Here's a pop quiz, New Jersey. Name the only U.S. Representative from the Garden State who voted to ax the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that probably saves you thousands of dollars a year.

If you answered "Rodney Frelinghuysen," then you have an idea why many New Jersey residents are ticked off at the veteran GOP lawmaker. Last week, as part of the Trump Administration's proposed, 10-year, $1.5 trillion tax reforms, Frelinghuysen voted in favor of a budget resolution that paved the way for a possible cut to SALT, which allows people to deduct certain taxes paid to state and local governments from their gross federal income.

Some experts said that cutting the SALT deduction would cost the average New Jersey resident thousands of dollars a year. Frelinghuysen's four GOP congressional peers from New Jersey all voted "no" on the resolution. See related article: Rep. Frelinghuysen Only NJ Congressman To Vote Yes To Tax Reform Resolution Several local Democrat leaders panned Frelinghuysen's vote, calling it an affront to middle-class New Jerseyans.



"Rodney Frelinghuysen voted against the interests of his constituents in favor of the GOP budget that strips deductions for state and local taxes," charged one of his congressional challengers in 2018, former U.S. Navy pilot and prosecutor Mikie Sherrill.

"The people of the 11th district of New Jersey must now prepare for upwards of $4,000 in extra taxes to be paid because of Frelinghuysen's vote," Sherrill said last week. "This Republican-supported tax increase will serve as the first step in giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans while hiking taxes on New Jersey's families."

See related article: Frelinghuysen Votes Yes On Revised Health Care Bill "With this budget, Representative Frelinghuysen is officially on the record supporting a middle-class tax increase – something he must explain to families and older Americans in New Jersey who will have less money in their pocket," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Evan Lukaske said.

See related article: Frelinghuysen Had Millions In Health Care Stocks; Voted For Trumpcare, Report Says State Assemblyman John McKeon wrote that he was "blown away" by Frelinghuysen's vote.

"As a part of the House leadership, Congressman Frelinghuysen could have stopped the loss of the state and local deduction," McKeon said. "Sadly, he simply followed along with a plan that will cost the average New Jersey taxpayer nearly $3,500 more a year."