One latest afternoon on Beacon Hill, Gov. Maura Healey, flanked by legislative leaders, held a press convention on the state finances. However the dialog turned rapidly to the Trump administration’s choice to cancel $12.2 million in federal spending used to assist Massachusetts colleges purchase meals from native farms.
“Proper now, Donald Trump and Workforce Musk are taking that each one away,” Healey mentioned. “Because of this members of Congress must step up and act, as a result of all states are going to endure.”
It was only one instance of the governor immediately criticizing President Trump and his authorities effectivity czar, Elon Musk, as they slash spending and attempt to intestine federal companies. Democratic governors are feeling the ache, and Healey has turn out to be one of many extra outspoken leaders inside her get together.
After Trump was elected final November, Healey vowed to work with the president the place potential. However simply weeks into the brand new administration, she has adopted a really totally different tone.
Abruptly, the Massachusetts governor appears to be in all places, seizing high-profile alternatives to talk out in opposition to the Trump administration — from an look on late evening TV with Seth Myers, to an extended interview on a New York Instances podcast, through which she accused Trump and Musk of teaming up as “co-kings and co-presidents,” who’re “doing every little thing to chop jobs.”
“They’re additionally doing every little thing they will to extend prices,” she added, condemning Trump for imposing steep tariffs on America’s buying and selling companions and sparking a commerce warfare that has rattled markets and will drive costs up on many shopper items.
In an interview final week with WBUR, Healey decried a collection of latest actions by the administration, from terminating the varsity meals program to attempting to lower Nationwide Institute of Well being funding for Massachusetts.
“Week after week, whether or not it is tariffs, slashing federal staff, taking folks out of [Veterans Affairs], reducing entry to healthcare — this stuff harm Massachusetts,” she mentioned. “They harm our financial system, and I’ll proceed to speak about it.”
If Healey was taking a low-key, behind-the-scenes method earlier than, the gloves are off now that the Trump administration is threatening the pursuits of Massachusetts and the town of Boston on a number of fronts. She’s been way more vocal at a time when the Democratic Social gathering is struggling to craft a unified response to Trump.
“Proper now, the Democratic Social gathering is in nice disarray and in nice disagreement,” mentioned Invoice Curry, a former Democratic candidate for governor of Connecticut who additionally suggested President Invoice Clinton.
In response to Curry, Democrats are cut up into three camps. One advocates sitting again, saying little or nothing, and letting Trump play out his hand. One other favors being strategic and elevating only a few points to attempt to “management the narrative.” Then there is a third camp, led by the likes of Healey.
“What the governor is doing is taking up each concern,” mentioned Curry, calling her method “the appropriate technique.”
“Each time you fail to have interaction a difficulty, you are letting a lie go unanswered,” he mentioned. “You are abandoning the sphere.”
Certainly, Healey is talking out on quite a lot of topics, together with why the Democrats misplaced in November: she says they failed to handle the ache of many working People, and that Joe Biden was a horrible messenger-in-chief. She defends the variety, fairness and inclusion packages below assault by Washington, saying Massachusetts nonetheless values variety. And he or she’s urging extra members of Congress to talk up and assert their constitutional function to manage the nation’s purse strings — and shield federal funding for states.
“Make no mistake about it: federal funding is big for each state on this nation,” she instructed WBUR. “And what Donald Trump is doing by taking it away, by withholding it, by weaponizing it, is actually, actually unhealthy for People throughout this nation.”
The Trump administration says it needs to lower waste and make the federal authorities extra environment friendly. However at stake for Massachusetts is $16 billion in federal funding, in line with Healey’s workplace, representing a few quarter of the state finances.
Opposing Trump is acquainted territory for Healey; because the state’s former Legal professional Common, she initiated or joined near 100 lawsuits in opposition to the primary Trump administration. So it isn’t shocking that, as Governor, she has embraced the function of a number one Trump critic as soon as once more, in line with Rob Grey, a veteran Republican political strategist within the state.
He calls the governor’s place “a straightforward political play” in a state that opposed Trump by a two-to-one margin. However he mentioned governors additionally should be cautious about looking for too vivid a nationwide highlight.
“Different Massachusetts governors from [William] Weld to [Mitt] Romney to Deval Patrick have had that blow up on them,” mentioned Gray, suggesting that if voters get the impression their governor is extra centered on Washington than Massachusetts, they may flip in opposition to her.
Peter Durant, the Republican state Senator from Spencer contemplating a run for governor, is already attempting to make use of Healey’s anti-Trump fervor to his benefit, arguing that Healey and her fellow Democrats in Congress want to simply accept that they are now within the minority — and should work with Trump.
“As an alternative, they wish to simply yell and scream, and it is going to produce zero outcomes for 4 years — and that hurts us,” Durant mentioned.
For her half, Healey mentioned she’s not attempting to select a battle with the president and that she stays prepared to work along with his administration when it helps the state. However she mentioned she’ll proceed to oppose federal insurance policies that threaten every little thing from faculty lunches to veterans to the state’s medical and life science business.
“As governor, I am not giving that up and not using a battle,” she mentioned.
