George Helmy

George Samir Helmy (born October 27, 1979) 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. Helmy was the first Coptic American U.S. senator. As of 2025, Helmy serves on the Rutgers University Board of Governors. He played on the basketball and football teams at Glen Ridge High School. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Rutgers University–Newark and a master's degree in finance and management from Harvard University. Helmy is Egyptian American.

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. He resigned in October 2021 to join Murphy's reelection campaign before returning to the role 18 days later, after the election. Helmy left the governor's office at the end of September 2023 and was succeeded by NJDOT commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. 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.

Helmy was a registered Republican until 2011, when he became an independent voter. Andy Kim won that election. Helmy resigned on December 8, 2024, with Kim taking office the next day. Helmy was the sole Arab American in the Senate during his brief tenure.

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.

In his September 19, 2024 maiden speech, Helmy highlighted youth mental health as an issue he wished to focus on as a Senator. 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. The prospective act would mandate warning labels for mental health risks on social media platforms.

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". 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.

Personal life , Helmy lives in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. He and his wife, Caroline, have two children. Helmy is the first Coptic American U.S. senator.