Kean to fundraise with champion of SALT repeal

(Bridgewater, NJ) — Even as he claims to support restoring New Jersey’s SALT deduction, Tom Kean, Jr. is set to have a high-dollar fundraiser tonight with the very man who tore our deduction away — former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

In 2017, Ryan championed the GOP’s assault on New Jersey, slashing our SALT deduction to fund tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. Now he’s bankrolling Kean, Jr. in his bid to unseat Tom Malinowski, who led the successful bipartisan effort in the House to restore the deduction late last year.

This isn’t the first time Kean, Jr. has sold out New Jersey to fund his campaign. Kean happily accepted fundraising help from Mitch McConnell in April, even as McConnell blocked COVID relief for New Jersey’s state and local governments, calling it a “blue state bailout.” He even fundraised with Rep. Andy Barr, who voted to block Hurricane Sandy disaster relief in 2013.

“Tom Kean says he’ll restore the SALT deduction, even as he gets paid by the man whose crowning achievement was taking it away,” said Daniel Fleiss, Tom Malinowski for Congress Campaign Manager. “Tom Kean’s loyalty lies with Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and the Washington Republicans who fund his campaigns, he’ll never stand with us.”

Malinowski made fully restoring the SALT deduction a central tenet of his 2018 campaign, and has made it a priority in Congress. In December of 2019, he led debate on the House floor, and championed the bill to restore the SALT deduction, which passed with bipartisan support. Kean patron Mitch McConnell has refused to bring the bill to the Senate for a vote.