NJ Spends $500K For Rugs, Curtains, Sofas In Statehouse Renovations: Report

NEW JERSEY — After a recent report revealed close to $500,000 was spent on furnishings for the renovated statehouse in Trenton, Gov. Phil Murphy defended the expenditure.

"The furnishings budget is less than 3/10ths of 1 percent of the total cost of this project," said Murphy during News 12's Ask the Governor segment on Monday.

The statehouse in Trenton recently underwent a six-year, $283 million renovation project to the executive branch that Murphy said was "desperately needed."

The total project "came in under budget" and had been initially signed off for construction in 2016 by then-Governor Chris Christie for around $300 million, according to nj.com.

A report by NJ Advance Media published on Sunday showed that as part of the renovation an expenditure for furnishings.

Some of those furnishings included:

• $217,000 for three rugs
• nearly $67,000 for curtains,
• $24,000 for sofas
• $31,000 for two antique desks
• $8,500 for lamps

Murphy noted that the furnishings are not for himself but for all future governors coming into the building.

"I'm not walking out of the statehouse on January of ‘26 with the rugs. They are there for the next 50 to 100 years," said Murphy responding to a caller questioning his "careless spending."

The desks were placed in two offices that are meant to be used for the Governor and an alternative office for the Governor. Currently, First Lasy Tammy Murphy sits in the alternative office.

Murphy said this decision to have two offices was done because there was a "fairly spirited debate on whether or not the governor should be on the first floor or the second floor."

It was unclear if future governors would want to sit on the first or second floors, "so we said let’s do all of this in a first-class way. Again its less than 3 tenths of 1 percent of the cost of the entire project but let's do this right for a change. And it has been done right and it is there for ages to come," said Murphy.

Built in 1792, the New Jersey statehouse it is among the oldest state houses in the United States.

"We want some majesty. This is New Jersey for crying out loud," said Murphy. "This is the second, longest, oldest union statehouse in America and you want this thing to reek of pride."

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