TRENTON — Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) directly challenged President Donald Trump during the first and only televised debate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, despite receiving Trump's endorsement.
Kean opposed the Trump administration's plan for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Roxbury and broke with the president on the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project linking New Jersey and New York.
"My focus is to make sure we don't have an ICE facility in Roxbury," Kean said during the debate against Democratic opponent Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot.
The ICE facility has drawn bipartisan opposition since its announcement. The federal government abandoned the plan in June 2026 but reversed course a month later. Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Roxbury Township have filed suit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security over the conversion of a warehouse into an immigration detention center. Bennett noted that Kean's debate statement marked his first public comment on the issue.
On the Gateway Tunnel, which would construct two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, Kean said: "I will challenge anybody who gets in my way, including this president." Trump has called the project too expensive and a "boondoggle." His administration attempted to block its funding, but a federal judge stopped those efforts.
Kean also said he would not adopt Trump's rebranding of Lake Ontario as "Lake America," a move the president made during a trade dispute with Canada.
Kean is seeking a third term after winning his 2024 race by 5.4 points against Democrat Susan Altman. He flipped the district from Democratic to Republican control in 2022, defeating former Rep. Tom Malinowski by 2.8 points.
His re-election campaign has faced questions over a prolonged absence from the House floor in spring. Kean attributed it to a "medical emergency." Bennett said she "would have been more transparent" if she held office.
On other issues, Kean backed Trump's positions on Iran, tariffs, and tax policy. Bennett has sought to use both Kean's absence and his broader support for the Trump agenda to argue for new district representation.
