About Josh

Short Biography

Biography

Congressional Leadership and Priorities

Josh Gottheimer represents New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District in the northernmost part of the state, which includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex counties. He was first sworn in on January 3, 2017, and is now in his fourth term in office.

In Congress, Josh serves on two Committees, including the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the Ranking Member of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee, and is a member of the National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee. Josh also serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where he is a member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets.

In January 2017, Josh was elected Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, where he promotes commonsense over extremism and works across party lines on key issues, including lowering taxes, protecting our environment, making healthcare more affordable, protecting America’s national security, and improving infrastructure to help the American people. He was re-elected Co-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in January 2023.

Josh is also a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, the Blue Dog Coalition, and the New Democrat Coalition.

Just two months into his first term, Josh passed his first amendment in the House, which was later signed into law, to accelerate the hiring of post-9/11 veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Josh has been named one of the top ten Members with the most amendments considered on the House floor.

As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Josh understands that the safety and security of the United States is at a critical juncture, with rapidly evolving threats from foreign terrorists, and bad actors including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and other oppressive regimes.

Josh is committed to lowering taxes and getting Fifth District residents a better return on the federal tax dollars they already send to Washington. In 2021 alone, by working with Fifth District mayors, councils, first responders, and towns, Josh helped claw back $750 from Washington for every household in the Fifth District — a 357% increase from what the District has historically received. These dollars help first responders protect our communities while offsetting the strain on local budgets and property tax bills.

For his support for pro-growth policies and bipartisan governing, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded Josh its Spirit of Enterprise Award every year he has served, as well as its first ever Jefferson–Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship. Given his consistent work on both sides of the aisle and as Co-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Josh has been recognized multiple times as the most bipartisan Democrat in the House by the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Josh has also received the Jefferson-Lincoln Award from the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

Last Congress, Josh played a key role in helping craft and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — the greatest infrastructure investment in a century. For New Jersey, this bipartisan bill will help build the new Gateway Train Tunnel, fix crumbling roads, bridges, rail, and NJ Transit, fight climate change, invest in ports, expand broadband access to the unconnected, get lead out of drinking water, address supply chain issues, create jobs, and boost our local economy.

Josh also helped get signed into law the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reduce our reliance on foreign countries like China, the PACT Act to expand VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and toxic substances, historic bipartisan gun safety legislation to keep children and families safe, and the Electoral Count Reform Act to help protect democracy.

In fall of 2022, Josh’s bipartisan, bicameral legislation — the Invest to Protect Act — passed the House by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote — 360 to 64. Josh introduced the bill with former sheriff Rep. John Rutherford (FL-4) to make critical, targeted investments in the recruitment, retention, support, and training police need to protect themselves and the communities they serve.

Josh is dedicated to combating antisemitism and strengthening the historic U.S.-Israel relationship. Josh helped secure passage of legislation reaffirming the Obama-Biden Administration’s ten year U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), fighting the BDS movement, and investing in the Iron Dome program. 

Background

Josh was raised in North Caldwell, the son of a preschool teacher and a small business owner. Growing up, Josh worked in his father’s store and, like your average New Jersey kid, treasured summer vacations at the Jersey Shore. His first concert was at the Meadowlands to see the one and only Bruce Springsteen!

Josh graduated from West Essex High School before attending the University of Pennsylvania, later becoming a Thouron Fellow at Oxford, and then paid his way through Harvard Law School.

After finishing college, Josh went on to work in the Clinton White House as one of the youngest presidential speechwriters in history. Josh wrote speeches on topics ranging from the global economy to technology and innovation to combating crime; he also helped draft two State of the Union Addresses.

After leaving the White House, Josh worked at the Ford Motor Company, where he helped rebuild the iconic auto company’s image and worked on the first American hybrid. Josh was also a Senior Advisor to the Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and published the book “Ripples of Hope: Great American Civil Rights Speeches.”

Josh later served as Senior Counselor to the Chairman at the Federal Communications Commission. During his tenure, he was the first Director of Office of Public-Private Initiatives, partnering with private companies to break through roadblocks and solve national problems. These partnerships saved taxpayers money while helping law enforcement, boosting digital education, and creating jobs. Josh worked on cybersecurity, broadband adoption, combating cell phone theft, creating a new public safety emergency alert system, and expanding wireless spectrum. Josh used that experience to help create a nonprofit, JerseyOn, that has expanded access to high-speed internet for low-income New Jersey students to help them compete in the 21st Century economy.

Before running for Congress, Josh worked at Microsoft as General Manager for Corporate Strategy, where he focused on the company’s expansion into the cloud, e-commerce, and privacy. He was also a member of both the Ridgewood and New Jersey Chambers of Commerce, the Rutgers Business School Advisory Board, and was a visiting fellow at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology. He also taught history at the University of Pennsylvania.

Josh’s approach to public service is rooted in his experience in both the public and private sectors. During his time working with President Clinton, Dr. Mary Frances Berry, Senator Frank Lautenberg, and Speaker Thomas Foley, he saw that, by seeking common ground, it is possible to find a bipartisan path forward without compromising your core values. Josh firmly believes that it does not matter if an idea comes from the Democratic or Republican side of the aisle, only whether it will help our great country and the communities and people of New Jersey.

Josh now lives in Wyckoff, New Jersey, with Marla, his wife who was a federal prosecutor, and their two young children, Ellie and Ben.