New Jersey’s first family is once again Costa Rica-bound for a Christmas vacation — this one just before Gov. Phil Murphy begins his final year in office.
The Murphys are scheduled to depart the state on Friday morning for an 11-day trip to the beach-laden Central American country, the governor’s office told NJ Advance Media.
They will return Monday, Dec. 30. Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way will serve as acting governor while Murphy is gone.
The trip is an end-of-year tradition for the Murphys, who have vacationed in Costa Rica five times at Christmas in the governor’s seven years as New Jersey’s chief executive.
Murphy, a multimillionaire former Wall Street executive, spent the holiday season with his wife, First Lady Tammy Murphy, and children on safari in the African country of Tanzania in 2018, his first year in office. They then traveled to Costa Rica in 2019 and again in 2021, 2022, and 2023. They stayed home in 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
The weather may not cooperate this time. Rain is forecast for most of the next two weeks in Costa Rica.
The Murphys traditionally pay for personal trips themselves, although all governors travel all places with a taxpayer-funded security detail.
This visit comes amid one of the more unusual chapters of Murphy’s governorship, with federal authorities investigating thousands of reports of alleged drone sightings in New Jersey’s night-time skies over the last month.
After weeks of mystery — and frustration from local leaders looking for answers — multiple U.S. government agencies said in recent days that most of the reports turned out to be a mix of legal commercial or hobbyist drones, planes or helicopters mistaken for drones, or stars. Investigators are still looking into 100 other sightings.
Murphy noted Wednesday during his latest call-in television show that the federal government sent the state last weekend “the most sophisticated drone detection systems on the planet,” and they have shown “there is no public threat here, period.”
“I can say that unequivocally,” the governor said on News 12 New Jersey.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday did announce a one-month ban on drones flying over parts of about two dozen towns and cities in New Jersey. Murphy said he was told that step was taken “out of an abundance of caution,” so no drones would fly over “critical infrastructure.”
Asked if the FAA’s decision contradicts officials saying everything is OK, Murphy admitted “this gives you the impression there is a ‘but.’” Still, he said, federal officials told him this was done “based on request” from companies such as PSE&G.
“Trust me. Based on all the evidence we have, your public safety is in good hands,” the governor said.
Earlier this week, Murphy also issued the first pardons of his tenure.
Soon after Murphy gets back from his trip, the term-limited Democrat will begin his last year as governor. And it’ll be a big year for Jersey politics.
On tap is a massive gubernatorial election — including at least 10 major candidates — to determine who will succeed Murphy.
State leaders are also poised to face a very tough state budget that could force them to make significant belt-tightening decisions. Murphy’s administration has already ordered state agencies to freeze pay raises for some employees, curtail hiring, and plan for spending cuts.
On his TV show Wednesday, Murphy was asked to impart a holiday message to the Garden State.
“It’s been quite a year,” he said. “My guess is 2025 will not disappoint. It will be quite a year, as well.”
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.
