By Matt Rooney
There are signs of life in the Assembly Republican caucus as of late, Save Jerseyans, but the Senate GOP continues to rubber-stamp the Sherrill Administration’s key nominations.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport (who has already doubled down on Sanctuary Statehood and sued the Trump Administration multiple times) was confirmed 38-0 back in March alongside State Treasurer Aaron Binder, Human Services Commissioner Stephen Cha, Education Commissioner Lily Laux, and Veterans Affairs Commissioner Vincent Solomeno.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced Ed Potosnak to lead the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). You’ve likely never heard of him, but you’ll recognize his handiwork: as executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Potosnak was a leading backer of our state’s infamous single-use bag ban AND offshore wind development.
Perhaps it’s time for a quick civics lesson: the New Jersey Constitution requires the Senate’s “advice and consent” for a damn good reason. That role was never intended to be ceremonial. It exists to ensure that the individuals entrusted with running major state agencies possess sound judgment, professional competence, and respect for the rule of law — confirming a pulse, the ability to read, and loyalty to the governor’s political agenda isn’t sufficient! State senators are not elected to act as extensions of the governor’s office. They are elected to provide independent judgment and oversight of the governor’s choices.
That responsibility becomes even more important when nominees hold views which are actively harming our state and undermining the rule of law. If Governor Sherrill chooses cabinet officials committed to aggressive “progressive” experimentation — whether on energy policy, law enforcement, immigration, education, or taxation — senators have an obligation to ask hard questions about the actual consequences for working families, businesses, and local communities.
The people leading state departments wield enormous power over everyday life in New Jersey. The attorney general shapes statewide law enforcement priorities. Environmental regulators can determine whether businesses expand or flee the state as well as the viability of Shore development. Education officials influence what schools teach and how parents interact with local districts. Transportation and labor appointees affect infrastructure, costs, and economic growth.
These are not symbolic positions. They are powerful policymaking posts capable of dramatically reshaping the state.
That is precisely why “advice and consent” cannot mean presumptive approval unless said nominee is a convicted pedophile or terrorist!
If nominees have supported soft-on-crime policies, extreme energy mandates, unconstitutional and dangerous sanctuary statehood policies, politically driven curriculum changes, affronts to parental rights, or bureaucratic overreach generally, senators should force those nominees and their supporters to publicly defend each and every word. If nominees lack qualifications or appear chosen primarily for ideological loyalty, lawmakers should not hesitate to reject them.
That is not obstruction. It is accountability. It is the duty each senator owes to their constituents.
Constitutional oversight requires balance, not blind obedience. The Senate’s job is not to hand any governor — Republican or Democrat — a blank check. New Jersey residents already face crushing taxes, rising utility costs, concerns regarding public safety, and widespread distrust in state government. Am I the only one watching the events at Delaney Hall with a growing pit in my stomach? The last thing the state needs is a confirmation process reduced to political theater in which controversial nominees breeze through without meaningful scrutiny.
Advice and consent is supposed to be a safeguard for the public — not a courtesy extended to the executive branch in exchange for personal or professional favors or a little less discomfort at the next Trenton cocktail party or stupid rubber chicken dinner.
Who wants to tell the Republican Senate caucus?
