Democratic governors discuss going on offense, playing defense against Trump

As Democratic governors prepare to navigate and deal with parts of President-elect Donald Trump’s next administration, one told ABC News she’s worried about Trump’s tariff plan.

“Tariffs would be devastating to our economy, especially with the amount of trade we do with Canada,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey told ABC News.

Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, in addition to a 10% tariff on goods imported from China. These are the three main trading partners of the US. Economists have warned that this will raise the prices of everyday goods and wreak havoc on the economy.

“I’m a governor who has worked to come in, cut taxes, lower housing costs, grow the economy. If he were to impose tariffs — first of all — I think it’s not a smart thing to do — and it would be devastating for consumers,” Healey said, ” Think of all the housing we’re trying to build right now – what’s that going to do to housing costs?”

In an interview with NBC News that aired Sunday, Trump said he could not guarantee that his tariff plan would not raise prices for American consumers.

Other Democratic governors, who met last weekend in Beverly Hills, Calif., for the first time since the election since the winter meeting, said Trump’s tariff proposals were their top concern, among others: threats to rights, his immigration proposals and repeal. climate and reproductive protection. Several high-profile governors told ABC News they are preparing to use legislative, executive or legal action to counter Trump’s moves.

Over the weekend at the Beverly Hilton, a tight-knit group of Democratic talent — many of whom will be among the strongest opponents of Trump’s policies and best positioned to head the party’s presidential ticket. 2028 — they met for private, closed meetings with each other, donors and other stakeholders. The panel of 18 governors and governors-elect, organized by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, focused more on how to navigate Trump’s leadership, according to several people who spoke to ABC News, than any meaningful post-election analysis after the Democratic loss. last month

The governor’s group in Beverly Hills included many of the 2028 candidates, including blue states like Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who have been on the offensive against Republican leadership since Nov. 6, and red states like the Democratic Governors Association. Kentucky Vice President and President-Elect Andy Beshear.

Healey, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, New York’s Kathy Hochul and Minnesota’s Tim Walz were also on the guest list, many of whom have questions about their political futures.

“I would expect that we’re going to put up quite a fight to get the House back. And I think we’re going to have a tremendous bench in the ’28 primary,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told ABC News of the plans. of many governors.

Different shades on taking on Trump

Governors are striking different tones as they prepare for a Trump presidency.

The loudest and most combative voices, of course, have been from leaders like Newsom, who recently called a special legislative session in California to increase funding for the Justice Department and other agencies so lawsuits can be filed quickly to challenge the actions. Taken over by a second Trump administration. Pritzker has also made less-than-veiled threats about how he would approach the administration if it “comes” for his people, and he recently announced his position as co-chair of a new nonpartisan party, along with Colorado’s Jared Polis. The coalition of governors pledged to protect “state institutions of democracy” ahead of Trump’s presidency.

Other governors encouraged their members to make this moment known offensively through their agendas.

“Democratic governors should approach this with strength and resolve and an activist agenda. This is a place where we can make progress, too,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told ABC News.

“You can’t stop 85% of the things I would like to do in that situation, so I think the order of the day is to defend the order of the day by fighting with progress every day with our intentions and without being influenced by him.” to keep that shadow from falling on our state,” said Inslee, who will vacate his seat this winter to make way for Gov. Bob Ferguson.

But a different group of governors is playing a much more tepid approach, stressing their desire to “work” with the Trump administration and citing past collaborations with the president-elect’s team, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beshear said last weekend that Democrats should lean “to reason” while Trump is in office and that he is ready to work with the incoming administration.

“The middle, the middle of the road, the common, the common sense, it’s open. It’s open,” Beshear told a group of reporters Saturday.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, chairwoman of the DGA, said this weekend that she did not yet anticipate actions by Trump or his agencies, but warned that “we will always look for ways to work together” to “draw the line.” “In things that drive us to do what we think are wrong, illegal, things like that.”

The different approaches to Trump’s agenda from the governors could be a coordinated strategy as the groups figure out how best to support each other in a party trying to rebuild — a complicated task, as they also see each other as primary contenders for the presidency.

“We know how to create space to protect people and protect priorities,” Lujan Grisham told ABC, noting that he and several other governors are not officially part of Pritzker and Polis’ new coalition, for example. “We’ve done it on climate. We still do it on climate. We’ve done it on reproductive awards, we’ll still have to do it on reproductive awards, and we’re going to do some test cases in the states that leave us frame and frame. lead those coalitions.”

“We want to be strategic about what we’re announcing. And here’s why: We have a president-elect and a team that, before this and every day, said, ‘We’re going to punish anyone who gets in our way, and we’re going to punish the states in particular,'” he continued. “And the California and New Mexico side — California is definitely on the radar. I’m not minimizing what the Trump administration can do negatively in my state, but we’re very effective at seeing and understanding what’s going on, and then we can expand our combined efforts very quickly.”

Plans to counter Trump’s tariffs, immigration proposals

While governors may wage legal battles against parts of Trump’s plan, the president can use executive power to impose hefty tariffs.

But when it comes to immigration, governors can face Trump’s proposals more clearly.

The border state’s governor, Lujan Grisham, told ABC News that Trump would use detention centers, expand the National Guard or even request data in his state if mass deportations were attempted.

“I take him at his word. He says he will do it, he will try to carry out a mass deportation,” he said, adding that he would not be a partner in those movements: “There are many things he cannot do by himself. .” “I mean, I’ve been very clear for a number of years on this issue that I’m not going to use our National Guard to do that kind of service,” Kelly told reporters.

“I’m not going to send them to the border. We’ve had Guard members go to the border, but they’ve been federalized when they’ve been down there. I don’t see the role of the National Guard; to serve Kansas, Kansas affairs, so I don’t see that changing. . . . The State Police is my, and it’s not their job either. So we’re going to take the same approach we have with the Guard,” added Kelly.

On immigration, most Democratic governors agree that violent criminals should be deported, noting that local and state law enforcement have always worked with federal authorities to investigate crimes. But where many governors draw the line is deporting undocumented immigrants who have long lived and worked in America, arguing that it is inhumane and hurts the economy.

“We don’t know what President Trump’s immigration plan will look like at the end of the day. He’s a master at saying something, making a lot of noise, and then the reality may be different. So I’m going to wait to see what he ultimately proposes,” North Carolina Governor Josh Stein on Trump’s immigration -he told reporters about his intention to respond to the movements.

“The people of North Carolina have every right to be safe in their communities, and anyone who commits a violent crime should be held accountable, absolutely, and that’s whether they’re in this country as American citizens or undocumented, and if they’re here undocumented, deport them. they should,” Stein said.

They also question how Trump will implement his plan. Trump may direct the National Guard to help with transportation and logistics, but one Democratic governor told ABC News that those are precious resources, and their National Guard is needed for emergencies like hurricanes, wildfires and severe flooding.

Trump’s team has discussed in the past how to withdraw federal resources from Democratic-run cities if they refuse to work with the administration to deport undocumented immigrants, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Blue state governors say they are concerned about the Trump administration weaponizing federal funding and “picking winners and losers.” One governor told ABC News that his state is committed to locking up every federal dollar the state is entitled to and securing all funding available through the Biden administration’s infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act.

In California, Newsom has also begun to make his budget “Trump-proof,” one of the goals of his move to convene the legislature last week.