Thoughts About Jack Schlossberg (JBKS)

On November 12, 2025, Jack Schlossberg, age 32, announced that he will seek the Democrat nomination for the House of Representatives to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. Rep. Nadler, the “Dean” of the New York congressional delegation announced that he will not seek reelection when his current term ends Jan.1, 2027. This “open” seat has attracted a number of would-be representatives who will most likely face off in a primary election sometime in 2026. The winner will be the Democrat Party’s nominee and will be a shoo-in in the overwhelmingly Democrat district. Significantly, Schlossberg’s announcement made front page news in American Pravda (aka NY Times), something not accorded to any other candidate for Nadler’s seat.

We don’t know much about Jack Schlossberg. He could be anyone, but he isn’t. First thoughts are that he is the grandson of Alfred and Mae Schlossberg, themselves children of immigrants from Ukraine.  We do know a lot more about John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg who goes by the name Jack. He is the only grandson of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the United States. His mother is Caroline Kennedy who has served as American ambassador to Australia and is JFK’s only surviving child.  His father is artist Edwin Schlossberg. John B. K. Schlossberg is named after his maternal grandfather (JFK) and great grandfather, John V. Bouvier, a prominent stockbroker.

Jack Schlossberg graduated from Yale University and obtained masters and law degrees from Harvard. He was interested in politics, was involved in the Obama presidential campaign, worked briefly in the State Department but has an otherwise thin resume. He was also a writer for Vogue Magazine. The New York Post has reported that he lives in Chelsea in a $5,000/month apartment and seems to be very concerned about the affordability crisis so many New Yorkers seem to face. One thing is certain: Jack isn’t facing that problem. Heir to the Kennedy family fortune, he has plenty of free time and is free from financial worries. He must have concluded that it’s time for a career and Washington would be a nice place to start. Whether he has any qualifications to represent about seven hundred thousand citizens in the US House of Representatives is another matter. Whether he can truly empathize with and identify with his constituents is also in doubt.

In recent years, celebrity has been an achievement of many headliners. It’s almost impossible to read any newspaper, even a serious one like the American Pravda without learning the latest exploits of wayward Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Megan Markle. Harry has an opinion about everything including the US constitution which he has called “bonkers” What this British character knows about US law and jurisprudence is questionable but the press is there to report on his and his wife’s every move and utterance. Harry, currently a prince may have  a limited time to enjoy that honorific. His uncle, Andrew, has had his titles stripped from him and he now goes by the name Mr. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Harry’s brother, the Prince of Wales, reportedly is out to remove Harry from any royal title and his days as a Prince may be numbered.

Jack Schlossberg is a celebrity as well. Scion of the large Kennedy family, whose prominence and wealth started with the patriarch, Joe, Sr.. His sons JFK, Robert and Ted (another son, Joe,Jr. died in World War II) achieved fame in political office. Other family members who have achieved political prominence include cousins Patrick, Joe III, Kathleen, and Robert, Jr.  The Kennedy name carries a lot of weight and celebrity.  Unfortunately for Jack, there is no House of Lords or other hereditary positions in US government, Nor is there a monarchy. It seems that the desire to serve can be described as praiseworthy but in this case it seems to be an abuse and insult to any meritocratic system that might exist in America.

In 1962, JFK’s youngest brother, thirty year old Edward Moore Kennedy ran for the senate seat his brother had held previous to his election as president. Ted was opposed in the Democrat primary by Edward McCormick, the Massachusetts Attorney General (and nephew of House Speaker John McCormick). In a debate, McCormick said to Ted,  “If your name were Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy your candidacy would be a joke”. One can similarly say to Jack Schlossberg, if your name were only Jack Schlossberg instead of John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, your candidacy would be a joke. Of course, Ted Kennedy won his primary and general elections in 1962 and perhaps JBKS will do the same. His fate is in the hands of the voters. Let us hope they choose wisely and that America continues to enjoy the benefits of meritocracy and democracy.

Garry S. Sklar

At sea in the Atlantic Ocean

November 15, 2025