Murphy denies GOP claims of politically motivated aid announcements

Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday denied Republican accusations charging federal aid announcements made alongside Democratic congressmen facing competitive races over the past week were meant to give them a leg up over their GOP challengers.

“This is about good government,” Murphy said. “This is about delivering for people and businesses that need it the most, and I applaud everybody who is associated with this, unlike the reality in Washington, where in our hour of need when small businesses needed it, when folks who are unemployed needed it, when states and counties needed it, they came up with nothing.”

On Friday, Murphy appeared alongside Reps. Andy Kim (D-Marlton) and Donald Norcross (D-Camden) to announce $70 million in federal aid money to local and county governments. Though Norcross’s re-election is considered a lock, Kim, a first-term Democrat, faces a competitive challenge from former Hill International CEO David Richter.

He made a similar appearance Tuesday, during which he announced $100 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act moneys mean to help local residents and businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), who faces a challenge from State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean (R-Westfield) in one of the state’s most closely watched races, spoke at the more recent event.

His challenger claimed Malinowski had ignored the CARES Act money the state already received while pushing Republicans on the Hill to provide another round of stimulus.

“Tom Malinowski takes to twitter on a near daily basis to rail against Republicans for more COVID relief,” Kean said in a statement. “Meanwhile, right here in New Jersey, Governor Murphy has been sitting on $2 Billion dollars for 200 days and he has not had the courage to pipe up and call for the release of that funding once.”

Murphy’s administration has long contested Republican claims that it was holding on to federal aid money without reason, and the governor did so again Tuesday.

“Either we did not have the guidance that we needed from the feds — and that’s taken a lot longer than we would like — but we’re finally getting a lot of that guidance,” Murphy said.  “Or, secondly, it’s been designated but the designation means, for instance, it’s X millions that will go out over six to 12 months on a regular sort of rhythm. Those are the two big reasons. If there’s money quote-unquote in the tank, those are the two big reasons.”

Still, the governor said he hadn’t planned similar events with Reps. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) or Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis).

“I’ve got nothing that I know of on my calendar,” he said when asked if he’d hold comparable stops with the two Republican members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation.

While Smith is favored to win re-election, Van Drew’s prospects for a second term are cloudy. The former Democrat faces a well-funded challenge from former teacher Amy Kennedy.