Chris Christie
Historical Details
Position on Issues
Against| Read My Position
"Answering a question from CNN's Anderson Cooper about if there was anything new Christie would do to help curb gun violence if he was president, the former New Jersey governor said that he largely believes states should handle putting measures in place.
"Cooper noted this was a shift from his stance when he was running for a New Jersey state Senate seat more than 30 years ago.
"Cooper pointed out that Christie said he got into that race because Republicans were trying to get rid of an assault weapons ban — something Christie wanted to keep in place. He now says he does not believe there should be a ban on assault weapons.
"'At 29 years old, I thought there were easy answers to everything, I really did, and I thought that would be an easy answer, an easy fix. It turns out, it's not,' he said at the CNN town hall Monday night.
"Christie said it’s a right for people to own guns, including assault weapons. He said he doesn’t own one 'but that’s been my choice.'"
Other| Read My Position
When asked about abolishing the FBI and the Education Department at an event in September 2023 Christie answered, "I think we need to go to a complete educational freedom agenda in this country." He did not specifically say whether that included abolishing the Department of Education. He went on to say, "I would not eliminate the FBI. This is one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard."
For| Read My Position
"I think there should be term limits for everybody. I think the term limits should be for the folks in the House, they get six terms, twelve years. And for the folks in the Senate, they get two terms, twelve years."
For| Read My Position
As part of his platform on criminal justice reform, Christie supports prioritizing treatment over imprisonment for drug offenders.
"Governor Christie has championed the use of drug courts in the state of New Jersey, which allow first time, non-violent offenders, the opportunity to get the treatment they need rather than serving jail time. The Governor expanded mandatory drug court for first time non-violent drug offenders across the state, and is calling for the expansion drug courts to every state. Governor Christie is also calling for ending the current dysfunctional, ad-hoc approach for implementing drug courts being used on the federal level and as President, would make drug court mandatory in all 94 federal districts."
For| Read My Position
"Our government spending is completely out of control. It was out of control under Obama, it was out of control under Trump and it's even more out of control under Biden, created this inflation that is damaging every family in this country and has been for the last year and a half. And I dealt with this when I was in New Jersey, when I became governor, I had an $11 billion deficit on a $29 billion budget. And every Democrat on the democratic legislature, every democrat thought we got him, he's going to have to raise taxes. That's the only way to solve this problem that we created for him, by the way, by all their crazy spending before I got there. And instead we sat down and went line by line through the budget. Literally not just the rhetorical and we eliminated 863 programs and we balanced the budget without raising taxes and kept it in balance for the next eight years. Now, when I did that, my popularity numbers went down because every one of those programs has a constituency. But you have to be willing to give those numbers up for something of consequence and brining our state and its budget into balance and not raising taxes on some of the most over taxed people in American to begin with was incredibly important to me."
For| Read My Position
"Students in struggling districts should have the option of attending a public school outside their district of residence without cost to their parents."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by capping price increases by large businesses?
Other| Read My Position
Has indicated an openness to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, but has also called a path to citizenship pandering"
"Against| Read My Position
Initially supported Common Core, but in 2015 announced plans to withdraw New Jersey from Common Core
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Do you support mandatory competency tests for federal candidates over age 75?
Other| Read My Position
"When asked later about if he’d reduce, maintain or increase tariffs against China, Christie said he would 'make it part of an overall negotiation to reset our relationship with China.'"
Against| Read My Position
"I am not going to be the governor who is going to tell our children and our young adults that marijuana use is okay," Christie said. "Because it's not. I don't care about the tax money that may come from it."
For| Read My Position
In 2023 Christie told the Washington Post, "I would try to do everything I could to avoid it, but if it was unavoidable, I would do what needs to be done in terms of using the U.S. military against China" to defend Taiwan.
Against| Read My Position
"This push on electric vehicles, the demand that they do it this way are causing all types of consternation inside the auto industry, and that affects the way they get to deal with their own labor and how they can pay them and what kind of profits they’re making. And so problem number one is we should let the UAW and the Big 3 and others deal with this on their own. We shouldn’t be having government dictate corporate policy through this, you know, crazy green environmental push that they’re moving on where we don’t have, quite frankly, the electric grid in this country to support that number of electric cars that the Biden administration is pushing towards."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Do you support ending China's Permanent Normal Trade Relations status?
For| Read My Position
Against| Read My Position
"The fact is that we need to have more information about people's mental health background. But we don't need new laws in this country to be able to do that. We have laws that exist now. We just need to enforce the ones we do."
Against| Read My Position
"We have argued as conservatives for 50 years that this should not be a federal issue, that Roe was wrong, and that it should be an issue decided state by state. We now have that opportunity to let states to make that decision state by state. Let's see what the states do here and see if they form a national consensus, because there's no way you're going to get 60 votes in the Senate for anything unless you have formed a national consensus."
Against| Read My Position
Opposes President Obama's clean power plan, cap-and-trade programs, and other regulations aimed at slowing climate change. However, Christie has said he believes humans contribute at least a little to climate change.
Against| Read My Position
Christie supports a "flatter" income tax, but would still have slightly higher or lower rates depending on an individual's income. (As Governor, Christie vetoed a bill increasing the gross income tax rate on annual incomes exceeding $1 million.)
Against| Read My Position
"I've vetoed Planned Parenthood funding, now, eight times in New Jersey. Since the day I walked in as governor, Planned Parenthood has not been funded in New Jersey. We stood up and every one of those vetoes has been sustained."
For| Read My Position
"If you're getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it. As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws."
Other| Read My Position
Signed a bill increasing the minimum wage in New Jersey, but used line-item veto to scale back the increase
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government pass a law guaranteeing the right to choose abortion before fetal viability (generally 24 weeks gestation)?
Other| Read My Position
"First, we've got to empower our allies in the region, Sean. And so we've got the Jordanians, the Egyptians, the Saudis, the Emirates, who all see ISIS as an existential threat to their existence. They don't want to live under a theocracy. We need to be training them down to the battalion level. We need more human intelligence on the ground to let them know where to target ISIS. And we need to stand with them, supply them with the arms they need, the sophistication they need, let them fight the fight there. That's what we need to do. We don't want to be occupiers in the Middle East. We want to fight them there so they don't come here."
Other| Read My Position
When presented with a bill banning hydraulic fracturing in New Jersey, used line-item veto to instead establish a one-year moratorium on fracking
For| Read My Position
"Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has called for an 'all-of-the-above strategy' on energy policy that includes a mix of fossil fuel, nuclear power and renewables.
"He has called for increased domestic production of oil and gas, which he views as a necessary component of the U.S. energy portfolio until nuclear energy output is increased and renewable sources like solar and wind are more developed."
For| Read My Position
Christie lists three priorities for the Veterans Administration on his website:
"1) Anytime, Anywhere Care: Governor Christie believes veterans should be able to receive their health care benefit from any medical institution. Private sector and nonprofit hospitals want to be engaged in veteran health care and they should be brought in to supplement treatment delivered from veterans' hospitals.
"2) Qualified Leadership At The VA: As President, Christie would hire a qualified professional who has run a major healthcare system in this country to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The majority of the role of the VA has become that of a healthcare provider and therefore needs someone who knows how to meet the mission of providing adequate and timely care.
"3) 24/7 Hotline: In New Jersey, Governor Christie's administration established a 24 hours a day 7 days a week hotline manned by mental health professionals as well as veteran volunteers. Governor Christie supports creating a similar nationwide hotline to act as a resource for veterans experiencing mental health issues when they get home.
"For| Read My Position
"On the merits, Keystone should have been approved a long time ago."
Other| Read My Position
Christie has not specifically addressed a minimum age for firearm purchases. However, he generally opposes gun control. At a 2023 CNN Town Hall he said, "I don't think with 350 million or so guns out there, that tighter gun control is going to keep the gun out of the hands of someone who's going to do what happened in Las Vegas or what happened in Uvalde or what happened in Sandy Hook. You know, in some of those, people had guns that they illegally owned in their own home and the people took them, right? I really think that we need to, one, have law enforcement become much more sensitive to what they're seeing from a mental health perspective with people in the community. Because, in the end, those people almost always send off signs and signals."
For| Read My Position
In a 2015 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Christie proposed cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
Other| Read My Position
Other, 2023
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Christie vowed to enforce the federal laws against marijuana, even in states that had legalized recreational use. However, in 2018 he said "states have the right to do what they want to do on [marijuana]." At a 2023 CNN Town Hall he said he wanted to "end" the drug war and "focus on treatment." However, he did not specifically mention marijuana at that event.
For| Read My Position
"'We have to look at things like means testing for the very wealthy [who] don't need to get Social Security,' Christie said on CNBC’s 'Squawk Box.'
"'And secondly, for people in their 30s and 40s we need to consider, you know, raising the retirement age,' he said."
Against| Read My Position
During the 2016 presidential primary, Christie accused Hillary Clinton of supporting universal, single-payer, government-run health care. "That’s what she and her socialist friend Bernie Sanders are going to advocate for … and I’m going to stop it," he said. "Fact is we should go to a state-based market solution that’s what would be best for health care."
For| Read My Position
Christie has repeatedly mocked Trump over the former president's plan to build a wall on the southern border. However, at a 2023 town hall he said, "Look, at this point, I think we've started to build it; let's finish it. I mean, I probably wouldn't have done that at the start, and I said that at the time. But now we've spent this money on building some of it; you might as well finish it now."
Other| Read My Position
Christie has not stated clear support for U.S. military action in Mexico, but he hinted at the idea at a campaign event in July 2023. He said, "I will say to the president of Mexico, 'I'm going to give you 90 days to help to clean that up. If you don't clean it up in 90 days, then I'm going to avail myself of the tools that I have available as the president of the United States and the commander-in-chief of the greatest intelligence agency and the greatest army in the world. And we're going to take care of it."
For| Read My Position
"On Ukraine I will say this. I think the way we need to look at this is, this is a proxy war with China. The Chinese are supplying the Russians with money by buying their oil. The Chinese are providing drones to the Iranians, and the Iranians are using those drones to kill soldiers in Ukraine. So, none of us like the idea that there's a war going on and that we're supporting it. But the alternative is for the Chinese to take over, the Russians, the Iranians, and the North Koreans, a bad foursome."
For| Read My Position
"I am pro-life, I believe in exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother."
Other| Read My Position
Vetoed a bill requiring legislative oversight of privatization contracts
Against| Read My Position
As governor of New Jersey, Christie vetoed a tax increase on earnings over $1 million. Christie also opposed the Biden administration proposal to impose a tax when a family passes down assets with unrealized capital gains.
"Well, look, what's happening here -- and you're going to see a lot more focus on the huge increase in the family business tax that Joe Biden is proposing, that any family who tries to pass a business or a farm down to their -- to their son or daughter or grandson or granddaughter are going to pay a huge new tax, and going to be forced to potentially sell their farm, sell their business to pay that tax," Christie said on ABC. "They're not going to want that. And when they see the stock market tank, if he actually is able to double the capital gains tax, and they see the diminution and maybe, in some instances, destruction of their 401(k), threat IRA, and wondering, how are they going to retire or how are they going to pay for their children's education, believe me, they're not going to care how amiable Joe Biden is at that point. They're going to -- they're going to be very, very angry."
For| Read My Position
In 2011 Governor Christie said he would sign a bill to reinstate the death penalty in New Jersey.
For| Read My Position
Christie has been a vocal critic of Sen. Rand Paul's attempts to limit the NSA's bulk collection of U.S. citizen phone records. At the August 6, 2015 debate Christie criticized Rand Paul for saying, "I want to collect more records from terrorists, but less records from innocent Americans."
"That's a completely ridiculous answer," said Christie. "'I want to collect more records from terrorists but less records from other people.' How are you supposed to know?"
"Listen Senator," Christie continued, "you know, when you're sitting in a subcommittee just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that. When you're responsible for protecting the lives of the American people, then what you need to do is to make sure you use the system the way it's supposed to work."
Against| Read My Position
"'Let's say with the documents case — which is the only one that the president would have jurisdiction over. Given what's alleged in the indictment, if that were proven, and … the former president were found guilty, as long as I thought he got a fair trial ... I would have a hard time considering any pardon,' Christie told Chris Cuomo on NewsNation.
"'And by the way, as you know, to get a pardon, you have to also accept responsibility for what you did,' the former governor continued. 'I doubt very highly that Donald Trump would ever do that. And so I can't imagine a pardon being issued.'"
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Do you support allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs covered under Medicare?
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government privatize some or all of Social Security?
Against| Read My Position
At a 2023 campaign event in Rye, New Hampshire Christie said, "By the way, if you take some cap off of the Social Security tax and raise it to another level the people who are going to get hurt the most are the people who are in the middle class in this country, so the fact is that taking that cap off of it, I don't think it is smart economically and I don't think that's what we want to do."
For| Read My Position
"'We have to look at things like means testing for the very wealthy [who] don't need to get Social Security,' Christie said on CNBC’s 'Squawk Box.'
"'And secondly, for people in their 30s and 40s we need to consider, you know, raising the retirement age,' he said."
Against| Read My Position
"Let me promise you right now. I'm not balancing the budget in four years. The hole is too big to be able to do it and it would involve either massive cuts to entitlements plus massive increases in taxes. I don't think we need to do that. We just need to show the trend going in the other direction and over time with a growing economy and discipline on our spending."
Against| Read My Position
Vetoed a bill requiring participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative cap-and-trade program
For| Read My Position
Supports repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")
For| Read My Position
"Dodd-Frank has hurt Main Street; credit is not flowing to middle America."
Other| Read My Position
When presented with a bill authorizing same-sex marriage, Christie used the line-item veto to instead create an Ombudsman position to answer questions about New Jersey's existing Civil Union law
Against| Read My Position
As Governor, Christie vetoed a bill expanding Medicaid coverage for family planning services. He also voiced support for the Hobby Lobby ruling while in Iowa.
For| Read My Position
Generally supports voter ID and said, "Secretary Clinton doesn't know the first thing about voting rights in New Jersey or in the other states that she attacked. ... My sense is that she just wants an opportunity to commit greater acts of voter fraud around the country."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by repealing or revising the Jones Act to allow more foreign involvement in shipping between U.S. ports?
Against| Read My Position
For| Read My Position
"Governor Christie proposes to refocus federal student assistance for those at the bottom while expanding alternative funding such as income-share agreements in which students could agree to pay some percentage of their future income for a defined period of time in exchange for private financing as well as tax credits to pay for programs that pay down student debt in exchange for community service. ... Students should be able to see cost itemization for tuition, so they can know what they're really paying for. If colleges can break out those costs, they should also unbundle them - allowing students, to just pay for the education and not all the add-ons. Greater transparency will also allow schools to analyze and compare their operating costs with other similar institutions. ... America should strive to give students lots of different ways to learn, and shouldn't fear alternatives to traditional four-year public universities. 'Stackable credentials' would allow students to re-enroll at different colleges over time without losing credits so students have the flexibility to jump in and out of education as needed. We should also expand apprenticeships and training programs while linking employers with education institutions to offer a variety of paths for individuals to develop the skills the labor force needs."
Against| Read My Position
Asked about the Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, Christie said, "They probably should take a bit of a breather, to see what the lag effect is, as you said, because what we're not seeing is, we're not seeing inflation staying. We're seeing it drop. And so I think the Fed may have done its work already."
Against| Read My Position
"Why would anyone in America trust the person who negotiated the deal with Iran to negotiate a trade deal that, in the balance, will hold the economic future of many American citizens? The fact is that this president can't negotiate a thing. And, the Iranian deal is already a disaster, the Iranians are already trampling all over us, and still chanting 'Death to America.' My problem with TPP, because you're right, I have not been able to read the whole thing, and I'm concerned about all the different exceptions and side letters that are being referred to because that always is a problem. But, I will tell you this. As a blanket matter, I wouldn't trust one thing negotiated by the team of Obama, Clinton, and Kerry. Not one thing."
Other| Read My Position
Opposes Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, and supports increasing sanctions
