleagues to demand answers from Hegseth and hold him accountable for this brazen, dangerous abuse of power. You can read more here.

 

In the United States Armed Forces, you swear an oath to the Constitution — not a person, not a political party. It’s an oath I took for the first time at age eighteen when I entered the Naval Academy, and have taken numerous times throughout my career. I will never abandon that oath, and I will always fight to protect the men and women who risk their lives to serve our country.

Protecting Medicaid and food assistance from House Republicans’ budget cuts

House Republicans are following Musk and Trump’s lead by proposing a budget that would make life more expensive for New Jersey families — taking away Medicaid and food assistance, and stripping funding from public schools here in New Jersey. This budget isn’t about government efficiency or responsible spending. 

 

Instead, House Republicans want to cut these programs to give massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. That’s why I outlined my grave concerns to Speaker Johnson — urging him to work with House Democrats to pass a budget that actually lowers costs, supports families, and reflects our commitment to serving the American people.

Take action: express your concerns over House Republicans’ budget

House Republicans want to use our hard-earned tax dollars to give breaks to their billionaire cronies. As I continue to lead the fight in the House to protect critically important programs, we have power when we work together. That’s why I need YOU to take action.

 

Talk with your friends and family around the country about calling their elected representatives, and urging them to join me in refusing to support cuts to programs like Medicaid and food assistance in this year’s budget.

Protecting funding for lifesaving medical research in New Jersey

Here in New Jersey, we’re conducting lifesaving medical research at universities like Rutgers and Princeton.

 

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are stripping away the funding that supports that very research.


I’m calling on the Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to stop these draconian budget cuts. Read more about the importance of funding science and healthcare research.

 

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