TRENTON - On the same day that Tom Kean, Jr. is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. after his strange and mysterious, unexplained, nearly four-month absence, the New Jersey State Legislature, in a surreal political crossroads, will vote on a $60.7 Billion Budget.

Kean used to be here in the Legislature, where he occupied the minority, before he went to Washington, D.C. and made headlines for missing over 140 votes as President Donald J. Trump's MAGA majority laid waste to the country, made a shambles of the United States' global reputation and - on the country's 250th anniversary - made a shambles of the United States Constitution, while trying to turn New Jersey into a concentration camp.

One vote Kean didn't miss before he disappeared, which he can't cover up in this critical election year, was the one he cast nearly a year ago for Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill," which slashed Medicaid and food assistance, shredding lifelines for working class people and directly threatening the survival of more than 363,000 New Jersey residents.

Now, New Jersey's budget crisis goes far deeper than Trump. Everyone knows that. But State Treasurer Aaron Binder made a point during the budget process of noting the exacerbation on state finances of increased healthcare costs, and increased healthcare costs as a consequence of Trump's Medicaid mess.

Fighting back - as she did in Congress when she opposed Trump's bill - Governor Mikie Sherrill in the budget NJ lawmakers will vote on today proposes taxing employers with at least 50 workers on Medicaid to raise $145 million in new revenue. The fees range between $325 and $725 per worker, depending on the number of employees enrolled in Medicaid at each company. 

These employers, according to NJ.com, include Amazon (15,574), Walmart (10,207), Century II Staffing (9,140), Wawa (7,606), Target (5,210), Saker ShopRites (4,209), Home Depot (4,218), FedEx (3,440), CVS Pharmacy (3,265), and Dollar Tree (2,892).

“Instead of asking taxpayers to foot that bill, this budget looks to large employers,” Sherrill said in her budget address.

That's the right move.

Last week, during backroom negotiations leading up to today's vote, InsiderNJ asked Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald about the particular crossroads in the bill of Medicaid and the state budget.

Greenwald acknowledged that key investments are about 60% of "what we have done in the past because of Medicaid cuts and the uncertainty of what is coming, because of the President's attack on Medicaid. It is important for your readers to know that last month, 30K of our neighbors lost their SNAP benefits and 69k neighbors lost their health benefits - a direct impact of HR-1."

Greenwald said he is hopeful of change in the upcoming midterm elections.

"The midterms will have this pendulum back," he said. "We have to level this playing field. We have to survive until another administration of any president. The red states are getting crushed [too]. It's amazing to me that Republicans are not standing up and saying, 'This is a disaster.' In New Jersey, that's Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean, Jr. that have allowed this to happen."

Former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett is hopeful of change too.

She's running against Kean in the November general election.

“Career politician Tom Kean Jr. is a coward, and he has repeatedly failed the communities in our district,” Bennett said on June 2, the night she stampeded to victory in the Democratic Primary. “The difference between the two of us could not be clearer: I spent 15 years serving our country in uniform as a Navy helicopter pilot where I swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution, while Tom Kean, Jr. has sworn an oath to Donald Trump and his D.C. party bosses who are jacking up costs and ripping away access to health care. New Jersey deserves a member of Congress who will actually show up and fight for our community, not an absent and corrupt career politician who plays the stock market and looks out for himself while the rest of us get left behind. I’ve spent my entire life putting service above self, and that’s the kind of leadership I will bring to Washington when we retire Tom Kean, Jr. in November.”

Her campaign noted how a Republican-aligned super PAC spent over $650K in negative advertisements and mailers attacking Bennett because she is the candidate the congressman and the GOP fear most.

Indeed, New Jersey’s 7th District is one of only a handful of “Toss Up” districts in the entire country and "will be pivotal in deciding control of the House majority in November. Kean Jr. has become increasingly vulnerable as questions mount about his unanswered months-long absence in Washington, and about his stock trading and corruption while serving in Congress," the challenger pointed out.

Today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was quick to pounce on Kean's scheduled return in a morning release.

They had the same and similar questions:

• Why did you refuse to be transparent with your constituents for months while collecting a taxpayer-funded salary?
• Why did you have time to trade stocks but not to vote or do the job New Jerseyans elected you to do?
• Why did you schedule a Washington D.C. campaign fundraiser for your first day back instead of prioritizing action to help New Jersey families?
• Why did you sign off on special interest funded travel perks for your campaign staff but not have time to vote?
• Why did you tout Donald Trump’s endorsement while missing, and why do you refuse to stand up to him?
• Why have you always been an absent Congressman, refusing to stand up for New Jersey when your community needs you most?