Chris Christie has signed the new budget for the government of New Jersey after lawmakers reached a deadlock which compelled the governor to impose a state shutdown on Friday. The visitation ban led to the closure of all 40 state-owned landmarks. Campers were requested to immediately vacate state parks, while public beaches were closed down until the Legislature breaks the impasse.
New Jersey lifts state shutdown
The two houses finally agreed to pass a new budget and opened New Jersey state ran parks after a three-day visitation ban. On Tuesday, both locals and visitors were allowed to hit the public beaches and parks to celebrate Fourth of July.
"Today I signed my final balanced budget, delivering two full terms of unprecedented pension stability, fiscal responsibility and tax relief," Christie tweeted on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, the governor penned a $34.7 billion budget measure which covers the expenses for the reformation of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. It further stated that the company is the health insurance provider to 3.8 million constituents of the state.
Calm after the storm
The approval of the new budget could help the Republican governor redeem himself from public ridicule after he was photographed lounging on one of the public beaches he ordered to close in the wake of the state shutdown. A local newspaper was the first to release Christie's photos at the Island Beach State Park taken before his Sunday press conference in Trento.
As a result, the GOP member became the subject of internet memes and public outcry for the past few days. Christie, however, refused to back down and insisted that the media should not make a scandal out of his beach photos with his family and friends.
"If they had flown that plane over the beach and I was sitting next to a 25-year-old blonde in that beach chair next to me, that's a story," Christie argued.
The NJ governor initially denied that he got any "sun" on that day when asked by a member of the press. His statement was later defended by his spokesperson, Brian Murray, who explained that his boss was wearing a baseball hat when he stayed on the closed beach for 45 minutes before he returned to Trento to work.
Chris Christie even accused the media of making a big deal out of these photographs he labeled as optics. Christie, on the other hand, said he would always choose his family over political optics. The GOP governor also emphasized their right to be in their residence.
