POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Republicans’ Trump conundrum

 

By Kelly Garrity MIKE KENNEALY'S GOT PLENTY OF BAGGAGE!  "R" VOTERS ARE CONSPICUOUSLY UNINFORMED & FAIL TO SCRUTINIZE CANDIDATES! WHAT DID HE EVER DO?  NOTE TO MAGA CANDIDATES: YOU WERE IN OFFICE WHEN THE WHITE TOOTHED GOVERNER CREATED THE DISASTERS ON THE MBTA...WHERE WERE YOU?  CHARLIE BAKER HIRED OVER PAID OUT-OF-STATE HACKS WHO NEVER TRAVELED TO THE COMMONWEALTH TO OVERSEE CONSTRUCTION & MUCH ELSE!  CHARLIE BAKER WAS FULLY AWARE THAT NEWLY INSTALLED RAILS WERE DEFECTIVE YET NEVER ADDRESSED IT LEAVING IT TO NEWLY ELECTED GOV. HEALEY... AND THEN THERE'S THE MISSPENT BILLIONS CHARLIE BAKER LEFT THAT WILL BE PAID BACK....WHERE WERE THESE WEALTHY MAGA CANDIDATES WHO WERE IN OFFICE WHEN THIS HAPPENED?  Massachusetts owes the federal government $2.1 billion. Here's why. BOSTON - Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday that the state has agreed to repay the federal government $2.1 billion because of a mistake made years ago with pandemic-era unemployment benefits.  An audit revealed "an improper overdraw of federal pandemic unemployment benefits," a statement from the governor's office said. Healey said that former Gov. Charlie Baker's administration "misspent billions of dollars in federal relief funds" on unemployment payouts that were supposed to be covered by the state. Massachusetts to pay back money over 10 years Healey said her administration has negotiated with the U.S. Labor Department for the past year and a half to reduce the state's tab that could've been more than $3 billion with penalties and interest. Starting in December, Massachusetts will pay the money back over a 10-year period. Anyone who received jobless benefits during that time will not be impacted, Healey's office said. "It is incredibly frustrating that the prior administration allowed this to happen, but we are going to use this as a moment to come together with the business and labor community to make meaningful reforms to the Unemployment Insurance system," the governor said in a statement. The agreement was finalized with former President Joe Biden's administration, just before President Donald Trump took office.  "Monumental error" The National Federation of Independent Business said that small businesses in the state are already being "crushed" by unemployment insurance taxes. "It is incomprehensible that the state made a monumental error, and it's Massachusetts small employers that are required to today foot the $2.1 billion bill," Christopher Carlozzi, the group's Massachusetts state director, said in a statement. Healey said businesses won't see a hike on unemployment insurance rates through at least 2026. Whether they go up in the future depends on what the state does to reform the unemployment insurance system, she said. The system is expected to be giving out more money than it takes in by 2028. "We know Massachusetts' unemployment insurance requires reform, especially as we focus on the long-term solvency of the UI trust fund," Labor and workforce development Sec. Lauren Jones said in a statement. "Our administration is committed to working with all partners to propose and implement policy and system improvements that support employers and impacted workers."    In an email to supporters Monday, the Massachusetts Democratic Party also took a shot at Kennealy’s eight years working in former Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration as an assistant secretary and then housing and economic development secretary. “He failed to prevent skyrocketing housing costs and failed to cut taxes for hardworking Bay Staters — while Gov. Healey passed tax cuts in her first year in office,” the email said, referring to a package of tax cuts that were first drafted by the Baker administration. “Mike Kennealy is unqualified to address the biggest issues facing Massachusetts. In fact, when he announced his candidacy, he never mentioned the single greatest threat to our state — Donald Trump.” TO TRUMP OR NOT TO TRUMP — One day into his campaign and the sole declared Republican candidate for governor is already up against the enduring struggle of the Massachusetts Republican: how to deal with Donald Trump. The state’s Democratic Party quickly tried to tie Mike Kennealy , a former Charlie Baker Cabinet official, to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. In an email Monday afternoon, they branded him “MAGA Mike,” knocking Kennealy for past donations to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. It’s not the first heat Kennealy has taken related to Trump as he eyes the governor’s office. But previous backlash has been because he wasn’t MAGA enough. While meeting with the Sandwich Republican Town Committee earlier this year, Kennealy elicited groans from the crowd when he told it he voted for neither Trump nor Kamala Harris in last year’s election. The antagonism from across the political spectrum underscores the fine line the former economic development secretary will have to walk if he wants to survive a Republican primary without getting pushed so far to the right that kills his chances in a general election. And it shows how much the party has changed in the years since Baker first won office. The popular moderate eschewed Trumpism while in office and managed to fend off a primary challenge from his right in 2018. But while Massachusetts remains blue through and through, Trump made gains here in recent years. The president sailed to an easy victory during last year’s presidential primaries. If Kennealy wants to face off against Gov. Maura Healey, he’ll undoubtedly need support from some of the more than 50 percent of Republican primary voters who backed Trump in that contest. He’ll just have to win them over while dodging the “MAGA Mike” moniker.  GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . It’s a good day to ignore your 401(k). TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey gives an update on the state’s End Veteran Homelessness Campaign at 1:15 p.m. in New Bedford. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs a Local Government Advisory Commission meeting at 1 p.m. in Franklin. Sen. Ed Markey hosts a virtual town hall on the White House’s impact on health care innovation at 5 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at 11 a.m. and speaks at a groundbreaking of a new facility for the Animal Rescue League of Boston at 5 p.m. in the South End. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com .  DATELINE BEACON HILL — House goes ‘very heavy on transportation’ in surtax-fueled spending bill by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): “House Democrats will seek a vote this week on a roughly $1.3 billion spending plan that would inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the MBTA as the agency wrestles with a major budget gap. The House on Monday teed up its redraft (H 4005) of Gov. Maura Healey's proposal to spend down about $1.3 billion in available surtax revenue, moving to clear that measure from the to-do pile in the week before House Democrats unveil their annual budget bill. … The House bill, marked for a House vote Wednesday, calls for directing most of the available surtax pot -- $828 million -- toward the transportation sector and $353.5 million toward education.” FROM THE HUB — Community benefit or conflict? A neighborhood fund and a Boston city councilor’s role in it. by Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe.  — Boston Mayor Wu proposes $4.8B city budget with 4.4% spending increase by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu proposed a $4.8 billion city budget that she says may need to be adjusted down the line depending on the outcome of potential federal funding cuts, some of which the city is already challenging in court. The mayor’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, filed Monday with the City Council, represents a roughly 4.4% increase over the prior year’s spending plan of about $4.6 billion. Growth for the current fiscal year’s budget was roughly 8%, and the more restrained spending is entirely intentional, Wu said in a letter to the City Council.” — Boston police officers chased a car after being told to stop. Minutes later, three teens died in a crash. by John R. Ellement and Sean Cotter, The Boston Globe.   Cut through policy complexity and turn intelligence into action with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant—a new suite of tools designed to save you time and demonstrate your impact more easily than ever—available only to Pro subscribers. Save hours, uncover critical insights instantly, and stay ahead of the next big shift. Power your strategy today— learn more .     WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET ***TAXPAYER FUNDED RELIGIOUS CHARTER SCHOOLS!****  — AG Campbell asks U.S. Supreme Court to reject taxpayer-funded religious charter school by John L. Micek, MassLive: “Should the taxpayers foot the bill for a religious charter school? That’s the question that will come before the U.S. Supreme Court later this month in a case that could reshape the role of religion in public education. The answer from Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell and 17 of her colleagues nationwide? An emphatic ‘no.’” THE RACE FOR CITY HALL ***SCRUTINIZE WHAT THE NEWTON NEBBISH IS OFFERING! IT'S FULL OF EXPENSIVE HOLES WITH NO SERIOUS SOLUTIONS! LEAVING RESIDENTS OF MASS & CASS IN AN UNSECURED FACILITY IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD SOLVES NOTHING OTHER THAN MOVING THE PROBLEM! WHAT ABOUT THE COSTS? *** RECOVER BOSTON — Boston mayoral hopeful Josh Kraft rolled out his plan to address the addiction crisis that’s long plagued the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area Monday morning, one of his campaign’s biggest policy plans to date. GBH has the deets on Kraft’s “Recover Boston” plan. excerpt:  “I will establish Recover Boston, a campus to provide seamless addiction recovery, mental health services, and temporary housing support,” he said. Kraft said he is waiting to discuss with other stakeholders, but added he is open to a previous suggestion of the area known as Widett Circle, where South Boston, the South End and Roxbury meet as a potential recovery campus location. DAY IN COURT — Federal judge in Mass. considers arguments in parole programs case by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “Attorneys for a number of parolees suing the government for their programs’ pause and termination sparred with an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday. If policies under President Donald Trump stay in place, half a million people across the United States who came from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will lose their legal status in three weeks’ time.” PARTY POLITICS ***THE WHITE TOOTHED GOVERNOR GIVEN A FREE PASS BY THE MEDIA FOR ALL OF HIS FAILURES WILL NEVER GO AWAY!**** CASH DASH — Charlie Bake r is still playing Massachusetts politics. The former governor is headlining the MassGOP’s Lincoln-Reagan Reception late next month, alongside former Lt. Gov. Kayrn Polito. Tickets are going for $250 to $5,000 per the invitation. FROM THE DELEGATION ****OTHER NATIONS HAVE ISSUED TRAVEL ALERTS TO AVOID THE U.S. DUE TO ICE GESTAPO ACTIONS! PEOPLE ARRESTED & DETAINED AT AIRPORTS? PEOPLE ARRESTED WITH NO DUE PROCESS BY UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE ON THE STREETS? REVOKING STUDENT VISAS FOR FREE SPEECH & PEACEFUL PROTESTS?***** — Seth Moulton compares Tufts student’s arrest to actions of Hitler’s secret police. ‘It’s like the Gestapo. by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “U.S. Representative Seth Moulton on Monday compared the Trump administration’s arrest of Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk last month to the actions of Hitler’s secret police, warning that it’s ‘very, very dangerous time in America.’ Moulton, speaking at an event on the Tufts campus, cautioned that he and other Democrats can do little to push back against the detainment of Öztürk and others beyond calling out such ‘abhorrent’ actions and finding ways to ‘start winning’ come next year’s midterm elections.” ON CAMPUS — Groups urge leaders to push back on student deportation by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Beacon Hill leaders are being urged to take more aggressive steps to shield Massachusetts colleges and universities from the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which is now targeting foreign students in the United States on visas.” PAY WALL ***TRUMP ATTACKS ON FREE SPEECH & PEACEFUL PROTESTS SHOULD ALARM US ALL! THESE MISGUIDEDD ACTIONS HAVE CAUSED OTHER NATIONS TO ISSUE TRAVEL WARNINGS TO AVOID TRAVEL TO THE U.S.! WE BENEFIT FROM THE PRESENCE OF THOSE FROM OTHER NATIONS VOICING THEIR DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONS***** — UMass working to help six students whose visas, status were revoked by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette. MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS — Salem seeks to increase local tax on marijuana sales by Michael McHugh, The Salem News: “The City Council recently voted to send a home rule petition to the state Legislature that would allow Salem to increase the maximum local tax on the retail sale of marijuana products from 3% to 6%, and would eliminate host community agreements and community impact fees. Currently, the state receives a sales tax of 6.25% on retail marijuana sales, in addition to a state excise tax of 10.75%, while cities and towns can levy an additional excise tax up to 3%.”

POLITICO 1000 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA, 22209, USA