New Jersey’s acting governor taken to hospital for undisclosed medical care

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who is currently serving as acting governor while Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is out of the state, has been taken to a hospital for an undisclosed medical issue.

Oliver, 71, was taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston and is unable to carry out the duties of acting governor, Murphy’s spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said in a statement Monday. Under the state constitution, Democratic Senate President Nicholas Scutari will serve as acting governor.

Gunaratna said Oliver was receiving “medical care” but declined to elaborate.

Murphy’s office has said he’s out of the country on a family vacation in Italy, where he owns a home.

Oliver, a Democrat, has served as the state’s second lieutenant governor since 2018. She concurrently serves as the head of the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to towns and cities and oversees code enforcement.

In 2010, she became the first African-American woman to serve as speaker of the state Assembly in the state’s history.