Christie facing 1st gov't shutdown with months left in term

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Republican Gov. Chris Christie is demanding the Democrat-controlled Legislature send him a measure to make over the state's largest health insurer, threatening the first government shutdown on his watch because of a position that has drawn the ire of liberal and conservative groups alike.

Christie, who is deeply unpopular in the state as he heads into his final six months in office, has made supporting a $34.7 billion budget that includes 73 Democratic priorities contingent on a proposal to overhaul the nonprofit Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, aiming to tap into their surplus to finance drug treatment.

Last year's surplus was $2.4 billion.

The deadline to enact a budget is midnight Friday. Voting on a budget in the Democrat-led Assembly was underway but deadlocked on Friday. Speaker Vincent Prieto said he would leave the vote open and blamed a possible shutdown on the two dozen members who abstained.

Christie said at a news conference on Friday that he and Senate Democrats, who have agreed with the governor, still do not have a deal with Prieto, who refuses to consider the Horizon legislation.

Christie was once viewed as the future of his party — a Republican who could compromise with Democrats to produce results and win in a Democratic state. He was praised for his handling of Superstorm Sandy and won re-election in 2013 by double digits.

But Christie's second and final term is wrapping up with his approval ratings at 15 percent . Christie's proposal has perplexed some conservatives, who have rallied to oppose the legislation. Labor groups that typically align with Democrats, like the state's largest teachers union, also oppose the idea.

Christie has cast Horizon, which opposes the measure and has parked a mobile video billboard displaying anti-Christie videos near his office this week, as a giant, greedy company that is abandoning the charitable mission the state had in mind when the state designated it as a health services corporation. Horizon has four board members appointed by the governor.