Congress is currently on a week-long recess, which means Andy Kim — the freshman U.S. senator and maybe the closest thing Jersey Democrats have to a rock star right now — is back home. And he's not being quiet. Kim took a break from a big slate of public events in the state this week to chat with me in a one-on-one interview. We talked about the volatility going on daily in Washington. About the division in Kim's own party, with some Democrats swinging back hard against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk and others pulling punches in the name of compromise. About whether he supports the embattled Chuck Schumer. About who he'll back in the busy governor's race that's heavily influenced by his establishment-bucking campaign last year. And we discovered something else: Did you know Andy Kim writes his own songs? (Yes, this Andy Kim. Not the 1970s pop star Andy Kim who topped the charts with "Rock Me Gently" 50 years ago. More on that later.) Our talk happened just after Kim held a news conference Tuesday in downtown Newark to warn about the effect Trump and Musk's controversial overhaul of the federal government — you know, DOGE — could have on housing in the Garden State. On Wednesday, he met with Haitian immigrants in Maplewood worried about deportation. Next, Kim will host his first three town halls as a senator, and he's pointedly holding each in districts represented by Jersey's three Republican congressmen, who have been criticized for not holding forums of their own. (One of them, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. scheduled a telephone town hall for next week.) Here's what Kim told me ... Q: Trump did a lot better than expected in blue Jersey last year. Two months into his new tenure, what letter grade would you give his administration?
AK: "They're failing in all rights. This is the worst that I've ever seen it in terms of an administration. I say that as someone who's worked under both a Republican and a Democratic administration before. It's something that I hope the American people see. "Because I get it. So many people were frustrated with how things were going — the status quo. I feel that, too. But what we see right now is a very clear effort to push forward an extreme agenda that is really trying to divide this country and also ignore the biggest issues that people wanted to see addressed, which is the high cost of living: high costs, and high prices that are out there. Which this administration is not only ignoring, they're making worse by these tariffs that are just squeezing so many families and businesses right now. So on so many levels, this is something that's a true attack upon our country's democracy and something that needs to be stopped." Q: There's a real divide among Democrats on how to react to Trump. Some — including candidates in the governor's race — are moving to the middle on issues such as immigration. But they're facing pressure from the party's base to bite back against Trump. What message do you think Democrats need to send right now?
AK: "I've never thought about myself in terms of the ideological spectrum. What I think about is the pragmatism in terms of our approach. Listen to the people. It's very clear when you listen to people in New Jersey what they want, which is they want a government that will protect their rights and focus on helping them be able to enjoy their life and be able to spend more time with their family, be able to have a better living. The way people talk about is, they just feel so much anxiety right now. Feels like it's hard to breathe. You know, another person said it feels like death from a thousand cuts when it comes to pricing. "So people just want to live a life of dignity and decency. ... And I think that that's something you can build a wide coalition around. You know, I'm a Democrat that won a congressional district that Trump won. I know that's a message that can connect with independents, even some conservatives that see right now a level of extremism and tribalism that I think is very scary. "The other thing I'll just say — and this is something that I was very strong on here in New Jersey, too — is people do feel like the status quo of our politics is broken. And they're right. And some voters chose Donald Trump because they see him as a disruptor. But what I try to show is that that's not what he's doing. He's not doing it for the people. I've shown that I can be a disruptor, as well, that I've taken on efforts to try to reform broken politics. You can't have a government and a politics that only focuses on the well-off and the well-connected. But I try to show there's a different way to do this, a different way to disrupt."
Q: Speaking of being a disruptor, you were the driving force to strike down the infamous county line last year in your bitter Senate primary against First Lady Tammy Murphy. So what did you make of the controversial new law Gov. Phil Murphy just signed to replace it? And would you join the lawsuits aiming to overturn it?
AK: "Well, I certainly disagree with that ballot bill. I think it's just continuing to entrench this ability for people to get preferential placement on a ballot. I just say: Look, it's about making sure that every candidate is treated exactly the same. So we still have more work to go. I'm glad that the overall county line system is dead, we are making some progress, but we need to do better if we're going to do it. "I don't know in terms of my next steps, I'm just trying to finish up this initial lawsuit, and we'll see." Q: Are you going to endorse a candidate in the crowded Democratic primary for governor? Two contenders at least, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, are both running in the progressive, grassroots Andy Kim mode.
AK: "I don't know yet. I've said before, I'm open to endorsing. I held a forum with a number of the candidates, and that was really helpful for not just me, but a lot of people to understand some of the differences between them. Of which I think there are some meaningful differences, certainly when it comes to reform. That's something I'm pushing hard on.
"The next governor can play a big role in either cleaning up our politics here in New Jersey and moving us towards a path that can better represent the kind of democracy we deserve. Or they could move a direction that could try to solidify some of the entrenched power that's trying to hold on to what they have left and roll things back. And I think that would be very dangerous. And I think that would be a governor I cannot partner with in the way that I would want." Q: Baraka drew attention last week when he called for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to "step aside" after Schumer upset some in the party by backing a controversial Republican spending bill to avoid a federal government shutdown. Do you agree it's time for him to step aside?
AK: "Right now, I have not had a chance to talk to him since the vote, or a lot of my colleagues. Right now what the focus is on is about having the right strategy and approach going forward. I've talked to a number of my House colleagues, as well as my Senate colleagues, going forward. I'll talk to them. That's what we really need to hone in on. We can decide how best to execute that. But we right now need to show that we have a stronger strategy. That's why I'm back here in New Jersey this week. Talk to the people, hear what their concerns are — because they're my boss — and try to make sure we can go on the offense."
Q: A few quick personal things. I know you play guitar. What's the go-to song when you sit down to play?
AK: "So most of what I play is actually just kind of some of my own stuff."
Q: You write your own songs? I didn't know that. AK: "I started working on a guitar album, like, years ago and never really kind of followed through. ... The album's called 'November,' but it's not about elections or anything politics-related." Q: We'll have to talk more about that sometime. (Full disclosure: I sing in a band and write my own songs, too.)
I'm a father of a 4-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy, and all we watch these days is kids stuff. I know you have young kids. Do you have recommendations to parents what to watch? We love "Bluey."
AK: "I was just about to say 'Bluey' is very powerful. It's impressive. My kids definitely still in the deep Pokemon phase. So like. But I could see the older ones starting to get into some other things. I like trying to get them to watch documentaries, especially nature documentaries and trying to go in that direction."
Q: Lastly, I mentioned to my dad recently I was going to interview Andy Kim this week He joked: "The senator or the singer from the '70s?" How often do you get comments like that?
AK: "A fair amount. I tell them: I've made a good transition from being a Lebanese-Canadian pop star to now a U.S. senator. But I did have the other Andy Kim send me a very kind birthday video once. So he and I have exchanged some messages in the past, just cheering each other on."
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