New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Thursday that while her administration has taken steps to ease the state’s high cost of living, federal policy is working against those efforts, telling MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” that “for every step forward I take in the state, the federal government takes about ten steps back.”
Host Stephanie Ruhle had asked Sherrill whether a strong Democratic showing in Tuesday’s elections would translate into real affordability changes for New Jersey residents, noting that high housing costs and overall cost of living have driven people to leave the state.
Sherrill pointed to a series of actions she said her administration has already taken, including freezing rate hikes, expanding power generation to drive down energy costs, and building out a housing plan that relies heavily on state-owned property. She said the plan would allow the state to move quickly to build 40,000 homes.
“So, we, as we say, hit the ground sprinting,” Sherrill said, adding that her office held a permitting press conference the day before aimed at speeding up development and cutting costs for residents.
“But for every step forward I take in the state, the federal government takes about ten steps back,” Sherrill said. “Like I said, with the war and the gas prices, with the tariffs on Canada and lumber and trying to build homes, everything they do raises costs on families.”
Sherrill argued that federal decisions on gas prices and tariffs on Canadian lumber are raising the cost of home construction and other goods, offsetting the savings her administration is trying to deliver. She said that is why she believes Democrats need to retake control of both chambers of Congress.
“That’s why it’s so important that we flip the House and flip the Senate, because we need partners on the Hill to hold him accountable and make sure that they are driving down costs federally,” she said.
