Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Friday that her office is remaining vigilant with the federal government headed for a possible shutdown early next week.
“Obviously, we’re really mindful of … what the federal cuts have meant, and they have been devastating already for states across this country,” the Democratic governor said of the billions of dollars in federal support that’s already been clawed back by the Republican Trump administration.
About $15.6 billion of the state’s fiscal 2026 budget comes from federal reimbursements and grants, the vast majority of which support MassHealth through Medicaid payments, MassLive previously reported.
Read More: With DC hurtling toward a shutdown, Mass. lawmakers draw battlelines over health care, tax cuts
Budget-watchers within Healey’s office have urged agency heads to prepare for a possible shutdown, since payroll and an array of public services could be affected.
With just days to go before the federal budget year ends on Oct. 1, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have yet to pass the battery of full-year budget bills that would keep the government operating.
Nor is any agreement on a stopgap funding measure in sight as the clock ticks down.
Healey said she had not yet spoken with members of the state’s Capitol Hill delegation about the looming crisis, but “I will be,” she exclusively told MassLive on Friday.
Healey said she intended to address “what a shutdown could mean for our own ability to operate and deliver the kinds of things that we need to and want to deliver for our residents.”
In Washington, the Bay State’s all-Democrat delegation struck a defiant note this week, saying it will be up to majority Republicans to find the votes they need to keep the government running.
“Republicans control the House, Senate, and the Oval Office. They already nuked the filibuster in the Senate to move forward with Trump’s unqualified nominees, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-2nd District, wrote in a post to X.
“Now the question is will they allow millions of Americans to lose their healthcare and see premiums skyrocket–or will they work with Democrats to keep the government open and avert a healthcare catastrophe,“ the Central Massachusetts lawmaker continued. ”They are in charge. It is their choice.”
Democrats are still seething over Medicaid reductions and the tax cuts included in the domestic policy mega-bill that Republicans narrowly passed, and President Donald Trump signed, last July
They’ve made the reversal of those cuts and the restoration of public safety grants conditional to their support, according to Politico.
And it’s not just empty rhetoric. Republicans in the Senate will need 10 Democratic votes to duck a filibuster and pass a stopgap spending bill, the news outlet reported.
“Republicans would rather shut down the government than make your health care more affordable,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,fumed in a video posted to X.