{{Short description|American politician (born 1979)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = George Helmy | image = Senator George Helmy 118th.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2024 | jr/sr = United States Senator | state = New Jersey | appointer = Phil Murphy | term_start = August 23, 2024<!-- Before you change to September 9 please read the talk page. --> | term_end = December 8, 2024 | predecessor = Bob Menendez | successor = Andy Kim | office1 = Chief of Staff to the Governor of New Jersey | governor1 = Phil Murphy | term_start1 = February 4, 2019 | term_end1 = September 30, 2023 | predecessor1 = Kathleen Frangione (acting) | successor1 = Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti | birth_name = George Samir Helmy | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|10|27}} | birth_place = Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic (2018, 2024–present) | other_party = {{ubl |Republican (before 2011) |Independent (2011–2018, 2018–2024)}} | spouse = Caroline Helmy | children = 2 | education = Rutgers University, Newark (BA)<br>Harvard University (MLA) | module = {{Listen |pos=center |embed=yes |filename=George Helmy speaks on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.ogg |title=Helmy's voice |type=speech |description=Helmy on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.<br>Recorded November 18, 2024}} }} '''George Samir Helmy''' (born October 27, 1979)<ref>{{cite web |title=HELMY, George S. (1979–) |website=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |date=September 9, 2024 |access-date=September 10, 2024 |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H001097}}</ref><ref name=Tully>{{cite news |last1=Tully |first1=Tracey |title=Menendez's Senate Replacement Has Been a Democrat for Just 5 Months |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/nyregion/george-helmy-bob-menendez-murphy.html |access-date=August 23, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=August 23, 2024}}</ref> is an American politician who served as a United States senator from New Jersey from August to December 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed by governor Phil Murphy after Senator Bob Menendez resigned. He served as Murphy's chief of staff from 2019 to 2023.<ref name="announcement">{{Cite web|url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/statements-on-george-helmys-appointment-to-the-u-s-senate/|title=Statements on George Helmy's appointment to the U.S. Senate|last=Fox|first=Joey|date=August 16, 2024|access-date=August 16, 2024|website=New Jersey Globe|quote=It is an honor to appoint George Helmy, a proven public servant who deeply understands the complexities of Congress, to the United States Senate.}}</ref> Helmy is the first Coptic American U.S. senator.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=New Jersey Democrat George Helmy sworn in as replacement for Menendez in the Senate |first=Mary Clare |last=Jalonick |work=Associated Press |date=September 9, 2024 |access-date=September 10, 2024 |url=https://apnews.com/article/george-helmy-bob-menendez-senate-swearing-e062f87d77601649be1196b27cf65f81}}</ref> As of 2025, Helmy serves on the Rutgers University Board of Governors.<ref name=":1" />
==Early life and education== Helmy was born in Jersey City, New Jersey,<ref name=":2" /> to two Egyptian-born immigrants,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jalonick |first=Mary Clare |date=2024-09-10 |title='We wish him nothing but success': NJ Democrat George Helmy sworn in as replacement for Bob Menendez in US Senate |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/nj-democrat-george-helmy-senate-menendez/3964291/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=NBC10 Philadelphia |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> and grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.<ref name=":2">Snowflack, Fred. [https://www.insidernj.com/the-irony-of-helmy/ "The Irony of Helmy"], ''Insider NJ'', August 16, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2024. "Helmy, who was born in Jersey City and who grew up in Glen Ridge, worked for both Senators Frank Lautenberg and Cory Booker. He has been serving as Murphy’s chief of staff."</ref> He played on the basketball and football teams at Glen Ridge High School.<ref>Scott, Eric. [https://nj1015.com/george-helmy-us-senate/ "Governor Murphy Taps George Helmy As U.S. Senate Replacement"], WKXW, August 15, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2024. "The 44-year old Mountain Lakes resident is married with two children. Helmy attended Glen Ridge High School where he played football and basketball."</ref> He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Rutgers University–Newark and a master's degree in finance and management from Harvard University's Extension School.<ref>{{cite web | title=U. Alum sworn into US Senate | date=September 17, 2024 | url=https://dailytargum.com/article/2024/09/u-alum-sworn-into-us-senate }}</ref> Helmy is Egyptian American.<ref name="legistorm">{{cite web |title=George Helmy - Previously held position: New Jersey Office of the Governor (Nov. 2021-Sept. 2023) Philip Dunton Murphy (Phil), Chief of Staff |url=https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/184735/George_S_Helmy.html |website=LegiStorm |access-date=August 15, 2024 |ref=legistorm}} {{registration required}}</ref><ref name="globeappoint">{{cite news |last1=Wildstein |first1=David |title=George Helmy will be new U.S. Senator from New Jersey |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/george-helmy-will-be-new-u-s-senator-from-new-jersey/ |access-date=August 15, 2024 |work=New Jersey Globe |date=August 15, 2024 |ref=globeappoint}}</ref>
==Career== Helmy worked for UPS as a business operations manager from 2001 to 2013, and as staff assistant and constituent advocate for Senator Frank Lautenberg from 2012 to 2013.<ref name="legistorm" /> He then served as deputy and later state director for Senator Cory Booker before being hired as Governor Phil Murphy's chief of staff in January 2019.<ref name="njgovcos">{{cite web |title=Governor Murphy Announces George Helmy as Chief of Staff |url=https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562019/approved/20190125a.shtml |website=State of New Jersey |access-date=August 15, 2024 |ref=njgovcos}}</ref> He resigned in October 2021 to join Murphy's reelection campaign<ref name="globeresigncos">{{cite news |last1=Wildstein |first1=David |title=Helmy joining Murphy campaign for final stretch, resigning as chief of staff |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/helmy-joining-murphy-campaign-for-final-stretch-resigning-as-chief-of-staff/ |access-date=August 15, 2024 |date=October 13, 2021 |work=New Jersey Globe |ref=globeresigncos}}</ref> before returning to the role 18 days later, after the election.<ref name="globerehired">{{cite news |last1=Wildstein |first1=David |title=Helmy is back as Murphy chief of staff |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/helmy-is-back-as-murphy-chief-of-staff/ |access-date=August 15, 2024 |work=New Jersey Globe |date=November 5, 2021 |ref=globerehired}}</ref> Helmy left the governor's office at the end of September 2023 and was succeeded by NJDOT commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.<ref name="gutierrez-scaccetti">{{cite web |title=Governor Murphy Announces Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti As Chief of Staff |url=https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562023/20230925c.shtml |website=NJ.gov |access-date=August 15, 2024 |ref=gutierrez-scaccetti}}</ref> After departing the governor's office, he served as executive vice president and chief external affairs and policy officer at RWJBarnabas Health and as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.<ref name="globeappoint" />
On June 6, 2020, former Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Christopher Neuwirth sued the State of New Jersey, including Governor Murphy, Chief of Staff George Helmy, and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin for firing him over whistleblowing that State Police Superintendent Patrick J. Callahan tried pressuring him into testing Helmy's relatives for COVID-19 in April 2020. At that time, the state Department of Health was experiencing a shortage of COVID-19 tests, so Neuwirth declined the request and reported the incident as an ethics violation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biryukov |first=Nikita |date=2023-08-02 |title=Judges toss ex-state official's defamation claim against Governor Murphy • New Jersey Monitor |url=https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/08/02/judges-toss-ex-state-officials-defamation-claim-against-governor-murphy/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=New Jersey Monitor |language=en-US}}</ref>
Helmy was a registered Republican until 2011, when he became an independent voter.<ref name = Tully/> He briefly registered as a Democrat in 2018, to vote in the party's primary that year for U.S. representative in New Jersey's 11th congressional district,<ref name = Tully/> but left the party at the end of the year, and remained an independent until March 2024, when he re-joined the Democratic Party.<ref name = Tully/>
===U.S. Senate=== [[File:George Helmy sworn in.png|thumb|left|Senate president pro tempore Patty Murray swears in Helmy, as Senator Cory Booker looks on.]] The ''New Jersey Globe'' reported on August 13, 2024, that Helmy would be appointed to the United States Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Bob Menendez. Murphy announced Helmy's appointment on August 16.<ref name="announcement" /> On September 9, he was sworn in by Senate President pro tempore Patty Murray. He was assigned as a caretaker and was not a candidate in the November 2024 election.<ref name="globeappoint" /> Murphy announced that Helmy would resign after the 2024 election was certified, to be replaced by the election's winner, to give New Jersey's new senator an advantage in seniority over the other newly elected senators, who take office on January 3, 2025.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE2Q_CeAYOY&t=233s |title=LIVE {{!}} NJ Gov. Phil Murphy announces replacement for Sen. Bob Menendez |date=August 16, 2024 |work=WABC-TV |access-date=August 17, 2024 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Andy Kim won that election. Helmy resigned on December 8, 2024, with Kim taking office the next day.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/george-helmy-will-depart-senate-on-december-8/|title = George Helmy will depart Senate on December 8|last = Fox|first = Joey|date = December 3, 2024|accessdate = December 3, 2024|work = New Jersey Globe}}</ref> Helmy was the sole Arab American in the Senate during his brief tenure.<ref name="GlobeNov1824">{{cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Joey |title=George Helmy, lone Arab American senator, says suffering in Gaza ‘should shock our conscience to the very core’ |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/george-helmy-lone-arab-american-senator-says-suffering-in-gaza-should-shock-our-conscience-to-the-very-core/ |access-date=October 18, 2025 |work=New Jersey Globe |date=November 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018081701/https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/george-helmy-lone-arab-american-senator-says-suffering-in-gaza-should-shock-our-conscience-to-the-very-core/ |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="PoliticoNov2824">{{cite news |last1=Rivard |first1=Ry |title=The brief but busy reign of Sen. George Helmy is coming to an end |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/28/helmy-menendez-senate-fill-in-whirlwind-00192005 |access-date=October 18, 2025 |work=Politico |date=November 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251018082918/https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/28/helmy-menendez-senate-fill-in-whirlwind-00192005 |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On September 10, 2024, Helmy introduced his first sponsored bill, which would rename facilities at the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, who had died on August 21, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |title=What George Helmy did his first week in Washington |first=Benjamin |last=Hulac |work=NJ PBS |date=September 16, 2024 |access-date=September 19, 2024 |url=https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2024/09/nj-interim-sen-george-helmy-first-week-after-replacing-bob-menendez-judicial-nominee-votes/}}</ref>
In his September 19, 2024 maiden speech, Helmy highlighted youth mental health as an issue he wished to focus on as a Senator.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Joey |title=George Helmy, once ‘the guy behind the guy,’ gives his maiden speech as U.S. Senator |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/george-helmy-once-the-guy-behind-the-guy-gives-his-maiden-speech-as-u-s-senator/ |access-date=October 18, 2025 |work=New Jersey Globe |date=September 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018090326/https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/george-helmy-once-the-guy-behind-the-guy-gives-his-maiden-speech-as-u-s-senator/ |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> Helmy has emphasised the health impacts of social media use for children, and spoke with Alabama Republican Katie Britt in support of the Stop the Scroll Act.<ref name="PoliticoNov2824" /><ref name="GlobeNov2224">{{cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Joey |title=An interview with George Helmy |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/an-interview-with-george-helmy/ |access-date=October 18, 2025 |work=New Jersey Globe |date=November 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018090903/https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/an-interview-with-george-helmy/ |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> The prospective act would mandate warning labels for mental health risks on social media platforms.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Willis |first1=Alexander |title=Britt, Fetterman file bill to blunt harms of social media on youth |url=https://aldailynews.com/britt-fetterman-file-bill-to-blunt-harms-of-social-media-on-youth/ |access-date=October 18, 2025 |work=Alabama Daily News |date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018092528/https://aldailynews.com/britt-fetterman-file-bill-to-blunt-harms-of-social-media-on-youth/ |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Brien |first1=Lily |title=‘Stop the Scroll Act’ proposes warning labels for social media apps |url=https://www.wtvy.com/2024/09/25/stop-scroll-act-proposes-warning-labels-social-media-apps/ |access-date=October 18, 2025 |work=WTVY |date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018092629/https://www.wtvy.com/2024/09/25/stop-scroll-act-proposes-warning-labels-social-media-apps/ |archive-date=October 18, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In a speech to the Senate on November 18, 2024, Helmy spoke of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, arguing that the then-death toll of 44,000 Palestinians in the Gaza war, half of whom were women and children, "should shock our conscience to the very core".<ref name="GlobeNov1824" /> Helmy stated that he had toured a Jordan warehouse with abundant supplies of aid, which were unable to reach Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.<ref name="GlobeNov1824" /><ref name="PoliticoNov2824" />
====Committee assignments==== * Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs * Committee on Finance * Committee on Foreign Relations
===Post-senate career=== In February 2025, Governor Phil Murphy appointed Helmy to serve on the Rutgers University Board of Governors, effective until June 30, 2030.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=George Helmy Joins Board of Governors |url=https://www.rutgers.edu/news/george-helmy-joins-board-governors?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.rutgers.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sobko |first=Katie |title=Phil Murphy picks George Helmy for Rutgers University Board of Governors |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2025/02/18/george-helmy-rutgers-board-phil-murphy/79086040007/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=North Jersey Media Group |language=en-US}}</ref> In June 2025, Murphy unveiled a budget that diverted opioid settlement funds to New Jersey hospitals under the pretense of aiding facilities affected by Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, Helmy's post-Senate transition to executive vice president of RWJBarnabas Health raised conflict-of-interest concerns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DiFilippo |first=Dana |date=2025-06-30 |title=Critics accuse New Jersey legislators of 'stealing' opioid settlement funds |url=https://newjerseymonitor.com/2025/06/30/critics-accuse-new-jersey-legislators-of-stealing-opioid-settlement-funds/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=New Jersey Monitor |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Personal life== {{As of|2024}}, Helmy lives in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. He and his wife, Caroline, have two children.<ref name = Tully/> Helmy is the first Coptic American U.S. senator.<ref name=":0" />
==See also== * List of Arab and Middle Eastern Americans in the United States Congress {{Clear}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * [https://www.helmy.senate.gov/ Senator George Helmy] official U.S. Senate website * {{CongLinks|congbio=H001097|votesmart=|fec=|congress=george-helmy/H001097}} * {{C-SPAN|141248}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-sen}} {{s-bef|before=Bob Menendez}} {{s-ttl|title=United States Senator (Class 1) from New Jersey|years=2024|alongside=Cory Booker}} {{s-aft|after=Andy Kim}} |- {{s-prec|usa}} {{s-bef|before=Jeffrey Chiesa|as=Former U.S. Senator}} {{s-ttl|title=Order of precedence of the United States|years=}} {{s-aft|after=Paul G. Kirk|as=Former U.S. Senator}} {{s-end}}
{{USSenNJ}} {{USCongRep-start |congresses=118th United States Congress |state=New Jersey}} {{USCongRep/NJ/118}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmy, George}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century New Jersey politicians Category:21st-century Oriental Orthodox Christians Category:21st-century United States senators Category:American people of Coptic descent Category:American politicians who switched parties Category:Chiefs of staff to the governor of New Jersey Category:Christians from New Jersey Category:Democratic Party United States senators from New Jersey Category:Glen Ridge High School alumni Category:Harvard Extension School alumni Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:New Jersey independents Category:New Jersey Republicans Category:Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Category:People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey Category:People from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Category:Politicians from Burlington County, New Jersey Category:Port Authority of New York and New Jersey people Category:Rutgers University–Newark alumni Category:United States congressional aides