New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver has been hospitalized, it was reported Monday.
That state’s second-in-command, 71, was transferred to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, said Gov. Phil Murphy’s spokesman, Mahen Gunaratna.
The spokesman indicated that Oliver was receiving “medical attention” and will not be able to fulfill the functions of interim governor, but did not report the reasons for the second president’s hospitalization.
Currently, Senator Nicholas Scutari will serve as acting governor while the state president is out of New Jersey.
“In accordance with constitutional mandates, I once again assumed the responsibilities of interim governor with a commitment to faithfully carry out the duties of the office. I want to extend my best wishes to Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver for a speedy and healthy recovery. We look forward to her speedy recovery,” Scutari said in a statement.
Governor Murphy echoed the senator’s words of recovery: “I wish my partner in government a speedy recovery.”
The governor’s office reported that he is still on vacation with his family in Italy, where he owns a residence.
The Democrat has served as the state’s second female lieutenant governor since 2018, and also as head of the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to different regions of New Jersey.
In 2010, she became the first African-American woman to serve as speaker of the state Assembly.
