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Trump not the only dragon AG must battle

If confirmed, Davenport would face wide range of challenges

By: Charles Stile
Political Stile
USA Today Network

..... Jennifer Davenport, a former federal and state prosecutor with a wide portfolio of law enforcement experience, made headlines last week [12/18/2025] by vowing to fight the Trump administration if confirmed as the state's next attorney general.
..... The Monmouth County resident said she intends to "make sure that we're protecting ourselves against Washington" and, more specifically "anything that's driving up the cost and making New Jersey less affordable."
..... "Well be sure to push back on those," Davenport said during an introductory press conference in Newark.
..... It's hardly surprising that her remarks about combating Trump generated headlines, Governor-elect Milie Sherrill, who selected Davenport to lead the sprawling law enforcement agency notched a 14-point victory primarily on an anti-Trump wave.
..... But Davenport's remarks suggest at least a stylistic shift from Matthew Platkin, the current attorney general who made headlines - and earned national cable television appearances for what appeared to be a crusade against the Trump administration. His office took 42 actions against the Trump administration.
..... Davenport's tone - and her framing of the fight against Trump administration in the context of Sherrill's pledge to lower costs for New Jersey residents - suggests a more tempered, selective approach to combating Trumpian excesses.
..... To some Platkin critics, the shift is welcome. assemblywoman Aura Dunn, R-Morris, who was critical of the Attorney General's Office failure to win convictions of corrections officers accused of assault at the state's lone woman's prison, described Davenport as a "symbol of hope" who could re-energize the anti-corruption unit, instead of obsessing over Trump.
..... Dunn said New Jersey has a reputation as a "corrupt state and the public has become desensitized to it."
..... "We need to turn that around," she said.
..... Platkin has defended his aggressive approach to Trump, describing his flurry of lawsuits as a necessary response to an administration whose actions could bring harm to r4essidents and imperil their constitutional rights.
..... "I've never woken up and been like, hey, we got to sue Trump today. We haven't sued him in a few days," Platkin said in a recent appearance on the Jersey Angle podcast. "No, we're standing up for the rule of law. We're fighting for our residents. Some way I've taken on corrupt actions in our state."
..... Trump may turn out to be the least of her problems.
..... Davenport, whose nomination has drawn bipartisan praise, will confront a large portfolio of potentially daunting state-side challenges within her sprawling Department of Law and Public Safety that is responsible for overseeing everything from casinos and horse racing to the 2,000 members of the New Jersey State Police.
..... If confirmed, Davenport, who served as an assistant state Attorney General and principal law enforcement adviser from 2018 to 2022, will be responsible for enforcing the state's Immigrant Trust directive, the policy that limited the involvement of local police and state police in federal immigration enforcements.
..... Enacted in 2018, the directive became a flash-point for anti-immigrant voices, who cited to as Governor Phil Murphy's signature "Sanctuary state" policy that attracted and coddled undocumented immigrants. But Davenport, who flanked then Attorney General Gurbir Grewal when it was formally announced, stressed the core public safety purpose behind the measure.
..... In her rendering, the directive is less of a political, Pro-immigratn statement, and more of an attempt to build confidence within the immigrant community toward local police. Migrants might be more conformable coming forward to report crimes in their community if they do not fear local police are acting as deputies of the mitigation agents.
..... "When there's a confusion with the public between local law enforcement and civil mitigation authorities, then that confusion can cause people not to report crimes," Davenport said.

Still, Trump presents challenges

..... But the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, with masked officers dragging people form homes and work sites and cars, ripping families apart, has upset that balance. forcing immigrants further into the shadows. It will only complicate the purpose of the policy and make it more difficult for Davenport to enforce.
..... "There is a lot of distrust in government right now and that's not just among immigrants," said Amol Sinha, executive director of the American civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. But Sinha expressed confidence that the directive has now become part of the fabric of New Jersey law enforcement. he noted that the directive is seven years old and tested by the courts and seeped into the understanding of the immigrant communities.
..... Sinha also argued what oth4er progressive groups have clamored unsuccessfully for so far - to turn the policy into a state law, which would go a long way toward ending the ambiguity. During the campaign, Sherrill opposed taking that step, saying it would create the chance of having another court strike it down.

What about NJ Office of Public Integrity and Accountability?

..... If confirmed Davenport will also inherit the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which has been rocked by a series of failed high-profile prosecutions, missteps and other controversies in recent years. She will face the difficult task of restoring the department's reputation for brining corruption cases, a role that will sorely be needed given the gridlock at the United States Attorney for New Jersey office in Newark. The controversy over Trump's failed appointment of Alina Habba as top prosecutor has left the federal corruption-busting unit rudderless.
..... In October, [2025] Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, called for an independent monitor to oversee the work of the anti-corruption unit after a Superior Court Judge dismissed charges against more than a dozen prison guards over inmate beatings at the Edna Hahan Correctional Facility in 2022.
..... But it also came months after another superior court judge tossed out a sweeping racketeering indictment again South Jersey power broker George Norcross, who was accused of illegally engineering a takeover of the Camden waterfront through extortion and political pressure. But the judge in that case said the alleged actions by Norcross did not qualify as extortion or coercion under the law. The case is being appealed.
..... Davenport will also have to deal with a crisis within the State Police, which is reportedly the subject of a grand jury investigation over a dramatic slowdown in speeding and other traffic violations following a report that troopers were disproportionately stopping minority motorist for traffic stops and arrests.
..... There has also been legislation that would establish the State Police as a separate cabin level agency. Sherrill said she would not weigh in on that issue for now, saying she first wants to find a replacement for Superintendent Colonial Patrick J. Callahan, who is steeping down from the post on December 31. [2025]
..... If confirmed, Davenport could find herself on the front lines of Sherrill's pledge to declare a "State of emergency" on utility costs on her first day in office, which would give the authority to freeze electricity rates for at least one year. The move is central to her "affordability: pledge to keep cost form rising after taking office on January 20. [2026]
..... Complication that pledge, though, is the fact that Davenport was deputy general counsle for the Public Service Electric Group, the state' largest utility, since 2022. That could force her to recuse herself form any legal actions that might ensue, Sherrill indicated that she may take legal action against PJM Interconnection, the operator of the regional power grid, which became the target of lawmakers' wrath amid last year's [2025] spike in electricity rates.
..... Asked about the appearance of a potential conflict, Davenport said a "Team that's full capable" in the Attorney Gen real's office will handle the case if she were to step aside.

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