Phil Murphy likes heaping praise on his Cabinet members; does it all the time.

On Monday, he said Marlene Caride, who runs the state banking and insurance department, was doing a phenomenal job.

The governor has called Attorney General Gurbir Grewal the best in the nation. That’s high praise, but it’s also hard to prove.

And he considers the performance of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli so sparkling, she is “the woman who needs no introduction.”

It’s probably good – especially for his subordinates – that the boss is so prone to exaggerated flattery.

But all this must be viewed in the context of what the governor is doing when one of his associates appears to be falling down on the job.

So far, not much.

Marcus Hicks, the commissioner of the state Corrections Department, has been under fire since a violent incident on Jan. 11 at the state’s only women’s prison – the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Hunterdon County.

Three officers have been criminally charged and more than two dozen suspended after at least six inmates were reportedly beaten.

This incident has drawn statewide attention from advocates and lawmakers.

There’s a good reason why. Problems at the prison are not new.

Advocates and lawmakers pointed out at a press conference Tuesday that similar incidents have plagued the prison for years.

In fact, Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, a Bergen County Democrat, said she raised concerns last summer about one of the officers charged in last month’s assault.

It is also worth mentioning that unhappiness over the incident doesn’t seem to be politically driven.

Sure, Republicans are not shy in criticizing Murphy, but there appears to be agreement even among many Democrats that Hicks should go, or at the very least, be suspended.

So, what has the governor done?

He called the incident “abhorrent” and has named Matthew Boxer, a former state comptroller, to head an investigation.

Boxer is well respected, but that really isn’t the point.

Why can’t a governor so quick to dish out superlatives offer some criticism of a Cabinet member when problems in his department seem obvious?

Mike Testa, a Republican state senator from Cumberland County, asked if Murphy really needs an “expensive report to tell him what is readily apparent?”

Now, Testa can be playing a little politics here, but it’s a valid argument.

And his point is clear – so many times officials commission a report so they don’t have to make a decision themselves – even if that decision looks obvious.