Phil Murphy issued his 255th executive order on Friday, Save Jerseyans, and it was an uncontroversial one: ordering flags to fly at half staff in honor of American service members killed in the Kabul terror attacks.
But Governor Murphy’s grand total includes plenty of less inoccuous edicts, and he’s now the all-time leader among New Jersey governors for most executive orders issued.
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Chris Christie issued 241 over both of his terms, a tenure that included Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath. Murphy tied Christie’s final total back in mid-May of this year.
Jon Corzine, by contrast, issued 167 in his single term in Trenton; McGreevey issued 139 before resigning in disgrace.
Whitman (123) and Florio (115) both issued less than Tom Kean Sr. (219) who, based upon the state’s official archive, appears to be the prior leader at least in modern state history.
The Democrat legislature moved earlier this year to limit some of Murphy’s broadly-employed executive powers pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic after considerable outside pressure, but the legislation left significant loopholes open for Murphy to exploit.
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