Massachusetts’ political leaders are bracing for a second Trump administration. No person extra so than Gov. Maura Healey, for whom Trump represents a problem each acquainted and new.
Healey has been right here earlier than: In 2016, after Trump shocked the nation and received his first race for the White Home, she was the state’s lawyer basic. Again then, she vowed to do no matter was needed to dam Trump’s efforts at rolling again protections for civil rights, immigrants, well being care and the surroundings.
“We could do it by means of litigation, we could do it by means of our personal litigation, we could do it by means of enforcement of our personal,” Healey informed an viewers in Arlington on the time.
She made good on that pledge, suing the Trump administration greater than 100 occasions. Politico dubbed her and like-minded AGs “the shock troops of the Democratic resistance.” Midway by means of Trump’s first time period she informed WBUR that whereas the work was necessary, she hoped to maneuver previous it.
“I would like to see a day once we did not should sue the federal authorities,” she mentioned.
However as Trump prepares to return to energy in Washington, he is promised to redouble his efforts on most of the similar insurance policies that had as soon as had Healey charging into the courthouse.
“Donald Trump is now the president-elect,” a visibly subdued Healey mentioned the day after the latest election. “Whoever you might be, whoever you voted for, know that we will proceed to work collectively and transfer ahead.”
Gone was the pledge to withstand and litigate. Instead: a promise to characterize all of Massachusetts — together with greater than 1,000,000 residents who voted for Trump.
As governor, Healey faces a balancing act — to face agency in her most strongly held positions, whereas additionally defending the broad pursuits of Massachusetts, together with billions of federal {dollars} for schooling, well being care and transportation. As a substitute of frightening Trump, she is protecting her public feedback skilled on the economic system, decreasing prices and increasing housing.
“Being the governor means one thing completely different,” mentioned Evan Horowitz, director of The Heart for State Coverage Evaluation at Tufts College. He mentioned it is sensible that Healey would shed the label of resister-in-chief, and “not return to that lane.”
“She will’t do this once more as a result of she’s not the lawyer basic,” he mentioned.
That job now belongs to Andrea Campbell. In her first press convention after Trump’s victory, Campbell sounded lots like Healey did eight years in the past, pledging to make use of her workplace to guard democracy, racial justice, reproductive freedom and extra.
“We have now been working to establish potential threats beneath a Trump administration in addition to methods to greatest handle these threats ought to they come up,” she mentioned.
In line with Campbell, Trump has made it clear what he intends to do when he reaches the White Home. That features a promise to launch “the biggest deportation operation” of undocumented immigrants within the nation’s historical past. To execute that coverage, Trump has nominated a border czar, Tom Homan, who was the architect of the so-called household separation coverage in the course of the first Trump administration. And he has pledged to maneuver aggressively in opposition to sanctuary states like Massachusetts.
“A few of these Democratic governors say they are going to stand in the way in which,” Homan mentioned just lately on Fox Information. “When you’re not going to assist us then get the hell out of the way in which as a result of we will do it.”
To date, Healey is being cautious. For instance, she has not agreed to hitch a brand new group known as Governors Safeguarding Democracy. She could also be in good firm; the group’s founders, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, have mentioned they’d recruit each Democratic and Republican governors, however to date have declined to call any who’ve signed on.
Healey additionally mentioned she hopes the brand new administration and Congress will cross a invoice to safe the border and supply aid for states like Massachusetts which might be struggling to accommodate a wave of migrants.
Even so, Healey informed WBUR that she is going to oppose Trump “ought to he take steps that hurt our residents,” together with infringing on their proper to entry well being care and abortion. “We will definitely battle that,” she mentioned.
Whereas Healey will not be the anti-Trump standard-bearer in Massachusetts, others within the state are already poised to battle the Trump administration. Together with Campbell, they embrace Oren Sellstrom, litigation director with the Boston-based Legal professionals for Civil Rights.
Sellstrom mentioned he is ready to problem Trump’s mass deportation plan, his promise to finish the 14th Modification’s birthright citizenship, and threats to defund sanctuary cities, amongst different initiatives — a lot of which he opposed in the course of the first Trump administration.
“We definitely know that he’ll try a lot of these strikes once more,” he mentioned.
Carol Rose, govt director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, can be prepared for a well-known set of battles. Nationally, the ACLU sued the final Trump administration greater than 400 occasions and is ready for spherical two.
“The ACLU was equipped then as we are actually to problem any effort to undermine folks’s civil rights and civil liberties,” Rose mentioned
Whereas there’s a feeling of deja vu for folks like Sellstrom and Rose, Healey urged that resisting Trump could possibly be extra difficult this time. One massive cause: the courts have modified.
“Donald Trump was in a position to appoint a lot of justices, together with three to the US Supreme Court docket,” Healy mentioned, noting that the excessive court docket granted the president a rare diploma of immunity.
“We do not know and may’t predict how courts will rule, however that is the distinction,” Healey mentioned.
All of it provides as much as what could possibly be a difficult time for a governor who has battled Trump prior to now — however whose job now’s to guard the state in a interval of uncharted political waters.
