Phil Murphy has been very much a bipartisan statesman throughout the ongoing pandemic, trying hard not to criticize the administration of Donald Trump.

That seems to be changing.

On Wednesday, the governor went after Mitch McConnell, a Trump acolyte, after the Kentucky Republican suggested that rather than continue to dispense huge amounts of federal aid, it may be better for states like New Jersey to just go bankrupt.

Murphy wasn’t done yet with McConnell, but today’s briefing brought forth another villain – the federal treasury department.

The governor said that the $1.8 billion the state just received under the recent stimulus bill, or CARES Act, may have to be returned. Huh?

Yep. He said it had to do with treasury department guidelines released Wednesday. Murphy said he had been assured by the feds that the state had wide discretion in how those funds could be used. Maybe not.

“Those assurances apparently were empty,” he said.

As is normally the case, things here are complicated. Questioned about what the problem was, the governor asked one of his legal advisors for help. It was pointed out that federal funds in question can not be used for items included in last year’s budget.  As far as the state is concerned, that’s the current budget, which began last July 1.

So if federal stimulus aid can’t be used for what has been budgeted, that can – at least theoretically – rule out its use for education, which is obviously included in the current budget. The need for such spending would figure to be essential in light of how remote learning has taken over our schools.

This guidelines, of course, are not the end of things. Murphy said he began contacting congressional Democratic leaders last night in hopes of getting this fixed. In the end, it could be just a
misunderstanding.

But his view of the Trump administration is becoming decidedly less accommodating.

At another point today, Murphy said in regard to testing, “We started as a nation completely and utterly unprepared.”

That comment came along with some really good news; a saliva test being developed at Rutgers University. There was bold talk of perhaps doing as many as 10,000 tests a day. The tests are simple – you spit in a cup.

Given the fact widespread testing is a pre-condition for reopening the state, officials see this as a possible “game changer.” Meanwhile, the governor said he will likely release a blueprint for reopening on
Monday.

But Mitch McConnell was still on Murphy’s mind.

Without prompting, the governor admitted his condemnation of McConnell on Wednesday was strong, but also justified. He said this is the time not for petty partisanship, but for bold action.

And he reminded McConnell that he belongs to the same party as  Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. He said that when that trio met their moment, “They got big.”

Yesterday, Murphy compared McConnell to a Martian and a Communist.

Today, it was Lincoln, TR and Reagan.

McConnell’s stature is rising.