Phil Murphy

Murphy was born on August 16, 1957, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in the nearby towns of Needham and Newton, the son of Dorothy Louise (Dunton) and Walter F. Murphy. The family was Irish American, with Phil being third generation. According to Murphy, his household was "middle class on a good day;" He graduated from Harvard University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where he received an MBA in 1983. ==Finance career at Goldman Sachs (1982–2003)==

Murphy began his career in finance with a summer associate internship at Goldman Sachs in 1982. During this time Goldman Sachs profited from its investment in Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings, a shoe manufacturer that became notorious for its harsh labor practices. The $55 million investment was made the year before Murphy took the Asia post and it is unclear to what extent Murphy was aware of the firm's operational characteristics. In 1999, Murphy secured a spot on the firm's management committee. There his colleagues included Hank Paulson and Gary Cohn, both of whom later served at highest levels of the federal government. This coincided with the repeal of Glass–Steagall; the repeal allowed Murphy and his colleagues to make much greater use of leverage and profoundly changed how the company generated profits. In 2001, Murphy became global co-head of the firm's Investment Management Division. This unit oversaw the investments of foundations, pensions, hedge funds, and wealthy personages, and by 2003 had amassed $373 billion in holdings. Hedge funds, in particular, received large lines of credit from Murphy's unit. Another company initiative that Murphy helped to undertake was the unit that did major business in the emerging markets within the EMEA region. In 2003, Murphy's day-to-day responsibilities at the firm ended, and he became a Senior Director of the firm. He retired in 2006. Murphy spent 23 years at Goldman Sachs in all. ==Early government and political career==

Chair of the New Jersey Benefits Task Force In May 2005, Governor Richard Codey named Murphy to chair the New Jersey Benefits Task Force on public sector employee benefits in response to the New Jersey pension crisis, a particularly long-running instance of the state-level pensions crises taking place nationwide. By this time Murphy was already considered to be retired from Goldman Sachs. The report decried past state practices, saying that "gimmicks" had been constructed instead of genuine solutions. Murphy liked both Dean's vision for the party and the discipline Dean brought to the task, and the two became close friends. Former Goldman Sachs colleague and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin said of Murphy's ability to handle the new position, "He has very substantial technical expertise from his corporate finance work, but he combines that with a wonderful facility for dealing with people." This included modest contributions to individual candidates and several six-figure sums to party committees. During the hotly contested 2008 Democratic presidential primaries he was a superdelegate but remained uncommitted for most of the contest. ==Ambassadorship==

presenting an autographed shirt of the U. S. National Team to Chancellor Angela Merkel at the 2011 Women's World Cup as Jill Biden and Chelsea Clinton looks on Murphy served as United States Ambassador to Germany under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. The possibility of his being named to the post was first reported by Spiegel Online International in May 2009. The former U.S. Ambassador John Kornblum supported the choice, saying, "Murphy has been involved in German-American relations for many years. He's a good choice." and Obama formally nominated him to the position on July 9. Murphy was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7, and appeared with his family in Berlin on August 21. That they arrived in an expensive Gulfstream V executive jet irked Chancellor Merkel, who saw it as evidence of the long practice of presidents awarding wealthy donors with ambassadorships. which the State Department considers his effective start date. He was sworn into the position on September 13. Some German officials expressed desire that Murphy be recalled. In response, Murphy appeared on German television outlets such as ZDF in an attempt at damage control. Murphy later said that the episode was "incredibly awkward and embarrassing" but that the two countries worked through it, and that in the end Germany-United States relations were stronger than ever. He was still ambassador as of July 3; he returned to the United States at some point during July and formally stayed in the role until his mission terminated on August 26. ==Post-ambassadorship==

Murphy was mentioned as a potential candidate in the 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial election, but did not run. Instead, upon returning to the U.S. after his ambassadorship, he rejoined Murphy Endeavors LLC (a business management consultancy firm with offices in Red Bank, New Jersey, at which he was the principal). He started the firm in 2009 after leaving the DNC position, but it was soon put on hold due to his ambassadorial nomination. His wife was co-founder, chair, and secretary. The organization said it would neither endorse nor fund political candidates, as it was barred from doing so,) After Murphy announced his candidacy for governor, New Start New Jersey continued, albeit without Murphy on its board. Unlike New Start New Jersey, New Way for New Jersey was an explicitly political organization. After Murphy announced his candidacy for governor, New Way for New Jersey folded. == Gubernatorial campaigns ==

2017 In May 2016 Murphy announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election. He said of his rationale, "I am running for governor because New Jersey desperately needs adult leadership that puts our people first." Announcing so early was unusual. Murphy also began the campaign with little name recognition. Murphy was the first declared Democratic candidate for governor, although several other candidates were expected to run. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Assemblyman John Wisniewski of Sayreville, State Senator Raymond Lesniak, and State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney of Gloucester County were often mentioned in news media along with other candidates. Fulop and Sweeney were geographic rivals, and in terms of state party organizational support, Max Pizarro of the New York Observer characterized Murphy as "everyone's number two choice. If Fulop or Sweeney stumbles, Murphy could rocket from zero to 100 overnight." On October 6, Sweeney announced he too would not run, citing apparent party support for Murphy, whom he endorsed. The move came as Murphy was corralling dozens of endorsements, including all of those from North Jersey county party committees and the most populous Central Jersey county committees. As a result of these withdrawals Murphy became the clear front-runner for the nomination, After the unexpected result of the 2016 United States presidential election, Murphy noted that the fortunes of the state Democratic Party had improved in the election, saying, "As with so many, I am disappointed by the [presidential] results from Tuesday. But I refuse to be discouraged. And I won't be dissuaded from working to make New Jersey a fairer, more just place for all of us." Murphy subsequently drew criticism from the New Jersey Lieutenant Governor and Republican candidate for governor, Kim Guadagno, for seeming to draw a comparison between the Trump campaign and the early years of the Nazi rise to power in Germany. On November 15, Wisniewski, who gained visibility as a leader of the Fort Lee lane closure scandal investigations, announced his run for governor. In his message he implicitly criticized Murphy, saying "I'm not a Wall Street executive. I haven't made hundreds of millions of dollars by outsourcing jobs. I've learned the value of public service..." In January 2017 Murphy was endorsed by New Jersey's two U.S. senators, Bob Menendez and Cory Booker. He also had the endorsements of all 21 county party organizations. In statewide races, these designations offer favorable ballot position, which some voters pick by default, and are often central to success. Another poll was less certain, showing most voters undecided. Two debates with his main Democratic rivals, including former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson along with Wiesiewski and Lesniak, were held within a short span of time in May; during the second Murphy found himself under sustained attack by his rivals, but defended himself by staking out very progressive positions. Politico wrote, "Underdogs Jim Johnson, Ray Lesniak and John Wisniewski savaged the front-runner, Phil Murphy, accusing him during the 90-minute televised contest of buying off party bosses and being disingenuous on environmental issues." Subsequent campaigning by those three continued to emphasize that Murphy was "buying" the election. With $19 million raised, of which $15 million was his own money, Murphy continued to spend the most of all the candidates; his spending was more than twice that of all the other Democratic and Republican candidates for governor combined. Additionally, he was endorsed by former Vice President Al Gore, which helped solidify Murphy's environmentalist credentials after some attacks on his role as a financier investing in fracking operations. He also had the fundraising support of wealthy entertainment figures Jon Bon Jovi and Whoopi Goldberg. Most, though not all, of the key labor unions in the state, also supported Murphy. Murphy won the June 6 primary decisively, with 48% of the vote. Johnson and Wisniewski finished second and third with 22% apiece, Lesniak got 5%, and scattered others less. Murphy faced Guadagno, the Republican nominee, in the November general election. Instead she sought to focus on Murphy's Goldman Sachs background. Murphy won the general election with approximately 56% of the vote, an overall percentage similar to the previous winning non-incumbent Democrat, Jim McGreevey, for said office (2001; 56.4%), almost completely wiping out the unusually large gains made by his predecessor, Chris Christie, in 2013 (60.3% of the vote - only the normally Democratic counties of Essex and Hudson voted for Christie's opponent, Barbara Buono; by contrast, Murphy won normally Democratic municipalities by margins more similar to Jon Corzine's in 2005, and pull roughly 50/50 Somerset County into the Democratic column for the first time since 1989. Murphy campaigned on the following policy proposals: • State bank: Murphy's campaign has suggested a North Dakota-style statewide investment bank as a way of boosting New Jersey's economy. The bank would supply loans to not just businesses but also college students. • Marijuana: Murphy favors the legalization of recreational marijuana in New Jersey. • Minimum wage: In terms of employment under the law, Murphy supports the notion of a $15 minimum wage. • School desegregation. In 2018, members of Murphy's transition team filed a school desegregation lawsuit, Latino Action Network v. New Jersey. 2021 on October 12, 2021. On October 1, 2020, Murphy announced he would seek reelection, with Oliver as his running mate. He ran unopposed in the 2021 Democratic primary after two challengers were disqualified. He defeated Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in the general election, albeit by much closer margin than in 2017, with his campaign harmed by the long duration of some of his COVID-19 executive orders. Murphy became New Jersey's first Democratic governor to be reelected since Brendan Byrne in 1977. ==Governorship==

On January 16, 2018, Murphy was sworn in as the 56th governor of New Jersey at the Trenton War Memorial, succeeding Chris Christie. In one of his first executive orders, Murphy signed to revive subsidies for wind power in the state. The next month, he signed legislation committing New Jersey to the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change. Murphy also ensured that the state sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for suspending the Clean Water Rule. In March, he signed legislation that automatically registers anyone who applies for a driver's license or state ID to vote. By June, Murphy had signed legislation to permit sports betting in the state. In December, he signed into law new legislation that overhauled the way NJ Transit is managed. In April 2019, Murphy signed a law allowing terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to choose to end their lives with a doctor's assistance. A month later, he signed legislation expanding the time period during which alleged sexual assault victims could sue their alleged attackers. In June, Murphy signed a law restricting the use of solitary confinement in New Jersey prisons. In October, he announced his opposition to the construction of a new power plant in New Jersey Meadowlands in North Bergen. Donald Trump in April 2020 in September 2021 In 2020, Murphy's governorship was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first case in the state was reported on March 5, and Murphy declared a state of emergency on March 9. He signed multiple executive orders in late March that ordered a lockdown of the entire state. By April, most schools and businesses had shut down, with students required to learn from home. By summer, Murphy had reopened most restaurants but imposed extensive mask mandates. By July, COVID-related deaths in the state neared 16,000 and over 100,000 residents had tested positive. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Murphy initially endorsed New Jersey senator Cory Booker for the Democratic nomination. After Booker dropped out of the race in January 2020, Murphy announced he did not intend to endorse any of the candidates still in the race. In February 2021, Murphy signed multiple bills that liberalized the state's cannabis laws. The bills created a regulated cannabis industry in the state, permitted residents to carry up to six ounces of cannabis, and expunged 250,000 low-level cannabis arrests. Under the new laws, the scent of alcohol or cannabis can no longer be used to justify a search by law enforcement. In June, Murphy signed an executive order ending the COVID public health emergency while retaining some executive privileges and restrictions. After his reelection in November, Murphy said he intended to have every child in school by winter. alongside security, October 2022 In July 2022, Murphy was elected chair of the National Governors Association, becoming the first person from New Jersey to hold the office. In April 2023, Murphy intervened in the 2023 Rutgers University strike, inviting union representatives and the university administration to his office to negotiate. The strike ended after five days of negotiations led by Murphy. Murphy signed an executive order that would require all state departments and agencies to protect patients and health care professionals against legal repercussions for providing, receiving, assisting in providing or receiving, seeking, and traveling to New Jersey for gender-affirming health care services. From July 28 to August 13, 2023, Murphy went on vacation, during which time Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver became acting governor. On July 31, Oliver was rushed to the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center for a medical emergency; she died on August 1. New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari served as acting governor until Murphy returned. On September 8, Murphy appointed secretary of State Tahesha Way lieutenant governor. After United States Senator Bob Menendez resigned on August 20, 2024, Murphy appointed George Helmy, who had been Murphy's chief of staff from 2019 to 2023, to finish Menendez's term. In November, Representative Andy Kim was elected to replace Menendez, and Helmy promptly resigned so Kim could take his seat. In December 2024, Murphy signed a bill prohibiting book bans in New Jersey. In his last year as governor, he granted 455 pardons and commutations. New York congestion pricing On July 21, 2023, Murphy sued the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration over New York's plan to implement congestion pricing in Manhattan's most congested areas. He had argued that the program, which was intended to reduce air pollution and fund for public transit, violated the National Environmental Protection Act, which requires full environmental impact reviews of projects. Environmentalists criticized Murphy for claiming to be an environmentalist while trying to stop congestion pricing from going into effect in one of the world's most polluted and congested areas. In February 2025, the Trump administration issued an order terminating the plan. Trump declared himself a king in the message announcing the termination, and Murphy applauded Trump's decision. Public opinion In April 2018, a poll found that Murphy was approved by a plurality of New Jersey residents, with 44 percent approving and 28 percent disapproving of his performance as governor; another 28 percent said they had no opinion. In February 2019, a Monmouth University survey found that Murphy's approval rating had slipped to 43 percent and his disapproval rating had risen to 40 percent. For most of 2019, Murphy ranked among the 10 least popular governors in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report. A September 2019 Monmouth University survey found that 41 percent of New Jersey residents approved of Murphy and 38 percent disapproved. Another survey showed that 31 percent felt that Murphy's policies had hurt the middle class in the state, while only 17 percent said they had benefited. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Murphy's approval rating saw a sizable uptick; a July 2020 Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found that Murphy's approval rating had increased to 67 percent, and it remained above 60 percent for the rest of the year. By mid-2023, polling indicated that opinion of Murphy's governorship had become considerably more divided, with Rutgers-Eagleton and Monmouth University surveys finding that his approval ratings had fallen to 47 and 50 percent respectively. In 2025, polling by Emerson College found that Murphy's approval rating had fallen to 40% in May and 35% in September. ==Personal life==

Murphy first met his future wife, Tammy Snyder, in 1987 when they both worked at Goldman Sachs, but Murphy did not ask her out for another six years. Murphy is Catholic. Murphy and his wife have four children. He and his family live in a riverside estate with a six-figure annual property tax bill. The Murphys' children have been educated at Rumson Country Day School and Phillips Academy. Murphy and his wife are part owners of Gotham FC (formerly Sky Blue FC and NJ/NY Gotham), a professional women's soccer team. In 2018, media outlets reported that the team was "plagued by poor housing, subpar facilities, and mismanagement". On March 4, 2020, Murphy underwent surgery in New York City to remove cancerous tumors in his kidneys. He made a full recovery shortly afterward. In 2015, Murphy received an honorary degree from Hamilton College. In 2019, he received an honorary degree from Rutgers University. In 2022, he was given the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Wealth Murphy's position at Goldman Sachs when the firm had its IPO brought his net worth above $50 million. By one estimate, reported in Der Spiegel in 2009, his wealth after leaving the firm was in the range of several hundred million dollars. Murphy's charitable donations during these five years averaged about $980,000 a year. and several programs of the University of Pennsylvania, such as the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business and the Wharton School Graduate Executive and Asian Program. The Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future task force issued a report called "Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer: A Progressive Education Agenda For A Stronger Nation" and the U.S. Soccer Federation World Cup Bid Committee for 2018 and 2022. == Electoral history ==