| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | WAIT FOR IT — When Donald Trump rolled into the White House in 2017, his rule was met with immediate backlash: women’s marches and protests around the country, celebrities giving him the cold shoulder and Democrats boycotting his inauguration. This time around … not so much. While Democrats and opponents of the president have been critical (and litigious), the resistance from advocates and electeds has so far been more muted than it was during Trump’s first go. But Sen. Ed Markey says just give it a few months. “Donald Trump is going to create a reaction in our country to his climate denial policies that will be massive by the end of this spring,” Markey told Playbook in a recent interview. Expect him to be a part of it. Markey filed a bill alongside Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley earlier this month — the Banning In Government Oil Industry Lobbyists (BIG OIL) from the Cabinet Act — taking aim at the Trump’s nominees for energy and environmental roles, particularly Chris Wright, the CEO of Denver-based oil company Liberty Energy, who Trump tapped to lead his Energy Department. (Wright advanced through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a bipartisan vote last week, but has yet to come before the full body for a vote/). And on Friday, Markey led a resolution in the Senate opposing Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Both aren’t likely to make the new administration budge on its climate and energy agenda, but they will, in Markey’s view, help shine a “spotlight” on Trump’s climate moves. In Massachusetts, some of Trump’s efforts are already having an effect. The president signed an executive order on his first day in office halting federal approvals for offshore wind projects — a move critics of the industry celebrated, but one Markey says is part of an effort to make Massachusetts “dependent upon fossil fuels.” “The full impact of the Trump executive orders will be seen over the coming weeks and months,” Markey said, but the “intention behind it is very clear: it's to remove the threat to the natural gas industry [that] the offshore wind industry poses.” Markey predicts it won’t be too long before Trump’s actions reverberate. “I think by the time we reach Earth Day 2025, we're going to see a resistance movement … organizing to stop the worst excesses of the environmental disasters which Trump will be seeking to create for the future of Massachusetts and the country,” he added. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Some Democrats are playing their cards a little differently: offering to work with Trump and his lieutenant’s on some of the issues he pushed on the campaign trail. Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk last week, offering to work with the tech mogul to slash spending and regulations to the tune of $2 trillion in savings for over the next decade. And she doubled down in a FOX News op-ed this morning: “My list of cuts and loophole closers will save $2 trillion. So where are Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the DOGE project?,” Warren wrote. “If Musk and Trump have the courage to cut this waste, I’ve got a plan and 30 specific recommendations to get it done.” TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey visits the Burlington Department of Public Works alongside state and local officials at 10 a.m. Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speak at the ceremonial swearing in for Appeals Court Chief Justice Amy Blake at 5 p.m. in Boston. Rep. Seth Moulton hosts a town hall at 6 p.m. in Peabody. Rep. Richard Neal announces a grant from the EPA for electric school buses and charging stations at 10:30 a.m. in Springfield. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com.
| | | | Power shifts, razor-thin margins, and a high-stakes agenda. We’ve transformed our coverage—more reporters, more timely insights, and unmatched policy scoops. From leadership offices to committee rooms, caucus meetings, and beyond, our expert reporting keeps you ahead of the decisions that matter. Subscribe to our Inside Congress newsletter today. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Healey Issues NDA Policy On Eve Of Auditor's Report,” by Alison Kuznitz, State House News Service: “With Auditor Diana DiZoglio about to release a potentially troubling report on state settlements and nondisclosure agreements, Gov. Maura Healey on Monday issued a written policy that explicitly bans the use of NDAs across executive branch offices. Healey's office mentioned the audit report Monday as it publicized a three-page written policy on employee settlement agreements, which the administration said formalizes a yearlong practice for how the executive branch has handled NDAs. DiZoglio later told the News Service that her audit will be released on Tuesday.” — “Healey says she ordered shelter background checks last year. Her office refused to share records detailing it,” by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey’s administration refused to release records that could detail when, and to whom, she delivered an order last year to conduct systemwide background checks in the state’s emergency shelter system, a step she later said was never taken despite her directive sometime last spring. Healey’s office rejected a Globe request for documents tied to the order, claiming they are confidential communications between officials and legal counsel." — “Massachusetts Gov. Healey’s plan to close Canton children’s rehab hospital rattles community: ‘Almost criminal’,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald. — “Mass. lawmakers target pill press machines fueling opioid crisis,” by Hadley Barndollar, MassLive. COMMITTEE SCHISM — Alongside complaints about press coverage they say overshadowed their success last session — and promises to bring more transparency to their work — both House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka have called for changes to the internal rules governing the lawmaking processes. But the fix may not be so simple. Already, the two chambers are divided on some of the changes being floated by their counterparts: State Rep. Mike Moran told the State House News Service he’s "personally" adamantly opposed to moving up the joint committee bill-reporting deadline to the first year of the two-year session, an idea Spilka posed in her inaugural address. Moran, whom Mariano is planning to again tap lead rules negotiations according to the News Service, also wants to split up the joint legislative committees that have in some cases been deeply divided. State Sen. Joan Lovely, who’s running the rules debate on the Senate side, said she’s “heartened” that the House is open to “exploring ways to make the Legislature more efficient and transparent.” “We too share frustrations with the committee process, and the Senate has long been on record as willing to explore the idea of restructuring how committees operate,” Lovely said in a statement. “We remain open to it today, although I am a bit surprised that this issue was not brought to our attention earlier, before our Chamber was in the middle of drafting rules for our members to consider.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Mayor Wu asked to appear before congressional committee for probe of 'sanctuary cities',” by Deborah Becker, WBUR. — “It’s official: Josh Kraft files paperwork to run for mayor of Boston,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Josh Kraft, son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner and head of the family’s philanthropic arm, has filed paperwork to run for mayor of Boston. Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation, has formed a campaign committee with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The filing is his first official move toward joining the race and challenging Mayor Michelle Wu.” — “Mayor Wu plans to return to City Hall Tuesday for cabinet meeting, with baby Mira in tow,” by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has made it clear she is not taking much of a break from her job leading the city after giving birth to her third child, baby girl Mira Wu Pewarski. But Tuesday will mark a milestone for the working mom: Wu plans to return to City Hall to attend a cabinet meeting in person, with Mira in tow, she said in a virtual interview on GBH’s Boston Public Radio Monday.” — “Drone contractor gets 'rare' permission to follow individuals and vehicles in Boston,” by Chris Faraone, HorizonMass.
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “School leaders reassure families as fears spread over feds' immigration crackdown,” by Emily Piper-Vallillo, WBUR: “Superintendents across the state moved quickly to reiterate safety protocols to staffers and reassure families anxious about President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration that their districts will protect the rights of all students. Fears that federal agents may target students spiked last week among pupils, parents and educators after Trump rescinded a policy that kept schools and other ‘sensitive’ locations off limits from immigration raids and arrests.” — “After ‘chaotic’ weekend, Rep. Neal calls for caution on migrant crackdown,” by Jim Kinney, The Springfield Republican: “U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, has not yet heard from schools or agencies in the First Congressional District facing an enforcement visit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ‘But I assume that’s coming,’ Neal said Monday at a health care event in Springfield. ‘I’ve also come to understand that the argument we are hearing is that people with criminal histories are being targeted.’” — “Salem officials: City won't aid feds in immigration enforcement,” by Michael McHugh, The Salem News: “City officials assured residents Friday that they’re committed to protecting the rights of all community members regardless of immigration status. Salem Public Schools indicated that it will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or share identifiable information with federal immigration enforcement agencies.”
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | — “Chelmsford Select Board member Virginia Crocker Timmins will not seek reelection this spring,” by Peter Currier, The Lowell Sun: “The Select Board is now guaranteed to look quite a bit different after the upcoming town election after board member Virginia Crocker Timmins announced last week she would not be seeking reelection. Nomination papers in Chelmsford must be pulled by prospective candidates by Feb. 6, and returned with signatures by Feb. 11. With her name absent from the list of candidates pulling papers thus far, Crocker Timmins confirmed to The Sun Monday earlier reports that she has chosen not to seek reelection after six years on the board.” OPEN SEASON — Beverly City Councilor Hannah Bowen formally announced her campaign Monday to fill the seat state Rep. Jerry Parisella left for a role as an associate justice of the District Court. Bowen joins another Democratic Beverly city councilor, Todd Rotondo, who made his bid for the seat official with a kickoff event last week. On the Republican side, former Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce President Medley Long launched a campaign last year. The date for the special election is still TBD. In a letter to House Speaker Ron Mariano, Beverly officials asked Mariano to select a date not before March 25, and requested to have the field house at Beverly High School serve as the sole polling location for the city in both the primary and general election to avoid having to cancel classes at schools that serve as polling places.
| | | | New Year. New Washington. New Playbook. With intensified congressional coverage and even faster delivery of policy scoops, POLITICO’s reimagined Playbook Newsletter ensures you’re always ahead of the conversation. Sign up today. | | | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Democrats rip Trump over rising egg prices,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Democrats are seizing on a nationwide spike in egg prices to argue that President Donald Trump isn't making good on his campaign pledges to cut food prices. In a letter to Trump, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren leads a group of 20 Democratic lawmakers accusing the Republican of backtracking on a promise to lower supermarket bills by ignoring the key voter issue in scores of executive orders he has signed since being sworn into office last week.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Valley’s state legislators stress defense at Tikkun Olam observance,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “State legislators representing Hampshire and Franklin counties signaled that they were prepared to defend protections for immigrants, the environment and transgender people in Massachusetts as the new federal administration under President Donald Trump moves to limit or scrap them.” — “Amherst Board of Health seeks suite of stricter tobacco regs,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Restricting the sale of oral nicotine pouches to adults-only tobacco stores, increasing the minimum price of cigars to be consistent with state regulations, and not allowing a tobacco retailer to move within 1,000 feet of an existing business selling tobacco are among changes being considered for the town’s rules related to sale of tobacco and vape products.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Worcester City Council to take up 'transphobia' allegations, Trump's immigration policies,” by Toni Caushi, Telegram & Gazette: “With discourse on gender issues rocking recent City Council meetings, petitions relating to the topic are set for discussion in the Tuesday session. Some of the council has been the target of outrage by the LGBTQIA+ community over allegations of transphobic treatment of nonbinary City Councilor Thu Nguyen.” — “BTA calls for national search for new superintendent,” by Caroline Enos, The Salem News: “The city’s teachers’ union is calling on the Beverly School Committee to conduct a national search for a new superintendent after Suzanne Charochak announced her retirement Wednesday."
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Marina Chafa has started as communications director for Reproductive Equity Now. SPOTTED — At Black Lion Strategies New Year’s breakfast reception on Friday: Black Lion Strategies CEO Samuel M. Gebru, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, state Rep. Marjorie Decker, Ruth Zakarin of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden, Suffolk County Register of Probate Stephanie Everett, Suffolk County SJC Clerk Allison Cartwright, Medford School Committee Member Aaron Olapade, Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, former Ambassador Alan D. Solomont, Josh Kraft of the New England Patriots Foundation, Thomas O’Brien of HYM Investment Group, Hodan Hashi of AIM, JD Chesloff of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Jon Hurst of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and Jessica Tang of AFT Massachusetts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to 90 West’s Antonio Caban, former deputy communications director to Senate President Karen Spilka; former Rep. Peter Blute, Chrissy Raymond, former Rep. Peter Torkildsen, Christina Knowles and Katie Holzman. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
