NJ Reps Buck Trump On Picatinny, Fall Short On Deportation Sites

By Benjamin J. Hulac, Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON — Congress inched ahead with a plan to halt a Trump administration proposal to change a weapons program at Picatinny Arsenal, a military base in Morris County, a move New Jersey lawmakers said would cost jobs and money.

An amendment Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th) filed to block federal funding from being used to shift the Picatinny program until the Army submits a report about its proposal was included in the House version of the annual military policy bill.

But efforts by New Jersey senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both Democrats, to counter the Trump administration’s efforts to use military sites to hold and then deport undocumented immigrants are likely to fall short. And Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th) tried, also unsuccessfully, to amend the bill by blocking offshore wind projects unless the military certified they did not interfere with radar.

For weeks, both chambers of Congress, the House and Senate, have been debating, altering and voting on the annual bill that sets broad U.S. military policy — an opportunity for members to tack on amendments on issues they care about to what is considered “must-pass” legislation.

The legislation in question contains no funding but lays out Pentagon operations.

House lawmakers voted 231-196 last week to pass their version of the bill, which historically passes with wide bipartisan support.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th) and New Jersey’s three Republicans — Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd), Chris Smith (R-4th) and Tom Kean Jr. (R-7th) — voted for it, while every Democrat but Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th) voted against it.

“I helped pass a bipartisan defense bill to equip our service members and keep our nation safe — including a pay raise for our brave men and women in uniform and key military aid to support our allies in Ukraine,” Gottheimer said in an emailed statement. “The bill included my legislation to combat Hamas terrorists, stand up to China, and expand STEM education.”

Sherrill, the Democratic candidate for governor, has missed multiple votes in recent months as she campaigns, though none have been on significant legislation.

The House voted down Smith’s amendment, 209 to 224, as the state delegation split along party lines, with Van Drew and Kean voting for it and Democrats voting no.

In a July letter, New Jersey members requested the Pentagon stop plans to restructure a series of Army weapons sites, including Picatinny, a munitions site known for making weapons.

“We write to you to express our grave concern over the Army’s proposed restructuring of its acquisition enterprise,” the letter said. “This would damage the Army’s ammunition acquisition efforts and would have a devastating impact on Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey where that effort is managed. There is no other DoD installation with the same uniquely experienced and qualified staff in arms and ammunition.”

The lawmakers continued: “Moving these missions to other installations would inevitably lead to reduced lethality and poorer weapons being delivered to our soldiers.”

Members sent the letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.

As threats increase, so may protection for CongressAlong with Sherrill, Booker, Kim, Van Drew and Kean, Reps. Donald Norcross (D-1st), Herb Conaway (D-3rd), Josh Gottheimer (D-5th), Frank Pallone (D-6th), Rob Menendez (D-8th), Nellie Pou (D-9th), LaMonica McIver (D-10th) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th) signed the letter.

The Army’s proposal places at risk as much as $1 billion and 1,000 jobs at Picatinny, according to Sherrill’s office.

The Senate has not voted on its version of the military bill.

Kim tried without success to attach an amendment to allow access to government-provided legal counsel for immigrants detained on military bases. He also offered an amendment to allow members of Congress to access immigrant detention sites on military facilities and a separate amendment to block the military from work “to engage in or support immigration enforcement.”

Booker offered an amendment to require a federal report about how “military readiness” has been affected by the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The report would include descriptions of military sites used for immigration detention; the number of people held at such sites and their demographic information; and records about aircraft the military has used for removal flights.

The Republican-majority Senate accepted none of those amendments.

The administration this summer approved the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to use Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to hold and deport undocumented immigrants, though neither base nor administration officials have confirmed immigration activities are happening on the base.

One measure slipped into the House version would thwart an administration decision to rename Army bases after Confederate leaders.

In 2020, Congress moved to rename nine Army bases in southern states — Alabama, George, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia — named after Confederates to honor women, racial minorities and other military leaders.

While the Pentagon this year reverses those changes, the House bill would block that reversal.

Hegseth has said that “DEI is dead” at the Pentagon, using the shorthand for “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from Rep. Josh Gottheimer.