REQUESTING AN IN PERSON TOWN HALL MEETING WITH REP. THOMAS KEAN, JR. in 2026

Dear Congressman Kean,

We, the undersigned citizens of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, hereby petition you to hold an in-person Town Hall open to all CD-7 residents at a location and time of mutual convenience.

We make this request with a sense of urgency.  The recent unprovoked use of U.S. military forces in a devastating attack on Iran, preceded by a forced abduction of the Venezuelan head of state, were undertaken without Congressional authorization, as required by our Constitution and the War Powers Act.  Indeed, Congress was not even informed of these actions until after the fact.  While the abduction and imprisonment of Venezuelan President Maduro took but a day, the “decapitation” of the Iranian government and ensuing operations are projected by President Trump to continue for four to five weeks.  These are but two of the innumerable lawless acts perpetrated by the present Executive branch of our federal government.  The daily shocks to our system of government and the principles upon which it was established threaten to destroy that great system, which has sustained and nourished our democratic republic for 250 years.  We are facing the abandonment of the foundational principles of our Constitution: the ideals of freedom and equality; the rule of law; the civil rights of all citizens; and the distribution of political power among the three branches of federal government, the governments of the several states, and the local governments of counties and municipalities. 

To enumerate all the violations of our Constitution by the Trump administration would be a Herculean labor.  Here is a small sampling:

In addition to its obvious disdain for the rule of established law, the Trump administration has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to commit acts of “waste, fraud, and abuse,” the very phrase it used to justify eliminating whole federal agencies and slashing the budgets of others, including over $1 trillion from the Medicare program.  

So, these cuts supposedly save taxpayers trillions of dollars.  And how are these savings used for the taxpayers’ common welfare?  One new funding allocation, for example, includes huge increases in the budget for the Department of Homeland Security.  While those increases reflect a legitimate priority of the Administration, is it not wasteful and abusive of the public trust for the HHS Secretary to lease and seek to purchase for her personal use a $700 million luxury Boeing 737 Max 8 outfitted with a bedroom with a queen-size bed, a shower, a kitchen, and a bar?  Is it appropriate for the FBI Director to use U.S. government aircraft for personal travel, such as a hunting trip to Texas, a flight to Pennsylvania to attend a concert by his girlfriend, and, most recently, a flight to Italy to attend the Winter Olympics?  Other examples of such waste, fraud, and abuse could be added almost indefinitely.   

Representative Kean, we respect your dedication to the welfare of your constituents in NJ CD-7.  Your regular and extensive weekly communications with us and your diligent provision of constituent services are exemplary features of your tenure.  What disturbs us, rather, is your apparent acquiescence to what we regard as a rogue regime running the federal government headed by a convicted felon and shameless grifter.  

We ask you to meet with us in person to address our concerns and to explain and justify your support for the President and his policies.  We also believe it is your duty as our Congressional representative to call out the administration’s flagrant abuses of power.  A few of your Republican Congressional colleagues, such as Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, have done so, and we urge you to join them.

Respectfully,
CD-7 Constituents