Congress
Josh Gottheimer promised an abortion protection bill. Eight months later, he hasn’t moved it.
In April, Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer called a press conference in front of a Planned Parenthood office in northern New Jersey to announce new legislation designed to protect women.
Gottheimer, who was widely known to be planning a run for governor, said the bill was in response to a push by anti-abortion groups to use the 151-year-old Comstock Act to ban the mailing of mifepristone — a drug used to induce abortions and treat miscarriages.
“Let’s be clear: without access to safe and legal reproductive health care, women will die,” Gottheimer said at the time.
But eight months later, the congressmember, who formally launched his gubernatorial campaign last month, has still not introduced the legislation, the Protecting Personal, Private Medical Decisions Act. And the draft that his office provided to Blue Light News is a non-binding resolution — an expression of sentiment that has no force of law.
Gottheimer’s office told Blue Light News that the delay is due to the complexity of the court fights around abortion access.
“Josh has been working closely with legislative counsel on technical aspects of this legislation, and plans to introduce it when it’s fully ready,” Gottheimer Communications Director Zachary Florman said in a statement.
The fact that Gottheimer has yet to introduce the bill after publicly saying he has comes amid an intensifying gubernatorial race with six declared Democrats. He’s been a leader of moderates in Washington and, while it will be an advantage in a general election for governor, he’s coming up against more liberal Democrats and will need to appeal to a more progressive voting bloc.
It also comes as Gottheimer grapples with the fallout of a viral scandal over his publishing a fake screenshot purporting to be his Spotify “Wrapped” for 2024 — a summary of his most-listened to songs. His fabricated “Wrapped” showed his top five songs as hits from Bruce Springsteen. But his admission that it was faked led to widespread mockery.
Gottheimer — one of Congress’ most active stock traders — also promised in 2022 to put his assets in a blind trust. That has yet to happen, though Gottheimer’s office said they long ago submitted blind trust proposals to the House Ethics Committee, which they said has repeatedly delayed approving it.
Gottheimer touted his “introduction” of the abortion-related bill several times in fundraising emails and referred to his “new legislation to stand up for a woman’s right to choose — including protecting access” while promoting his upcoming appearances on social media.
“When I first ran for Congress, I ran against an anti-choice extremist with a promise to always defend reproductive freedom,” a Gottheimer gubernatorial campaign fundraising email from this month said. “I’ve introduced legislation like the Protecting Personal, Private Medical Decisions Act to condemn restrictions on reproductive health care.”
In a September voter guide on NJ Spotlight News, Gottheimer wrote: “I have introduced two pieces of legislation, the ‘Freedom to Decide Act’ and the ‘Protecting Personal, Private Medical Decisions Act,’ both of which protect access to Mifepristone and support telemedicine across state lines, so doctors can prescribe it wherever women are in need of care.”
The April 9 press conference in Hackensack attracted attention across the region, earning him coverage on most New York City television news stations. That helped him burnish his pro-abortion rights bona fides ahead of his expected run in the Democratic primary for governor.
“Josh has also helped introduce other legislation protecting Mifepristone, including the Freedom to Decide Act,” Florman said. “Because of what’s on the line for women’s health care, and the ongoing court battles, we want to make sure we get all choice-related legislation exactly right. We can never do enough to protect reproductive freedom, and Josh has a long record of standing with pro-choice groups to take on the radical right in defense of reproductive freedom.”
The “Freedom to Decide Act” — a concurrent resolution that would also be non-binding — was introduced by Gottheimer along with two other members on April 13.
Gottheimer does have a long record on other abortion issues, including a 2023 campaign to shut down anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” that he alleges pose as legitimate health care centers. And he has co-sponsored dozens of bills and resolutions aimed at protecting or expanding access to abortion and reproductive care since taking office.
The push to protect mifepristone likely lost some urgency following the Supreme Court’s June decision to throw out a lawsuit seeking to roll back access to the drug, though the decision was procedural and did not address the merits of the case. Some pro-abortion rights advocates have expressed concerns that attempting to repeal parts of the Comstock Act could raise its profile and undermine the Biden administration’s legal argument that it’s unenforceable.
A spokesperson Planned Parenthood New Jersey did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.
The House Freedom Caucus is suddenly confronting an unsettled future after more than a decade at the center of GOP politics on Capitol Hill.
Some of its most prominent members are leaving Congress next year after seeking higher office, including former chair Rep. Andy Biggs and several media-friendly voices like Reps. Chip Roy, Byron Donalds and Ralph Norman.
Meanwhile, the group’s current chair, Rep. Andy Harris, is term-limited.
Who will step in to fill the shuffling ranks and maintain the caucus’ role as a hard-right vanguard is very much in question — especially as the group faces a potential shift to a Democratic House majority, which has historically made them less pivotal, and the looming transition to a Republican Party without a President Donald Trump.
The group — which is no stranger to reinventing itself — has a number of relatively unknown members ready to become the new faces of the hard right in the House.
— ERIC BURLISON: The second-term Missouri congressman and current HFC board member said he is considering running to be the next chair.
Last summer he was a vocal member demanding the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and has become a leading Republican pushing for more information on UFOs.
— ANDREW CLYDE: Another board member, Clyde has amassed significant power by Freedom Caucus standards by winning seats on the Appropriations and Budget panels.
He said in an interview he had not yet thought about running for chair but noted that “you don’t have to be the chairman to have outsized influence.”
— BRANDON GILL: This Texas freshman, the youngest sitting House Republican, is already seen as a rising star in the House GOP.
He’s made a name for himself through provocative social media posts and splashy legislative moves, such as seeking to impeach James Boasberg, the federal judge who ruled against some of Trump’s deportations last year.
Gill has said he wants to emulate Rep. Jim Jordan, the only founding member of the caucus still serving in the chamber.
— CLAY HIGGINS: Another board member and a more senior member of the group, Higgins said he has not ruled out seeking the chair post but is also “not interested in campaigning” for the job.
Higgins was the only lawmaker to oppose the release of the Epstein files. He said in an interview he’s hoping the group focuses more on policymaking in its next iteration rather than obstructing leadership prerogatives.
— ANDY OGLES: Inside the HFC, Ogles has emerged as a serious force over two terms, with his name floated for chair even before the end of his first term.
He also did not rule out running for chair or another caucus leadership position in a recent interview.
What else we’re watching:
— THUNE RACES TO BREAK SPY POWERS LOGJAM: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is racing to try to confirm the next director of national intelligence and end a stand off over extending a key surveillance power before members break for two weeks. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing for Jay Clayton Wednesday — less than a week after the chamber formally received the nomination from the White House. Getting Clayton confirmed is a crucial step to unlocking Congress’ willingness to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
— ANTI-FRAUD OPTIONS FOR RECONCILIATION 3.0: Republican leaders say proposals to crack down on fraud in federal safety net programs could be included in another reconciliation package this year. Turns out, a menu of options is developing in plain sight: Just look at the stack of about a dozen bills the House has passed in recent weeks to prevent waste and abuse.
Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
After more than a decade at the center of GOP politics on Capitol Hill, the House Freedom Caucus is suddenly confronting an unsettled future.
Several of the hard-right bloc’s most prominent members are leaving Congress next year after seeking higher office — including a former chair, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, and several media-friendly voices such as Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Byron Donalds of Florida and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, among others.
“We’re losing a lot of talent — there’s no doubt about it,” Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona said. “So it’s just kind of like a next-man-up mentality.”
But which man is very much in question. The current chair, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, is term-limited, and a new generation of combative ultraconservatives is ready to step in just as the caucus comes to terms with a potentially changing role on Capitol Hill.
The group will be facing twin challenges — a potential shift to a Democratic House majority, which has historically made the caucus less pivotal, and the looming transition to a Republican Party without a President Donald Trump, who has been an animating force for most of its members.
“Across the country, people know who the Freedom Caucus is,” said Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana. “The next couple of years is going to be important for the caucus.”
The group has reinvented itself in the past, with new leaders emerging as old members move on. Donalds recalled when former chair Mark Meadows of North Carolina departed for the White House in Trump’s first term.
“They’re like, ‘Well, what’s going to be the future of HFC?’ And in came Chip Roy, in came a Byron Donalds,” he said with a grin. “We just kind of kept it going.”
The only founding member still serving in the House is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who could make a play for minority leader if Republicans lose the majority in November — further scrambling the caucus’ historic role as a hard-right vanguard.
Harris will remain a member, as will fellow former chair Scott Perry of Pennsylvania — if he can win what’s expected to be a competitive general-election race. Veteran members such as Reps. Michael Cloud and Keith Self of Texas will also be influential.
But a number of relatively obscure members are ready to make moves and become the new faces of the hard right in the House.
Eric Burlison
Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri is in his second term but has shown an unmistakable thirst to be at the center of the action since arriving in the House. Currently an HFC board member, Burlinson said he is considering running to be the next chair.
“You obviously have to be selected by your peers, and that would be the greatest honor,” he said in an interview. “There’s no one I respect more than the people that are members of HFC.”
He spent over a decade in the Missouri statehouse before heading to Congress, after working as a software consultant. Last summer he was a vocal member pushing for the full release of the Epstein files and has become a leading Republican pushing for more information on UFOs.
Burlison noted that a future chair will be inheriting a nationally recognized Freedom Caucus “brand” that includes a plethora of state-level and local groups that have adopted the name. He said the original HFC should look at ways to “leverage” that brand but also protect it from being adopted by groups that aren’t in line with its conservative vision.
“We have to kind of protect our image,” he said. ”So I think we need to get that figured out.”
Andrew Clyde
Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia has managed to amass significant power by Freedom Caucus standards by winning seats on the Appropriations and Budget committees, which have allowed him to push for conservative positions on those influential panels.
Clyde, another board member, said in an interview he had not yet thought about running for chair but noted that “you don’t have to be the chairman to have outsized influence.”
He added that while the group is losing some high-profile members, the president’s conservative agenda has attracted several likely incoming members to the group.
“We’re seeing some folks that have not supported the Freedom Caucus before that are coming on board to support the House Freedom Caucus,” Clyde said. “So I think you’ll see [an] even greater presence.”
Brandon Gill
Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas, a freshman and the youngest sitting House Republican, is already seen as a rising star inside the House GOP. He has said he wants to emulate Jordanand has a seat on Judiciary, the committee his governing idol chairs.
Gill has made a name for himself through provocative social media posts, regular appearances on Fox News and splashy legislative moves such as seeking to impeach James Boasberg, the federal judge who ruled against some of Trump’s deportations last year.
He does not, however, break with GOP leaders as often as some other Freedom Caucus members and could encounter internal doubts as to whether he’d be willing to play internal hardball in the same way as prior chairs.
Clay Higgins
Higgins is one of the more senior Freedom Caucus members — and one of the more controversial. The former sheriff has been a prominent proponent of conspiracy theories around the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and he was the only lawmaker to oppose the release of the Epstein files.
Also currently a board member, he said in an interview he has not ruled out seeking the caucus chair post. But he also said he was “not interested in campaigning” for the job and would like to see a “peaceful transition.”
Higgins did boast having “a pretty solid reputation within the caucus as a thoughtful conservative” and is hoping the group focuses more on policymaking in its next iteration rather than obstructing leadership prerogatives.
“We’re either going to go deeper into being a meaningful, effective conservative faction for the entire country, or we could bounce in the other direction and be more like protesters in the parking lot,” he said.
Andy Ogles
Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee has been a controversy magnet in the wider political sphere — known for a long-running campaign finance investigation that was recently dropped by the Justice Department and a series of offensive public statements on Muslims, immigrants and other groups.
But inside the Freedom Caucus, he has emerged as a serious force over two terms, with his name floated for chair even before the end of his first term. He did not rule out running for chair or another caucus leadership position in a recent interview.
“All I care about is winning,” Ogles said, referring to the caucus agenda. “If I’m better in a second or tertiary role, that’s what I’ll do to make sure we deliver on the president’s agenda. If that means I’m the chairman, then so be it.”
Ogles said the upcoming turnover represents a good opportunity to renew and potentially rethink how the group operates: “We’re going into the presidential. Sometimes you need fresh ideas, fresh faces.”
The House Oversight Committee requested that Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who once represented Jeffery Epstein, testify as part of its investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein files.
The interview is tentatively slated for 10 a.m. on July 9, with a video and transcript of the testimony being released “as expeditiously as practical,” Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a letter to Dershowitz on Friday.
“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, documents obtained by the Committee, and your former role as Mr. Epstein’s attorney, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation,” Comer wrote.
Comer told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to hear from Dershowitz, who helped Epstein secure a controversial plea deal in his 2008 sex abuse case.
“I’m looking forward to testifying,” Dershowitz wrote in a text message to Blue Light News on Friday, adding that he is “trying to adjust my schedule” for July 9.
- Capitol Agenda: The new faces of the Freedom Caucus
- Why Trump and other G7 leaders meeting without China might be a mistake
- The Freedom Caucus is losing its stalwarts. Here’s who to watch next.
- Trump’s North Korea-Iran nuclear paradox could reveal a path to resolution
- 12 dead in Missouri plane crash, authorities say
- Graham ‘concerned’ that Iran views deal with U.S. differently than Trump administration
- Democrats hold 5-point edge over GOP ahead of midterms: Poll
- Pence cast doubt on possibility of US, Iran peace deal before Trump announcement
- U.S. and Iran say they have finally reached a deal, but details are still emerging
- Cage fighting, anyone? Welcome to Trump’s 80th birthday party on the White House lawn.
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship9 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words