New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (left) sits with President Donald Trump (right) at the White House in 2020.AP
Gov. Phil Murphy wants give $1 million to New Jersey’s leading law enforcement agency to hire more help for its court battles against President Donald Trump’s controversial policies.
State Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the top lawman in the blue-leaning Garden State, is part of an aggressive legal pushback against Trump since the Republican returned to the White House last month.
Platkin’s office has filed or joined other states in lawsuits seeking to block Trump’s moves on immigration, federal funding, DOGE, guns, and more, saying they hurt residents and violate U.S. and state laws.
Now, Murphy, a Democrat, is proposing more taxpayer money for the efforts — formally known as the “Attorney General’s Project for Federal Accountability” — under his final state budget proposal. The governor unveiled the $58.1 billion spending plan Tuesday in Trenton.
If approved by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, the $1 million would help pay up to 10 more full-time attorneys and staff members in the Attorney General’s Office, among other spending, for the 2026 fiscal year that begins in July.
Murphy, who has developed a relatively cordial relationship with Trump, didn’t mention the new funds or criticize the president personally in his budget speech Tuesday. But he did say “many of our neighbors are worried about what the next few years may hold” — not just about their “economic future” but about “what is unfolding in our nation’s capital.”
“These are not normal times,” Murphy said. “I think it’s safe to say that we are facing more uncertainty at the federal level than at any other point in modern history. And this uncertainty has a direct impact on all of us, and most importantly, the people of New Jersey.”
Murphy administration officials noted the funding for the attorney general’s push is relatively small compared to the full size of the budget proposal. But state Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio said it “ensures that New Jerseyans’ rights are represented on constitutional issues across federal and state courts.”
The state’s legal battles are similar to how Murphy’s administration repeatedly challenged Trump with lawsuits the first time he was president.
This time, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE), are attempting to implement an unprecedented overhaul of the U.S. government. The goal, they say, is to root out waste.
That includes massive possible cuts to federal funding that could leave a big hole in a New Jersey state budget that already includes a more than $1 billion structural deficit. About 700,000 Jerseyans could also be left without health care under cuts to Medicaid.
Murphy said Tuesday he hopes “the situation in Washington settles down” and this will be a “normal, healthy budget season,” but that is “by no means a guarantee.”
“There is a distinct possibility that we will, instead, need to pursue a ‘break the glass’ strategy,“ the governor added. “What that looks like, we cannot yet say. But we must acknowledge — and adapt to — this new reality."
Echoing comments he made in his State of the State address last month, Murphy said he has “every intention of working in good faith with the Trump administration to better the lives of the people we serve.”
“But, just as importantly, if this administration tries to attack our most vulnerable neighbors: I will never back down from defending their rights and freedoms,” Murphy added.
Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his fiscal year 2026 state budget address at the Statehouse in Trenton on Tuesday.Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media
The new $1 million would on top of the traditional funding in the budget for the state Attorney General’s Office. Murphy has more than doubled funding for the office’s Division on Civil Rights since becoming governor in 2018.
Democrats have carried New Jersey in every presidential election since 1992, but Trump performed better than expected in November, losing by only 6 percentage points after double-digit losses in 2016 and 2020.
Still, Platkin told NJ Advance Media last month that while Trump is “entitled to enact the policies that he sees fit for this country ... people have rights in this country.”
“Rights enshrined under the federal constitution and the state constitution and rights under state and federal law,“ the attorney general said. ”And those rights don’t change.”
“There is a distinct possibility that we will, instead, need to pursue a ‘break the glass’ strategy,“ the governor added. “What that looks like, we cannot yet say. But we must acknowledge — and adapt to — this new reality."
Platkin has been successful early on in some of his legal action against Trump, with federal judges pausing Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, freezing funds for federal grants and medical research, and Musk’s attempt to access American’s financial data. But many of those are temporary injunctions, and it’s unclear if judges will strike down the moves completely.
Also in his new budget plan, Murphy has proposed doubling funding for the state Office of New Americans from $500,000 to $1 million, which comes in the face of Trump’s push for mass deportations.
The governor said the goal is to “ensure that New Jersey remains the State of Opportunity, for entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world.”
Despite the lawsuits and funding, Murphy and Trump have collaborated on the government’s COVID-19 response and the Gateway Tunnel project. Murphy also visited Trump at his Bedminster golf club last summer after the assassination attempt on Trump.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is pictured in a file photo. Susan K. Livio
NJ Advance Media staff writer " target="_blank" rel="" title="https://<adi-stories-by-author adiWidgetId="widgie-312ce5ad-1e62-4121-aae9-d3d7d1188de0"></adi-stories-by-author>">Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.
Stories by Brent Johnson
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.