Mikie Sherrill Used Taxpayer-funded Helicopter To Attend College Alumni Gathering  

TRENTON, New Jersey — Gov. Mikie Sherrill built her political brand around her time piloting helicopters for the Navy.

As New Jersey’s governor, she isn’t in the cockpit anymore. But she’s a frequent flier.

Sherrill flew aboard a State Police helicopter eight times over roughly three months, according to records obtained by POLITICO. In one instance, the records show, Sherrill used a State Police helicopter to fly from New Jersey to Maryland to attend a “black-tie” alumni event at the Naval Academy, her alma mater.

Access to the helicopter is one of the perks of being New Jersey governor, albeit an expensive one. As of 2021, it cost taxpayers approximately $2,500 an hour for the governor to use the State Police helicopter, according to press reports.

Prior New Jersey governors have faced scrutiny over use of the state chopper, especially when it is not explicitly for state business. Democratic former Gov. Jim McGreevey used it for personal trips, which resulted in the New Jersey Democratic State Committee agreeing to reimburse the state $18,200. Republican former Gov. Chris Christie was ensnared in “choppergate” in 2011 when he arrived at his son’s high school baseball game in a State Police helicopter. He and the New Jersey Republican Party reimbursed the state $3,300 days later, but the flights raised questions around his image as a fiscal hawk.

It isn’t only New Jersey politicians who face questions over how they use their government chopper. Vice President JD Vance this week drew scrutiny after reports that he planned to use a military helicopter to take his kid to a golf lesson, although the trip did not materialize.

A State Police report from 2007 — released after former Gov. Jon Corzine nearly died in a car crash after his security detail was speeding — recommended greater use of the helicopters to transport the governor. But that same report also said “the actual cost of the helicopter usage must be reimbursed” if being used for “a political or personal event.”

Sherrill’s office said the helicopter was not used for personal purposes. A spokesperson said that State Police helicopters must log a minimum number of flying hours a year and that the governor’s travels coincide with that requirement — echoing a similar argument the Christie administration made.

“With the flight hours required each year, it comes at no added cost to the taxpayer,” Sherrill spokesperson Sean Higgins said in a statement. “This is part of the official New Jersey State Police transportation and security for the Governor of New Jersey to best serve the entire state and travel in the safest, most efficient manner.”

Republican state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon told POLITICO that using the helicopter for “state business” or in emergencies was permissible, but he objected to using the state vehicle for other purposes. O’Scanlon said the helicopter shouldn’t be used to attend children’s sporting events or college alumni gatherings.

“I believe there's a line of demarcation there,” he said. “I don't believe it's one that's hard to understand.”

Flight records show that on April 17 Sherrill flew from South Jersey to Maryland, where she attended a reception at the Naval Academy to commemorate 50 years of women attending the institution. Sherrill graduated from the academy in 1994, and two of her children currently go there.

According to a post on a Maryland government website, Sherrill gave remarks at the event, which was described as a “black-tie affair featur[ing] beautiful gowns, hours of dancing, and a successful auction.”

She was then flown back to a State Police helipad near her home in North Jersey.

Higgins, the Sherrill spokesperson, said she attended the event in her official capacity as governor.

On three different dates, records show, Sherrill also used the helicopter for trips between her home county in North Jersey and the Statehouse in Trenton — a commute that can be an hour and a half by car during rush hour.

The out-of-state travel was not mentioned on Sherrill’s public schedule. Traditionally, Garden State governors disclose when they leave the state because the lieutenant governor becomes the acting governor in their absence; on Monday, Sherrill announced she would travel out of state and that Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell would be the acting governor in the interim. Her public schedule did not say where she was going.

Sherrill’s other flights in the state helicopter coincided with press conferences or public events. On April 8, for instance, she took the helicopter from Trenton to Atlantic City, where she was speaking at an event for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce — and then flew to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The roughly 210-mile trip would be just over three hours by car.

After Christie faced “choppergate” in 2011, a Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill to prohibit governors from using state helicopters for personal or political events, but the legislation never advanced. The Democratic state party said Christie's use of the helicopter to attend his kid’s baseball game was the “price of arrogance and taxpayers are outraged!" When McGreevey, a Democrat, used the helicopter on personal travel, a GOP state lawmaker accused him of “abusing taxpayer dollars.”

Former Gov. Phil Murphy, Sherrill’s Democratic predecessor, used the state helicopter a scant 34 times from 2018 to 2024, according to press reports. In 2021, the state spent approximately $9,000 to fly Murphy to Washington D.C. to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

But the most prolific user of the state helicopter may be former Gov. Jim Florio, who used it over 2,300 times during his four years in office.

Each state governor differs in their flight options. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced scrutiny in 2018 for using state helicopters and planes more than other big-state governors. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California generally uses commercial flights to travel, including Southwest airlines.

Not every Republican is taking issue with Sherrill’s helicopter usage. Republican Assemblymember Brian Bergen, himself a former Army pilot and frequent critic of the Sherrill administration, said he understood why the governor would fly to certain events, but didn’t necessarily agree with her trip to the Naval Academy.

“Pilots need flight hours, the governor has legitimate travel demands, and as commander-in-chief of the National Guard, using state aviation assets is not inherently scandalous,” he said. “But burning taxpayer-funded jet fuel to visit Annapolis, an institution best known for finishing second to West Point, is where I draw the line.”

Matt Friedman contributed to this report.