It was one of the biggest votes of Democratic New Jersey Rep. Nellie Pou’s first eight months in Congress so far — and she missed it.
Pou, one of 13 House Democrats representing a district that President Donald Trump carried in November, has taken a victory lap in recent days after legislation she authored in response to a water crisis in her district advanced out of committee to the House floor. The freshman lawmaker, however, is recorded as not voting on the bill despite speaking in support of the measure roughly 40 minutes earlier during the committee markup of the legislation.
“As our communities continue to recover from the water crisis, today my new bill the Water Crisis Prevention Act passed out of committee,” Pou wrote on the social media platform Instagram on Sept 3.
Pou was not among the 57 lawmakers who voted in favor of advancing her legislation — which was incorporated into a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reauthorization bill — over the objections of three conservative Republicans. Six members of the panel, including Pou, did not vote.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, blasted Pou for missing the recorded vote on her legislation in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“From voting to raise taxes and let criminal illegal immigrants roam free to quite literally failing to show up for her district, Nellie Pou is clueless, out of touch and soon to be out of job,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said. “New Jerseyans deserve better, and they’ll make that clear next November.”
Pou voted against the Laken Riley Act — legislation seeking to crackdown on criminal illegal migrants — and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which permanently extended the president’s 2017 tax cuts and enacted no taxes on tips and overtime pay for certain occupations. Democrats have torched the budget law over its reforms to Medicaid and food assistance programs.
Pou is also the lone House Democrat sitting in a Trump-won district who is a member of the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group that also includes Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. She represents one of 26 congressional districts that the NRCC is seeking to flip in 2026.
A Pou spokesperson argued the congresswoman voted for the legislation, pointing to a voice vote earlier in the markup that the spokesperson said constituted final passage of the bill.
A source familiar with House legislative procedure disputed the claim, citing the congresswoman’s absence during the recorded vote later in the markup. The source said the roll call vote on final passage is the sole instance during which members state their position for the record. Voice votes are not recorded and do not list individual members’ stances.
The source also said that Pou’s absence during the reported vote suggested a lack of concern for committee business. The New Jersey Democrat missed two additional roll call votes during the markup.
“The water crisis in Paterson was unacceptable and our community deserves answers and action from Congress,” Pou spokesman Mark Greenbaum told the DCNF in a statement. “That’s why Congresswoman Pou’s first act when Congress returned to session was to introduce her Water Crisis Prevention Act to help address crises like this in the future.”
“It’s just the latest example of Congresswoman Pou getting results for New Jersey families,” Greenbaum continued.
Greenbaum did not respond to the DCNF’s inquiry about why the congresswoman missed the recorded vote.
Pou has also come under criticism from members of her own party for her allegedly inadequate response to a water emergency in her district, fueling speculation that she could field a serious primary challenge.
Andre Sayegh, the mayor of Paterson, New Jersey, has sharply criticized Pou’s response to a water main break that left 200,000 New Jerseyans without water and has declined to rule out a primary challenge against Pou.
“While we continue to work to solve this problem, we are disheartened that we did not hear from you, as residents suffered,” the Sayegh wrote in an email first reported by Politico that was joined by other local mayors. “It would have been helpful to have the impact of your office and the federal government, as we navigated potential solutions. Moreover, residents asked us about federal assistance and intervention during this ordeal. Unfortunately, we were left without answers.”
“[W]e remain frustrated by your lack of involvement and perceived lack of care,” the email continued.
Pou has disputed the mayors’ allegations, arguing that her office had been widely involved in responding to the water crisis.
Sayegh’s wife also torched Pou for going on an AIPAC-affiliated trip to Israel while the water emergency unfolded in Paterson. Sayegh has previously referred to Paterson, home to a sizable Arab population, as the “Capital of Palestine.”
Pou has also posted relatively lackluster fundraising numbers during the first half of 2025 despite the prospect of facing a contested primary and a competitive general election contest. The New Jersey Democrat raised roughly $350,000 during the first fundraising quarter and just over $500,000 between April and June.
In stark contrast, the average swing-district Republican raised roughly $1.1 million during 2025’s second fundraising quarter.
Trump won Pou’s House seat by one percentage point in 2024. By contrast, former President Joe Biden carried the plurality Hispanic district by 19 points in 2020 — marking a 20 point rightward swing between the two election cycles.
A spokesperson for Sayegh did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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