With Phil Murphy out of the country and Sheila Oliver receiving medical care, Nicholas Scutari is now acting governor of N.J.
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver was suddenly hospitalized for undisclosed medical care.
Oliver was serving as acting governor while Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is out of the country on a family vacation.
Under New Jersey's constitution, the senate president is now in charge.
Oliver was taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston and is unable to discharge her duties as acting governor, according to Murphy's spokesperson.
Sources say Oliver, 71, has been struggling with ongoing health issues she's kept private.
Under state's constitution, Senate President Nick Scutari, also a Democrat, is now acting governor. He said he got the news about Oliver at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
"Long-time public servant of New Jersey, I served a longtime with her in the Legislature, and she's done a great job - looking forward to her having a full recovery," Scutari said.
Scutari, a close ally of Murphy, has served twice before as acting governor.
Murphy is on family vacation in Italy, and sources said he won't come back until Aug. 13.
"Wishing my partner in government a speedy recovery," Murphy wrote on Twitter.
"I think it's a day-to-day situation in respect with the lieutenant governor, but we have done this before and the state is going to be just fine," Scutari said.
Oliver served as acting governor during the height of the pandemic when Murphy was hospitalized himself to remove a tumor from his kidney. Her position was partly created and passed soon after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned from office in 2004. Back then, the state didn't have a lieutenant governor, and Senate President Richard Codey became governor.
Acting governors act as governors.
"I have all the full powers of the regular governor, so you can sign bills, laws, you can issue executive orders, declare state of emergencies, pardons, anything the governor can do, you can do," Scutari said.
New Jersey leaders next in line to become acting governor after the senate president are the assembly speaker, attorney general and commissioner of transportation - all Democrats.
