TRENTON – Governor Chris Christie told reporters on the heels of a Speaker Vincent Prieto Press conference that he blamed Prieto for the mess.

“New Jersey State Government, absent something happening in the last eight hours, is going to shut down, and it will be because of Speaker Prieto,” said Christie.

In a showdown with the Republican Governor, Prieto said he intends to repost the state budget bill and intends to have the requisite 41 votes. The senate, however, led by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3), who sides with Christie against Prieto on the controversial Horizon restructuring bill that the speaker opposes, has yet to pass the budget.