Monday, June 23, 2025

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Mass. Dems make unlikely allies

Mass. Dems make unlikely allies

06/23/2025 07:30 AM EDT

'THIS IS INSANE' — President Donald Trump’s unexpected announcement Saturday night that the United States had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites has some members of Massachusetts’ all-Democratic congressional delegation doing something you don’t see every day: calling for the passage of a Republican-backed resolution.

“This is insane,” Rep. Jim McGovern posted on X in the wake of the attacks. “Trump just bombed Iran without Congressional approval, illegally dragging us into war in the Middle East. Have we not learned our lesson!?!?” he wrote, before urging his colleagues to “return to Washington at once” to pass a measure proposed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky that would block President Donald Trump from engaging in “unauthorized hostilities” with Iran.

McGovern and Rep. Ayanna Pressley were among the Democrats who threw their support behind the resolution early last week. And on Sunday, Rep. Stephen Lynch said he had joined the coalition supporting the bipartisan measure. It’s unclear if there’s enough support to approve the resolution. Massie was a rare Republican voice pushing back on Trump’s decision to move forward with the strike over the weekend — and he’s already earning threats of a primary challenge from Trump and his advisors for it.

Other members from Massachusetts were also quick to decry the strikes as unconstitutional — including Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, who both joined on a bill last week to try to head off U.S. involvement in the fighting without congressional approval, and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark.

“Only Congress can declare war — and the Senate must vote immediately to prevent another endless war,” Warren said. “This is a horrific war of choice.”

Rep. Jake Auchincloss struck a slightly subtler tone, calling for Iran to surrender its nuclear program and urging Congress to engage in a “thorough debate on war-making.”

Massachusetts is clear of threats related to the attack at the moment. Gov. Maura Healey said she was briefed by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “about the heightened threat environment due to the ongoing conflict in Iran,” but details beyond that were scarce.

“While there are no specific threats to Massachusetts at this time, we are continuing to coordinate with state, local and federal partners to closely monitor the situation,” she said in a statement Sunday night.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Stay cool out there today!

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll meet with legislative leaders at 2 p.m. at the State House. Reps. Katherine Clark, Lori Trahan and Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Elizabeth Warren host a press conference with the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts ahead of the third anniversary of the Dobbs decision at 9 a.m. Pressley speaks on a panel about the consequences of abortion restrictions and promotes the EACH Act ahead of a screening of the film “Red, White, and Blue” at 6 p.m. in D.C. Attorney General Andrea Campbell testifies before the Joint Congressional Judiciary Committee alongside other Democratic attorneys general about how they’re countering the Trump administration at 2 p.m. in D.C. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a press conference on the city’s new late-night food truck program at 10 a.m. downtown.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com.

FROM THE DELEGATION

IT’S THE AFFORDABILITY, STUPID — One word you can expect to hear from Democrats again and again over the next 16 months leading up to the midterms: affordability.

That’s the message that Democratic Whip Katherine Clark expects will help her party, still smarting from last year’s electoral drubbing, win back control of the House.

“We have learned that it is the cost of living — that we have to be the fighters for the tools of putting the American dream within reach,” Clark said during an interview on WBZ that aired Sunday, when asked what Democrats had learned from their struggles in 2024.

Congressional Democrats have little power to sway the economic forces hitting Americans’ pocketbooks — tariffs, or the inflation rate, for example. They also likely won’t have the numbers to block the sweeping domestic policy package the president is hoping to push through Congress in the coming weeks that’s packed with spending and tax policies.

Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, threw a few punches at the megabill Sunday, panning potential cuts to Medicaid as “horrendous” and “cruel.” And tariffs are bumping the prices on lumber and steel, she warned, “causing housing costs and insurance of existing housing to go up even more.”

Voters “told us clearly in 2024 they don't think the system is working for them, and they'll vote for someone who says they'll change it,” she said. “And what they're now seeing is a betrayal of what they were told by the Republicans they would do, and what they're actually doing.”

— Sen. Elizabeth Warren defends Medicaid, takes aim at Trump tax cuts at Colonial Theatre town hall event by Maryjane Williams, The Berkshire Eagle.

PAY WALL

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— House Speaker Ron Mariano, 78, plans to seek another term by Emma Platoff and Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano intends to seek reelection next fall and another term as the chamber’s leader, an aide to the 78-year-old Democrat said Friday, potentially cementing the House’s hierarchy through 2028. Mariano’s office disclosed his plans in response to a Globe inquiry about a potential succession in the House. Ana Vivas, a Mariano spokesperson, said he is ‘proud to be leading the House during this time of incredible uncertainty at the federal level.’ ‘He looks forward to serving as Speaker for the remainder of this term, and intends to run for re-election,’ Vivas said in a statement. She later clarified that if reelected in 2026, Mariano, of Quincy, would also run again for speaker, which the House votes on at the beginning of each term. Mariano has not faced a serious challenge to his leadership role during his two-plus terms.”

— Secretary of State William Galvin has concerns about upcoming census by Matthew Medsgar and Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Massachusetts’ secretary of state said he has some grave concerns about the accuracy of the next census thanks to mass retirements of officials and current immigration policies — something that could make or break congressional representation and federal funding. Though the next national population count isn’t set to take place until 2030, Secretary William Galvin told the state Senate Census Committee that he’s ‘very concerned about the quality of those records’ and the downstream consequences of getting that wrong.”

BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG PAY WALL

— Lawmakers seek tougher penalties for 'upskirting' by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Lawmakers want to toughen criminal penalties for a nearly decade-old law to punish suspects who are caught “upskirting” or secretly recording people’s private parts. A proposal being considered by a legislative committee would amend the state’s ‘upskirting’ law to criminalize any secret recordings of a person’s sexual or private parts, regardless of whether the victim is clothed or where the recording took place.”

PAY WALL

— Mass. considers scrapping religious exemptions for vaccinations by Angela Mathew, The Boston Globe.

FROM THE 413

— State education department halts trustee appointments at Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “A May 2 vote by trustees for the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School to add two new members is being temporarily nullified by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Citing that one of the conditions set in February for allowing expansion of the school has not been met, Patrick Tutwiler, then interim commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, on May 21 informed trustees that he would not be acting on the request for appointments.”

PAY WALL

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THE LOCAL ANGLE

— Methuen balks at $5.8M for tech school funding by Teddy Tauscher, The Eagle-Tribune: “Greater Lawrence Technical School Superintendent John Lavoie faced an aggressive and outraged City Council recently, as he gave a presentation on his proposed budget that will be supported by $5.8 million from the city. While Methuen’s contribution to the vocational school based in Andover is rising by roughly $700,000 next fiscal year or 13%, Lavoie told the council he had no hand in the increase as it was a result of a state formula. He added even if the council voted down his budget, the city would still be chipping in the same since it was the minimum required contribution set by the state.”

PAY WALL

— What’s in Weymouth’s budget? by Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger: “The Weymouth Town Council has approved Mayor Robert Hedlund’s proposed fiscal 2026 operating budget of $218.8 million, an increase of about 4% from this fiscal year's budget of $210 million. The new fiscal year starts July 1. Town Council President Michael Molisse praised Hedlund's administration on its work on the ‘creative, solid budget.’”

PAY WALL

— Council approves FY 2026 budget after marathon meeting by Dave Rogers, The Newburyport Daily News.

PAY WALL

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING

— As federal cuts loom, rental housing vouchers across Mass. are being put on hold by Andrew Brinker, The Boston Globe: “In Massachusetts’ brutal housing market, the wait for housing vouchers that help hundreds of thousands afford the state’s sky-high rents can stretch as long as 15 years. Now, that wait may grow even longer. Most housing authorities in Massachusetts, including the state’s housing office, have recently stopped issuing new Section 8 vouchers when tenants give them up. Some are closing waitlists — which can stretch tens of thousands of people long — to new applicants.”

— As questions linger, family and school grieve for Boston 5-year-old killed in April bus crash by John Hilliard, The Boston Globe.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Samuel O. Thier and Naomi Alson. Happy belated to Kaitlyn Solares of Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office, who celebrated Sunday.

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