Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mikie Sherrill announces pick for NJ attorney general
By
Mike Hayes
Published Dec 15, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
By
Mike Hayes
Published Dec 15, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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.
Tagged
Politics
new jersey
Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes covers equity and access to opportunity in New Jersey. He joined WNYC and Gothamist in 2023. Before that, he worked as a freelance journalist writing about policing and criminal justice. He has written for ProPublica, CNN, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News and The Appeal. He is also the author of the book, “The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.” In 2019, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .