Members of NJ 11th for Change and BlueWaveNJ met with U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Residents who have been protesting U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen for weeks and asking for a town hall meeting shared their concerns with him Wednesday, but the congressman still won't commit to holding a town hall meeting in his district.
Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) met with 35 members of NJ 11th for Change and BlueWaveNJ on the condition they travel 200 miles south to his D.C. office -- and then only in groups no greater than 10.
"Frelinghuysen took an admirable first step in meeting with some of us this week and we appreciate it," Debra Caplan, a spokeswoman for NJ 11th for Change, said in a statement. "But it should not be necessary to travel almost ten hours in a day to discuss our concerns with our own Representative."
The groups have criticized Frelinghuysen over his support of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, his recent votes in line with President Donald Trump's agenda and his refusal to attend a town hall meeting in his district.
Frelinhuysen has been dodging requests for an in-person town hall for months. Instead he's held town halls over the phone.
By comparison, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) has weathered two contentious in-person town hall meetings so far this year, and plans to hold a third next week.
Despite the meeting, Caplan said many of Frelinghuysen's answers to group members' questions were "unsatisfying" -- specifically, his failure to commit to a town hall meeting in the next three months and his refusal to ask U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes to recuse himself on the Trump-Russia probe. Nunes announced Thursday he would step aside from taking the lead in his committee's investigation.
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"Rep. Frelinghuysen needs to understand that his district is much more diverse than in the past, and we hope he heard us loud and clear when we expressed that his current voting record does not reflect the views of many of his constituents," the group said. "Ultimately, he should be putting the needs of his constituents over the political needs of his party."
Frelinhuysen, however, said he does not support $20 billion for a border wall with Mexico nor does he support the plan for the wall as proposed, according to Caplan.
The congressman also agreed with the group that Trump should release his taxes like all modern presidents. Despite his position, Frelinghuysen voted against the measure raised by fellow New Jerseyan, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th Dist.), calling for Trump to release his tax returns.
Frelinghusen told the group he opposed the motion because "it was break from the regular house rules."
"We'd like our congressman to vote for what he believes in and what best represents us," Caplan said. "Not what's best for protocol or for supporting the party."
A message placed with Frelinghuysen's staff Thursday morning hasn't yet been returned.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.