New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and her pick for state’s attorney general, Jennifer Davenport, signaled they’re ready to take on Donald Trump and his administration during today’s announcement of Davenport’s nomination.
During a short news conference on Monday, Sherrill said Davenport is “known as a force in both civil and criminal litigation” by the New Jersey law enforcement community.
“She’s not afraid to stand up to anyone, including the President, and we will take the administration to court if needed to make sure that New Jersey is getting our tax dollars back to invest in our schools, food assistance programs, healthcare, and the Gateway Tunnel, just to name a few,” Sherrill remarked Monday.
Davenport echoed Sherrill’s resolve to take on Washington if she gets the job.
“One of the greatest threats to affordability is coming from Washington,” Davenport said at the news conference.
Sherrill and Davenport previously worked together in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. Davenport is currently the Deputy General Counsel and Chief Litigation Counsel at New Jersey electric and natural gas services holding company Public Service Enterprise Group, known as PSEG.
Davenport’s connections to the energy industry raise questions about what role she would play in Sherrill’s efforts to enact one of her top campaign promises: freezing rising energy rates for consumers the day she takes office.
Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovitch Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said if the Sherrill administration is sued over an executive order to freeze energy rates, it’s possible that Davenport would recuse herself in the case.
“Since she worked for one of the companies that would be impacted by a rate freeze, I am sure that she would be most comfortable not playing a direct role in a defense of an executive order along those lines,” he said.
Rasmussen, who for ten years ran communications for New Jersey Natural Gas, said it is not unusual within the “sprawling” attorney general’s office for someone’s previous employment experience to present a conflict of interest in a case.
“It just means that somebody else would represent the state in that matter,” he said.
Current Attorney General Matt Platkin was quick to endorse Davenport’s nomination Monday and pledged to work with her to ensure a “smooth and productive transition.”
“I am thrilled that Jen Davenport will serve as New Jersey’s next Attorney General. Jen is, without question, one of the finest public servants I have ever known, and will do an extraordinary job as our State’s chief law enforcement officer,” Platkin said in a statement on social media.
On Monday, Davenport quickly cleared the first hurdle in the nomination process — while gaining bipartisan support at the same time.
In New Jersey, gubernatorial nominees must first be approved by their home county senators through a process called senatorial courtesy. Senate Majority Whip Vin Gopal, a Democrat from Long Branch, and State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, a Republican from Little Silver — both of whom represent Monmouth County — put out a joint statement endorsing Sherrill’s pick.
Davenport will next need to earn the support of a majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee members before her nomination is put before the entire Senate body.
PSEG spokesperson Marijke Shugrue congratulated Davenport.
"She is an extraordinary lawyer with a strong track record in public service. She will be missed but her dedication and leadership will serve us all through her new role at the state," Shugrue said in a written statement.
This story was updated with a response from PSEG.
