Christie pushes back on staff raise report
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is pushing back on a report that says he’s given big pay raises to staffers responsible for helping craft his image.
Christie defended his staff payroll during a trip to Tennessee on Friday. He criticized the report as “incomplete” and “irresponsible.”
Christie says employees who got pay hikes deserved more money because they’d been promoted to more senior roles.
He says his office budget is now a quarter-million dollars less than when he was sworn in.
The Record newspaper reported Thursday that 27 of 148 governor’s office staffers received salary hikes in 2014. Almost all who did were members of his press, scheduling, advance and briefing teams.
Christie made the comments after a visit to a Nashville barbecue restaurant with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
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