WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, consumer advocacy organization Allied Progress announced a digital and print ad campaign targeting Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) for backing Trump more than his fellow Democrats, voting to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and deregulate Wall Street, and working to undermine the new, pro-accountability Democratic majority before it has even been sworn-in. The full-page print ad runs Wednesday in D.C. and targets the incoming Democratic majority and its staff with a simple message about Gottheimer: “He’s with Trump. He’s with Wall Street. He’s not with you.”

The digital ad will run in heavy rotation in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. through Christmas Eve. Its release was accompanied by new research from Allied Progress showing Gottheimer has taken a whopping $1,502,123 in campaign cash from the financial services industry and at least $2.8 million from industries regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), despite serving in Congress for only two years.

“Every progressive in New Jersey and across America should know that Josh Gottheimer votes with Trump more than he does with his fellow Democratic colleagues. They should know that he has taken millions from the financial sector and related industries and then voted to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and deregulate Wall Street. They should know that he is actively working to undermine the incoming Democratic majority so that it can’t hold Trump or his pals on Wall Street accountable. Consumers deserve better.,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress.

Last week, Allied Progress pointed out that Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, has voted more with President Donald Trump than he has with members of his own party in Congress.

Script – “Guess” – 30 Seconds

“This Congressman votes with Trump 55% of the time. He voted to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, deregulate Wall Street, and he even tried to weaken the new Democratic Majority before they’ve even been sworn-in. If you guessed Republican, you’re wrong. He’s ‘Democrat’ Josh Gottheimer. While real Democratic ‘problem solvers’ are leading the fight to hold Trump and Wall Street accountable, Josh Gottheimer is selling them out. It’s time for Gottheimer to get out of the way. Tell Gottheimer to stand with us, not Trump and Wall Street.” Visit TrumpGottheimer.org or call 202-225-4465.

Josh Gottheimer Has Received Over $1.5 Million From The Financial Industry Since His First Campaign In 2016

Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $1,502,123 From The Securities & Investment Industry Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,”Center For Responsive Politics, accessed 12/13/18]

Josh Gottheimer’s Biggest Donor Is The Blackstone Group, The World’s Largest Private Equity And Real Estate Firm. The Blackstone Group has been Josh Gottheimer’s largest donor during his congressional career, with a total of $96,750 coming from individuals associated with the company. [Contributors 2015 – 2018, Rep. Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

• Reuters Has Referred To The Blackstone Group As “The World’s Largest Manager Of Assets Such As Private Equity And Real Estate […]” “Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), the world’s largest manager of assets such as private equity and real estate, is kicking off a fundraising ‘super cycle’ which could see it manage more than half a trillion dollars in assets, its chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Thursday.” [Joshua Franklin, “Blackstone seeks to boost assets with new fundraising ‘super cycle’,”Reuters, 07/19/18]

Goldman Sachs Is One Of Josh Gottheimer’s Top Donors. Goldman Sachs is Josh Gottheimer’s second-largest donor since he first ran for Congress, with a total of $74,750 coming from their employees and PAC. [Contributors 2015 – 2018, Rep. Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

Apollo Global Management Is One Of Josh Gottheimer’s Top Donors. Apollo Global Management was Josh Gottheimer’s seventh-largest donor since he first ran for Congress, with a total of $53,000 coming from their employees. [Contributors 2015 – 2018, Rep. Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

• Apollo Global Management “Raised The Largest Ever Private Equity Fund” In 2017. In 2017 it was reported that, “Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) has raised the largest ever private equity fund, a regulatory filing showed, amassing $24.6 billion to be invested in North America and Western Europe, as global fundraising looked set to exceed 2007’s record.” [Dasha Afanasieva, “Apollo raises $24.6 billion for largest private equity fund ever,” Reuters, 07/27/18]

Wall Street Law Firm Sullivan & Cromwell Is One Of Josh Gottheimer’s Top Donors. Sullivan & Cromwell was Josh Gottheimer’s tenth-largest donor since he first ran for Congress, with a total of $45,650 coming from their employees. [Contributors 2015 – 2018, Rep. Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

• Sullivan & Cromwell Helped A “Systemically Important” Bank To Escape Federal Reserve Oversight. “In 2016, Zions Bancorp came to its lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell with a problem. The Utah-based bank, with about $66 billion in assets, was among the smallest firms designated as ‘systemically important,’ or too big to fail, under the tougher regulations that followed the 2008 financial crisis. But with that smaller size came no relief from the heightened scrutiny, which bigger banks subject to the same designation could more easily bear. At Sullivan & Cromwell, a team including one of Wall Street’s most prominent lawyers, H. Rodgin Cohen, had an idea for a new legal strategy to pull Zions out of the Federal Reserve oversight.” [C. Ryan Barber, “Behind Sullivan & Cromwell’s Winning Approach in ‘Too Big to Fail’ Case,” The National Law Journal, 08/01/18]

Morgan Stanley Is One Of Josh Gottheimer’s Top Donors. Morgan Stanley has given Josh Gottheimer $43,600 since he first ran for Congress, with contributions coming from their employees and PAC. [Contributors 2015 – 2018, Rep. Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

Investment Firm JANA Partners Is One Of Josh Gottheimer’s Top Donors. JANA Partners employees have given Josh Gottheimer $41,450 since he first ran for Congress. [Contributors 2015 – 2018, Rep. Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

• “JANA Partners LLC is an investment manager specializing in event-driven investing founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein, JANA’s Managing Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager.” [“About JANA Partners – Our Values and Strategy,” Jana Partners LLC, accessed 11/08/18]

Josh Gottheimer Has Taken Over $2.8 Million From Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Interests Since His First Congressional Campaign In 2016

Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $2,833,337 From Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Industries Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

• Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $1,502,123 From The Securities & Investment Industry Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]
• Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $501,435 From The Real Estate Industry Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]
• Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $286,956 From The Business Services Industry Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]
• Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $285,387 From The Insurance Industry Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]
• Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $229,618 From Miscellaneous Financial Entities Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]
• Josh Gottheimer Has Received A Career Total Of $164,644 From Commercial Banks Since His 2016 Campaign. [“Rep, Josh Gottheimer – New Jersey District 05,” OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

Gottheimer Attracted More Than A Quarter Of A Million Dollars In Wall Street Donations Away From His Republican Opponent, Who Was Previously A Top Recipient Of Industry Donations

In The 2016 Cycle, Josh Gottheimer Received Over $260,000 More From Financial Interests Than His Republican Opponent. Josh Gottheimer received $971,526 from the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate industries during the 2016 election cycle while his Republican opponent Scott Garrett received only $709,848. [Sector Totals, New Jersey District 05 Race, OpenSecrets.org, accessed 11/08/18]

Josh Gottheimer’s Opponent Scott Garrett Had Been A Magnet For Wall Street Donations As “Chairman Of The Powerful Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises. “[…] Republican Representative Scott Garrett of New Jersey, chairman of the powerful Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.” [Joshua Green, “Wall Street’s Straight Man in Washington,” Bloomberg, 01/14/16]

• Garrett Was “The Recipient Of More Wall Street Money Than Almost Any Other Member Of The House.”“In Washington, the committee is known as the ATM, because banks and hedge funds shower the chairman with contributions. After the Dodd-Frank financial law forced hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Garrett, already the recipient of more Wall Street money than almost any other member of the House, got millions more.” [Joshua Green, “Wall Street’s Straight Man in Washington,” Bloomberg, 01/14/16]

After Scott Garrett Made Controversial Homophobic Remarks, Wall Street Firms Not Only Withheld Donations To His Campaign, They Flocked To Gottheimer Instead. “Banks and hedge funds are loath to address Garrett’s remarks, but his most recent disclosure filing shows that several major donors stopped giving to him, including Goldman, JPMorgan, and his biggest donors, Singer and Elliott Management. Loeb and his wife have gone a step further, personally contributing to Gottheimer.” [Joshua Green, “Wall Street’s Straight Man in Washington,” Bloomberg, 01/14/16]

A JPMorgan Chase Fundraiser Depicted Gottheimer As “A Friend Of The Business [And] Financial” Communities

An Invitation To A 2015 Industry Fundraiser For Gottheimer Depicted Him As A “‘Friend Of The Business, Financial and Technology Communities'” And A “‘Fiscal Conservative.'” “[…] James Cicconi, the Republican head of external affairs at AT&T, and JPMorgan Chase’s Peter Scher, a Democrat, will host a breakfast ‘meet and greet’ for Gottheimer. The invitation doesn’t mince words. The race is ‘an excellent opportunity to oust one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives,’ the invitation says. It also praises Gottheimer, a Microsoft executive and former Federal Communications Commission official, as ‘a moderate, pro-growth, fiscal conservative and social progressive,’ concluding that he is ‘a friend of the business, financial and technology communities.'” [Robert Schmidt and Silla Brush, AT&T, JPMorgan executives look to oust Garrett for Democrat,” Chicago Tribune, 09/10/15]

Josh Gottheimer Was One The Small Number Of Democrats To Be Endorsed By The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce For Being “Probusiness”

Josh Gottheimer Has Been Endorsed By The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, Which Has A History Of “Favoring Candidates Who Pledge To Reduce Government Spending, Cut Taxes And Support Free Trade.”“Rep. Josh Gottheimer on Monday [July 23, 2018] visited the iFLY indoor skydiving center in Paramus, where he picked up the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with his free-falling constituents serving as the backdrop.” [Richard Cowen, “Gottheimer picks up U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement in Paramus,” NorthJersey, 07/24/18]

• “Historically, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has leaned right in its political endorsements, favoring candidates who pledge to reduce government spending, cut taxes and support free trade.” [Richard Cowen, “Gottheimer picks up U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement in Paramus,” NorthJersey, 07/24/18]
• The Chamber Of Commerce Had Been Looking For “Probusiness” Democrats After It Previously “Took The Unorthodox Step Of Endorsing Six Democrats.” “Last cycle, the Chamber of Commerce, fed up with Tea Party-driven shutdowns and default scares, took the unorthodox step of endorsing six Democrats; five of them won. Gottheimer could be next. ‘We’re looking for good, probusiness candidates who can win in the fall and focus on governing,’ says Scott Reed, the Chamber’s senior political strategist.” [Joshua Green, “Wall Street’s Straight Man in Washington,” Bloomberg, 01/14/16]

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Allied Progress is a consumer watchdog organization that uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to stand up to corporate special interests and hold their allies in Congress and the White House accountable.