‘why Is Sherrill Doge-ing New Jersey?’: Resignation Letters To Longtime Government Workers Cause Confusion 

TRENTON, New Jersey — Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill sent written requests for resignations to career public servants in New Jersey, according to multiple people familiar with the matter and a letter viewed by POLITICO, causing anger and confusion across the government workforce she’ll soon lead.

A Sherrill spokesperson told POLITICO the governor-elect’s transition team, which sent the notices, does not intend to ask for mass resignations and would clarify the requests only apply to political appointees. They said the notices were based on personnel information sent from the Murphy administration. They added that the transition is working with state departments to resolve the issue, and one prominent state union acknowledged the transition team is working “collaborative[ly]” toward that end.

It is unclear exactly how many people received the missives. Still, it’s created an early headache for the incoming governor — raising comparisons to the Trump administration’s treatment of public sector workers when the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, sought resignations of longtime federal employees last year.

“The toothpaste is out of the tube,” said one state worker, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. “You have that person who is crying in their office, it doesn't matter if you say ‘My bad.’ There's a trust issue there now. If it's a mistake, it's a consequential one.”

“People keep calling it DOGE,” the person added. “Why is Sherrill DOGE-ing New Jersey?”

While incoming New Jersey governors regularly ask for the resignations of senior Cabinet officials, it is unusual for them to cut deeply into the workforce of career public sector employees. One official in outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, who was not authorized to publicly speak on the matter, said people receiving the notices included those “who have been in their roles for years and decades.”

According to Melvin Dwyer, vice president of IFPTE local 195, which represents state workers, career investigators at the Department of Banking and Insurance were asked to offer resignation letters.

“For now we are reviewing our options as we see it's a violation of civil service [rules] … and the current collective bargaining agreement,” Dwyer said Wednesday. “There was no discussion with the unions.”

He added: “This is unusual.”

During her gubernatorial campaign, Sherrill criticized Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli for allegedly trying to emulate a state-level DOGE. She has also touted bringing “ruthless competence” to government.

“We know what the stakes are,” she said in May. “We know Jack Ciattarelli has promised to DOGE New Jersey.”

Dwyer said his union was asking the Sherrill transition for clarification on the matter. Other unions urged workers this week to not send the resignation letters. In a letter to employees obtained by POLITICO, state worker union IBEW Local 30 compared the request to the Trump administration's actions.

"I do not know if this is the treachery of the outgoing administration or the buffoonery of the incoming administration, (it feels to be like choice A) but rest assured, I will get to the bottom of how this happened, and there will be hell to pay!" the letter from the union said.

The Communication Workers of America, the largest employee union representing state workers, described “collaborative” meetings with the Sherrill transition team.

“While this has been a confusing and alarming process for many of our members, we greatly appreciate the Transition team assuring us that it is not their intention to compel mass resignation offers and that they fully respect our members’ contractual and civil service protections,” Tonya Hodges, the New Jersey area director of CWA District 1, said in a statement to POLITICO. “We will continue to work through this issue with the Transition team in a collaborative, productive and timely manner in order to fully rectify this issue and protect our members.”

Sherrill takes office Tuesday, succeeding Murphy, a fellow Democrat who was term-limited.

According to a copy of the letter reviewed by POLITICO, employees were asked to offer their resignation earlier this week. The resignations would not take effect unless they were “affirmatively accepted,” and employees could still work past Jan. 20 if that was the case, the letter said.

Employees would be notified in advance if the resignations were accepted, the letter said.

“It’s funny that a Republican-to-Democratic transition proceeded more openly than one within the same party,” said a separate Murphy administration official, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, referring to the shift from Republican Chris Christie to Democrat Murphy in 2018. “If this is the way the Sherrill administration wants to operate once they have the full levers of power, they're in for a rude awakening.”