While Trump and the state Republican Party saw their vote shares increase in last year’s election, the Democratic bastion’s federal delegation remains solidly blue through and through.
On the Senate floor Thursday, U.S. Senator Ed Markey cited a sweeping and ambiguous executive order to halt federal funding as he called the first week of Trump’s second term an immediate descent into chaos.
“American families and workers are left guessing whether lifesaving services, school lunches, help paying for home heating, basic healthcare, and public safety are going to be funded day by day," said the senator. "The collective outrage of literally everyone in this country, along with lawsuits filed over its illegal behavior, got Donald Trump's administration to rescind its latest memo to cut off federal money. But the chaos continues. The confusion continues. The federal funding witch hunt continues.”
Markey responded to another Trump executive order specifically attempting to staunch all funding for his signature piece of legislation, the Green New Deal he introduced with New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2019.
“When Trump says he wants to end the Green New Deal, he wants to end union battery manufacturing jobs in Ohio," said Markey. "He wants to end rebates that help American families afford new air conditioners and heaters. He wants to keep school districts from getting clean busses to take kids to school. He wants to end programs that help our communities rebuild after a disaster such as the fires in Los Angeles or the hurricanes that devastated Georgia and North Carolina.”
The second-term senator says Republicans are using scare tactics in an effort to bully the American people into making concessions to the wealthiest.
“Just so everyone understands, when Republicans are talking about Marxism, they're talking about Social Security, they're talking about Medicare, they're talking about Medicaid, they're talking about public education," Markey continued. "That's what they call Marxism, just so everyone understands. They're going to need hundreds of billions of dollars and more in order to have tax breaks for the billionaire boys club that was sitting right behind the President at the swearing-in. He promised them tax breaks. Where's the money going to come from? I'll tell you where it's going to come from- From the programs that they call the Marxist programs. Those are all the healthcare programs. Those are all the education programs.”
Markey called the president a dictator.
“He wants us to forget what he stands for, for us to either give up, either slowly or all at once," he said. "We cannot do that. We must stand up. So, whether it's racial justice, the rule of law, reproductive freedom, economic equality, immigrant and refugee rights, our LGBTQ community, universal health care, consumer protections, protecting clean air and water, creating union jobs and supporting our union workers, fighting the climate crisis, holding the fat cats accountable for their greed and corruption. More than ever, we must be the fearless voice for a livable future.”
Meanwhile, senior Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren turned up the heat on Trump’s nominee for health secretary, noted anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier in the week.
“Robert Kennedy will have the power to undercut vaccines and vaccine manufacturing across our country, and for all of his talk about 'follow the science' and his promise that he won't interfere with those of us who want to vaccinate his kids, the bottom line is the same: Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it. Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.”
“Senator, I support vaccines," Kennedy responded. "I support the childhood schedule. I will do that. The only thing I want is good science, and that's it.”
On the state level, first-term Governor Maura Healey is also promoting her own vision for how to stand up to Trump. As reported by the New York Times, Healey – alongside other Democratic governors like JB Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky – advocated for a more aggressive opposition from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. She backed a call for Democrats to refuse votes on Trump’s appointments in response to his attempts to issue blanket cuts to federal funding.
On Friday, Healey issued a statement saying Trump’s tariff plan will economically damage Massachusetts.
