TRENTON, N.J. _ In what has become a rare occurrence lately, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made an announcement Tuesday at the Statehouse, where he reiterated that he isn't planning to leave his job as governor of New Jersey.
But the Republican governor will leave the Statehouse _ in order for the building to undergo a four-year renovation. Work on the $300 million project revealed by Christie Tuesday "will begin immediately," the governor said, as he described the "shameful" condition of the building, from a lack of adequate sprinklers and fire safety measures to windows that are "literally falling out."
Christie, whose prospects in President-elect Donald Trump's administration have been an ongoing topic of speculation, acknowledged that building repairs might not have been foremost on the minds of the throng of reporters and cameras gathered for what his office had billed as a "press announcement."
"If I were announcing I was leaving to go to the Trump administration, would I really do it in the rotunda of the Statehouse, by myself, without the person who would actually be giving me the job?" Christie said.
"I am telling you that I am completing my term," Christie said.
The governor _ whose term ends in January 2018 _ also said that "if something extraordinary happens in the world, where my service is needed, I will consider any requests that are made."
Christie did not take any questions from reporters. The governor hasn't held a news conference in New Jersey since before the trial of two of his former aides in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal. The six-week trial began Sept. 19.
