Chris Christie

Chris Christie in 2015.

Chris Christie (1962-?) is an American politician, former federal prosecutor, and member of the Republican Party, who served as the governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018, serving two 4-year terms. Christie was a close associate of Donald Trump and was elected for his first term as governor of NJ by defeating Democrat Jon Corzine. Christie campaigned for governer on the contentious issue of discontinuing pensions for NJ teachers despite staunch opposition from teacher unions. Stopping awarding pensions to new teachers in NJ was popular overall with the public due to high state taxes in an economy where not even private sector workers usually receive pensions.

Beginning in 2014, Christie's governorship was marred by the so-called "Bridgegate" scandal whereby a Christie staff member had colluded in 2013 to block lanes of tolls plazas in Fort Lee, New Jersey. This put a complete stop to the flow of traffic from Fort Lee into New York City and lasted for nearly four days, during which many sick people were unable to reach needed hospital care. The blockage was allegedly done to punish Fort Lee's mayor for being a political opponent. While there was never any legal action taken against Christie, the public suspected he had knowledge of the staffer's actions, and Christie's popularity began to wane. But the scandal's effects had been held up just long enough for Christie to be re-elected to a second term as NJ governor.

Christie also provoked widespread ridicule, and became an internet meme, in 2017 as pictures emerged of him and his family sunning themselves on an empty NJ state beach that had been closed during the holiday weekend because of a state government shutdown. The incident became known informally as "Beachgate".

During Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Chris Christie volunteered to spearhead Trump's presidential Transition Team and was able to do so only by raising funds for the team independently, since Trump himself refused to fund it despite a legal mandate to do so. The purpose of the Transition Team is to prescreen some or most of the 1200 or so appointees which an incoming president must appoint, subject to approval by the U.S. Senate, in the first three months after taking office. In the first chapter of his book "The Fifth Risk", non-fiction author Michael Lewis states that the output of the Trump Transition Team managed by Christie was deliberately ignored--and actually destroyed--after Trump took office and before the information could be used, because Jared Kushner (Trump's son-in-law) had a grudge against Christie because Christie's father had once convicted Kushner's father of tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness, and lying to the Federal Election Commission. The effects on the federal bureaucrazy were dangerous, resulting in long delays during which no officials were available to make high-level decisions, and in a situation where former officials were legally forbidden from transmitting job knowledge to their successors, since the successors were not in place before the prior officials had to leave.

Christie left the office of NJ governor after 2018, since the state only allows two consecutive terms for governor, and was replaced by Democrat Phil Murphy who as of 2023 is serving a second consecutive term as NJ governor. In theory, Christie could run for NJ governor again in future elections.

In 2023, Christie became the first Republican would-be 2024 candidate to say he would not vote for the former president again in a general election.

Christie's full name is Christopher James Christie.