U.S. Sen. Andy Kim Pushes Back on Trump’s DEI, Immigration Actions, Reflects On Time in Senate
Senator-elect Kim, official portrait in Washington, DC on December 3, 2024. U.S. Senate photo by Rebecca Hammel
BY MADISON JOLLEY | For AC JosepH Media
EDITOR’S NOTE: The story was written based on an interview with Senator Kim and FRNJ Editor Clyde Hughes.
MOORESTOWN – In a recent one-on-one interview with Front Runner New Jersey.com, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim said that even after months in the role, he still feels humbled to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.
He called the experience both an honor and a weighty responsibility in a time of intense political division. Kim, sworn in in December, became the first Korean American in the Senate and the first Asian American senator from the East Coast.
He said he carries these milestones with pride while recognizing the historic nature of his presence in the chamber.
“I am the son of immigrants, a public school kid from South Jersey, now representing over nine million people in my home state,” Kim told Front Runner New Jersey. “I did not do this job because it is easy. I wanted to help steer my home state, where I am raising my eight-year-old and nine-year-old, at this challenging moment.”
Kim described his first months in the Senate as extraordinary but acknowledged the work has been stressful, with high-stakes issues dominating the national conversation. Among those, immigration has been at the forefront, and Kim did not hold back in his criticism of the Trump administration’s policies, calling them a betrayal of fundamental American values.
He pointed to cases such as that of Kareem Daahoo, a long-time resident of New Jersey and restaurant owner who has been detained despite having a U.S. citizen wife and two young American-born children.
“How is he a threat?” Kim asked, adding that such actions are not only morally wrong but also economically harmful.
He argued that immigration has long been a driver of American innovation and prosperity, citing his own father’s journey to the United States as a student decades ago and the contributions immigrants have made to fields from medicine to technology.
He also rejected the administration’s push to end birthright citizenship, saying that under such a policy, he himself would not have been recognized as an American citizen despite being born in the United States.
“My story is not just a Korean American story or an Asian American story. It is fundamentally an American story,” Kim said. “I grew up here, I have dedicated my career to public service, and now I am serving in the Senate. I am as American as anyone else.”
Kim also addressed the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government and in the private sector. He criticized what he called the false narrative that diversity and meritocracy cannot coexist, saying that his own career proves otherwise.
“As a minority, I earned my way into the U.S. Senate,” he said. “The idea that minority success must be because of DEI is wrong. Our diversity is our strength, not a weakness.”
On another contentious front, Kim reaffirmed his opposition to the nomination of Alina Abba for U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, citing her public statements about using the position to “turn New Jersey red.”
Kim said the role should be about upholding the rule of law, not political gain, and that her comments disqualify her from the position.
Even with the demands of his Senate duties in Washington, Kim said he works to spend as much time as possible back in New Jersey. He recently hosted town halls addressing proposed cuts to Medicaid and the importance of hurricane preparedness, especially in the wake of deadly flooding that claimed the lives of two New Jersey residents.
He has met with families, local officials, and small business owners to discuss ways to strengthen economic stability across South Jersey.
“I am the first U.S. senator from South Jersey in over seven decades,” Kim said. “I want to make sure I am standing up for this region, growing jobs, and helping families find more stability.”
Kim also weighed in on Republican-led efforts in Texas to redraw congressional maps in a way he said was designed purely to preserve political power. He called the move a blatant abuse of partisanship and a symptom of a larger national problem.
“My entire run for Senate was based on an anti-corruption effort,” Kim said. “We need to step up against blatant abuses of power all over the country. People are tired of politics that serve insiders and the powerful instead of the public. That is what I am trying to change.”
For Kim, that mission of combining a commitment to his constituents with a focus on defending democratic values is what drives him through the pressures of his first year. He said it is also what will continue to guide him as he works to represent New Jersey in the years ahead.
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