A coalition of House Republicans is escalating its push for answers after lawmakers said New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill failed to address most of their questions about the state's noncitizen voter-registration scandal and instead directed criticism at President Donald Trump. Republican Study Committee member Rep.
Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., told Fox News Digital there will be consequences after Sherrill sent a response that he characterized as "snarky" and politicized and said largely sidestepped the lawmakers' questions. "The response that we got from the governor was almost like she took a political mailer and embossed it upon her official letterhead," Van Drew said. "As governor of the state of New Jersey, it was beneath her, it was beneath me, and it was unfortunate." SHERRILL ESCALATES TRUMP FIGHT OVER VOTER FIASCO DAY AFTER MULLIN PRAISES NJ COOPERATION "I state the obvious," Van Drew said.
"If you are an American, you should be voting in an American election. If you're not an American, you shouldn't be voting in an American election." Lawmakers focused their original inquiry on how the registration failure occurred, its potential consequences and how New Jersey would prevent another breakdown. The July 24 letter from dozens of RSC members, led by Van Drew and Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, posed 12 specific questions about the registration failure and its potential impact.
Sherrill replied that affected residents have been mailed notifications, but Van Drew said the overall response failed to address Congress’ concerns. "We're not done with this," Van Drew pledged. Van Drew said he is planning a hearing as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee, with expert witnesses expected to testify.
Van Drew said he is working with the full committee under Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to get the requested information from Lt. Dale Caldwell, the state's elections chief. 'TIP OF THE ICEBERG': NJ ILLEGAL VOTING SCANDAL EXPLODES WITH MORE KEY SYSTEMS AT RISK "If there's a complete lack of cooperation after we build up a case, there is a possibility, it's not definite," Van Drew said. "But if they're not, we do, in my opinion, have to look at subpoenas as well." Sherrill defended her administration while criticizing Congress, Trump and the Republican-backed SAVE America Act.
SHERRILL DROPS HEAD-TURNING VOTER ID DECLARATION IN WAKE OF REGISTRATION FIASCO: ‘SIGNIFICANT SHIFT’ "Washington Republicans … seem much more concerned with using the issue for political gain than they are with protecting our elections," Sherrill wrote, accusing several signatories of supporting Trump’s efforts to "undermine our election system" and noting that seven had challenged electoral votes after the 2020 election. Sherrill also disputed Republicans’ contention that the SAVE America Act would have prevented the error, writing, "I encourage you to become more familiar with the legislation you have cosponsored." She also raised privacy and abuse-of-power concerns about proposals to expand the federal government’s role in voter registration, including through a centralized voter registry. Van Drew told Fox that "when you have a motor-voter law, [via which] people basically are automatically registered to vote – First of all, New Jersey is a sanctuary state… Illegal criminals shouldn't be even in the state.
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