Andy Kim on his Philly-area roots, Trump’s cabinet, and Democrats’ next steps

WASHINGTON — When Andy Kim won the New Jersey Senate seat this year, he became the first South Jerseyan headed to the chamber since World War II.

He’s also the most Philly-adjacent.

With Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) and Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) both living in Western Pennsylvania, Kim’s Moorestown home — about 15 miles outside the city — puts him much more directly in the middle of the Philadelphia experience.

“I mean, look, I basically grew up there, you know, an avid Phillies and Eagles fan, now taking my kids to Sixers games,” Kim said in an interview last week in Washington.

Kim grew up in South Jersey – Marlton and then Cherry Hill. At one point, he lived a few doors down from a former Eagles coach and remembers players, like Randall Cunningham, visiting and playing catch with the neighborhood kids. Now, he takes Amtrak back and forth from 30th Street to Washington. His kids have been patients at CHOP. His wife, Kammy Lai, an attorney, works at Vanguard in the city.

“She battles the Schuylkill Expressway to get to work like everybody else,” Kim said.

In a break from voting and packing up his House office to move to the Senate side of the Capitol, Kim talked about the inter-connectedness of the Philadelphia region and what he thinks voters, in both states are looking for after widespread Democratic defeats this year. He chatted on a bench in the Capitol rotunda, the same space where he received viral attention for cleaning up after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

» READ MORE: Is New Jersey becoming a swing state?

The last Pennsylvania senator based in Philadelphia was Arlen Specter, who left office in 2011. Sen. Bob Casey had close ties to the city and made frequent stops here, but lived two hours away in Scranton.

When Kim ran for former Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat against New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, he received very little support from Democrats in his home state. But across the river, endorsements poured in from Fetterman, and six Democratic colleagues of his in the U.S. House. Kim said he’s eager to work with the Pennsylvania delegation on issues that impact the region, like water quality in the Delaware and transit.

“The stronger that Philadelphia is as an economy, as a community, as a hub, the stronger South Jersey and frankly all of New Jersey is,” Kim said. “We have a mutually beneficial existence there that I’m going to be looking out for.”

Kim called the orientation for new Senate members earlier this month humbling, especially as a son of Korean immigrants entering a chamber where only 2,000 other people have served. In January, Kim will become the first Korean American in the U.S. Senate, and New Jersey’s first Asian American senator.

» READ MORE: Rep. Andy Kim wins Senate seat in New Jersey, becoming first Korean American in the U.S. Senate

While he wouldn’t say how he’ll vote on President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments, save for not being supportive of former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz for Attorney General — who has since withdrawn from consideration — he said some of the names have given him pause.

Kim worked in the National Security Council where he watched cabinet members interact with the president in the situation room. “It’s hard for me to imagine just how our country is going to be well served with some of these people whose names are being put forward,” he said.

In the last two elections, Kim twice won in districts that Trump also won. He outran Harris in New Jersey by more than three points this year and outran Biden in his South Jersey Congressional district in 2020. His political story — running for the seat held by a senator found guilty of taking bribes against the Democratic political establishment — allowed him to run as an independent-minded Democrat in an election cycle when voters craved politicians outside of the status quo.

Kim hopes that political resume might help him work on bipartisan policies in Congress, like bills supporting mental health, addressing the opioid crisis, or fostering economic innovations to boost manufacturing.

The Democratic Party, he thinks, needs to find a way to regain the trust of voters and to show they are not one tribal monolith but people responsive to their constituents’ needs.

“I think we should never underestimate how much people are just disgusted with politics,” Kim said. “ ...When you think the status quo is broken, you gravitate towards people who are showing there’s a different way to do it. Now, what we need to show, what I hope to show, is there’s a different way to try to take on this status quo.”