Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) today pulled the scheduled Thursday nominations of Governor Phil Murphy cabinet hopefuls: Zakiya Smith-Ellis as secretary of higher education and Lamont Repollet as commissioner of education.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source said he had heard that state Senator Sandy Cunningham (D-31) had some nagging questions for Smith-Ellis, who had been away, but was puzzled by the Repollet delay.

A second source said lawmakers had questions about Repollet’s statements regarding the fair school funding formula, expressed during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bottom line is the front office and senate president’s office continue to fight, the source said.

“The Senate President has unilaterally decided to hold up the confirmations of two highly qualified Cabinet nominees, despite overwhelming support from the Senate Judiciary Committee,” said Murphy Spokesman Mahen Gunaratna. “There’s no good reason why he’s standing in the way of their confirmations.”

Sweeney begged to differ.

“The Senate President has concerns about the lack of responsiveness by the administration on the signature issues of school funding and college affordability,” said Sweeney Spokesman Richard McGrath. “These top officials in the Murphy Administration are responsible for adopting the reforms needed to provide full and fair funding for New Jersey’s schools and for following through on the bills to help make college more affordable. We have worked hard on these policies and we can’t allow the opportunity to put them in place to be lost or delayed by inaction.”