TRENTON, N.J. – Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition team faced harsh backlash Monday over a proposed 62 percent increase in its transition team budget, a move critics say contradicts her campaign’s promise to prioritize affordability for New Jersey residents.
The proposal, which would have boosted the transition committee’s budget to roughly $1 million, was pulled before reaching a floor vote after pushback from Republican lawmakers.
Assemblyman Mike Inganamort (R-Sussex) voiced opposition to the measure, calling it unnecessary and unprecedented in scope.
“I came down here today ready to argue against a 62% increase in Governor-elect Sherrill’s Transition Committee budget, bringing it up to a grand total of $1 million,” Inganamort said in a video statement. “With 43 days to go, hundreds of New Jerseyans volunteering their time, and no explanation for why the transition has to cost a million bucks when it never has before… the speaker pulled the bill, so we didn’t even vote on it.”
GOP lawmakers question fiscal priorities
Inganamort said the decision to pull the bill was “great news,” but warned that the measure could resurface in future lame duck sessions.
“We’re going to stay on it, make sure it doesn’t come up again at the next two voting sessions,” he said. “Now is the time to establish we are a fiscally responsible state. If we don’t start now, I’m afraid we never will.”
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R-Sussex) amplified the criticism on social media, calling the proposal “the million-dollar transition.”
“In the history of NJ gubernatorial transitions, this level of proposed spending for the process is unprecedented,” Fantasia wrote on X. “Remember, the campaign platform was ‘affordability.’ It’s going well.”
Transition team defends budget plan
Sherrill’s transition team has not yet commented on the decision to withdraw the funding bill or clarified what additional costs the increase was intended to cover. Historically, gubernatorial transition budgets in New Jersey have remained well below the proposed $1 million mark, even accounting for inflation.
The spending proposal surfaced as the incoming administration begins staffing and policy planning ahead of the January inauguration. Lawmakers from both parties acknowledged that while transition funding is routine, the scale of the proposed increase raised bipartisan concerns over fiscal optics and timing.
Republicans in Trenton say the decision to halt the funding boost is a small but symbolic win for taxpayers.
Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition team faced scrutiny over a proposed $1 million budget increase that was pulled following backlash from Republican lawmakers citing fiscal responsibility.