Under Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey has sued President Trump over 30 times, and Mikie Sherrill said she will file more lawsuits against the President as her number one task on day one as governor.
NEWARK, N.J. – When asked what their day one priority would be as governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli offered completely different plans for their first day in office as governor.
Mikie Sherrill said that if she becomes the next governor of New Jersey, her first act in office would be to sue President Donald Trump.
The Democratic congresswoman made the declaration during a candidate debate on Wednesday, telling moderators that joining the court case against Trump’s tariff plan would be her “day one” priority.
She argued that the trade measures were driving up costs “from a cup of coffee to the groceries” that New Jersey residents buy each day, but as a member of Congress, never threatened the Biden administration over soaring inflation, supply chain shortages, and bad trade deals that led to the initial spike in consumer goods between 2021 and 2025.
Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, responding moments later, said his first move as governor would be to issue “executive order number three” to withdraw New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, also known as RGGI.
Ciattarelli said tackling New Jersey’s energy crisis is at the top of his to-do list, to lower bills for residents…on day one.
While Sherrill said she wants to “Freeze” rates at their current record peak, Ciattarelli said he wants to lower them, “Like your higher electric rates? Mikie Sherrill wants to lock them in for good. I’ll lower them. And I’ll cut taxes for all New Jerseyans. So that you keep more of what you earn.”
Competing visions for New Jersey’s future
Sherrill’s proposed legal action is a sharp contrast with Ciattarelli’s pledge to lower energy costs by eliminating what he called a “carbon tax policy that has failed New Jersey.”
The competing priorities reflect a broader divide over the state’s economic and environmental future.
The tariffs imposed by Trump have sparked legal challenges from multiple states, with critics claiming they increase consumer prices while supporters argue they protect domestic industries.
Those tariffs are not related to the underlying cause of record high prices in America, out of control inflation under former President Biden and the Democrat controlled congress which she served during those years.
Sherrill’s plan to join that legal fight on behalf of New Jersey would align the state with a growing coalition of governors opposing federal trade restrictions.
Energy and economy take center stage
Ciattarelli, meanwhile, framed his agenda as a promise to reduce household energy bills by cutting environmental program costs. The RGGI program requires power producers to buy credits for carbon emissions, which state officials say generates funding for clean energy initiatives. Ciattarelli called it “a hidden tax that’s hurting families.”
Both candidates used the forum to draw clear contrasts on fiscal policy, signaling an election that could redefine New Jersey’s approach to both federal relations and energy reform.