N.J. Governor Murphy Finds Fellow Democrats Are Biggest Obstacle
- Business group worries about ‘chilling effect’ of higher taxes
- For sophomore year, he’s in need of his own party to play nice
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Phil Murphy came to the New Jersey governor’s office painting Republican President Donald Trump as the most serious threat to his progressive agenda. A year later, Murphy’s fellow Democrats are proving the thornier obstacle.
In his first State of the State speech on Tuesday, Murphy will tout his successes, which include tighter gun control, paid sick leave, expanded pre-kindergarten, college tuition aid for the poor and restored women’s health funding. Meatier items, though, have stalled or failed, including legal recreational marijuana, a $15-an-hour minimum wage and some of the tax increases he sought to fund his spending proposals.