New Jersey Democrats control the governor's office, both legislative chambers, and the congressional delegation — yet are paralyzed by an intraparty war that could lead to a government shutdown, The New York Times reported.
"This is the worst it's ever been," John Weingart, associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, told the Times. "And there's no visible path for it ending."
According to the Times, the policy differences between progressive Gov. Philip Murphy and legislative leaders including Stephen Sweeney, the powerful Senate president, a product of the Democratic machine and a self-proclaimed moderate, are at the core of the conflict.
Their differences — both in personalities and management styles — have stymied agreements, "and now a fight over the governor's push to tax the wealthy, among other issues, could shut down the state," reporter Nick Corasaniti wrote.
Many of the biggest accomplishments came in Murphy's first months and involved proposals that predated him, including paid sick leave, equal pay for women, automatic voter registration, and a package of gun control measures, the Times reported. This year, his big victory was raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Sweeney is opposed to raising taxes on the wealthy, favors limiting healthcare and pension benefits for the state's large public sector unions and wants to reduce municipal spending. Murphy wants to raise taxes and hike spending on education, while tackling the state's opioid crisis, among other areas, the Times reported.
"Everybody is a little antsy at this stage," Loretta Weinberg, the Senate majority leader who has held office for 27 years, told the Times. "Do I think it's normal? I wish it weren't."
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